Encounters with Mammals!

Over the years I've written about the mammals I've observed locally.  This week we've had a few 

very unusual encounters!  

Thursday Evening

 Around 5:30 pm last Thursday, I was squatting down and watering the base of some flowers in one of our gardens, when all of a sudden I got the feeling that someone was looking at me.  I turned to my right and looked right into the eyes of a young Mountain Lion about 10' away from me!!!  It was looking right at me and slowly coming towards me!!!  For several long seconds we stared at each other!  It was incredibly beautiful, with it's brilliant green eyes, and tawny, smooth fur!  Its beautiful eyes were alive with expression, full of curiosity and delight!!  It wasn't that large, and didn't feel menacing at all, but I knew I probably shouldn't stick around!  So, I quickly stood up, dropped the hose, and calmly walked (not "ran") to our house, that was only about 25' away.  Once I was inside, I hollered to my husband "Mountain Lion!!!"  I grabbed my camera and we both ran back outside to see if we could see it again, but it had vanished!  I was astounded that I had just made eye contact, and had an unspoken dialogue with a Mountain Lion!!!  It was SO unbelievably beautiful!  I think it was a female, but I'll never know for sure.  What an amazing experience!  It was definitely a gift, a once-in-a-lifetime encounter!  Although I didn't get a photo, I'll absolutely never forget it!

I have since read that Mountain Lion attacks on humans are quite rare.  Wikipedia states, "A total of 125 attacks, 27 of which were fatal, have been documented in North America in the past 100 years. Fatal cougar attacks are extremely rare and occur much less frequently than fatal snake bites, fatal lightning strikes, or fatal bee stings." 

There are lots of websites that have information on what you should do if you encounter a Mountain Lion in the wild. The following information is available at 

https://www.nps.gov/nava/planyourvisit/upload/MountainLionSafetyAndFactsNAVA.pdf.

"Encounters with cougars are rare. But if you live, work or recreate in cougar habitat, there are things you can do to enhance your safety and that of friends and family. 

• If you encounter a cougar, make yourself appear larger, more aggressive. Open your jacket, raise your arms, and throw stones, branches, etc., without turning away. Wave raised arms slowly, and speak slowly, firmly, loudly to disrupt and discourage predatory behavior 

• Never run past or from a cougar. This may trigger their instinct to chase. 

• Make eye contact. Stand your ground. Pick up small children without, if possible, turning away or bending over. 

• Never bend over or crouch down. Doing so causes humans to resemble four-legged prey animals. Crouching down or bending over also makes the neck and back of the head vulnerable. 

• Try to remain standing to protect head and neck.

• Don’t approach a cougar. Most cougars want to avoid humans. Give a cougar the time and space to steer clear of you."

Although I didn't feel threatened by the Mountain Lion I saw, I may just have been lucky!  

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

The Bear & the Bees!

A little more than a week ago, one of my neighbors was given 21 active bee hives!  He had them out in a field on his property, but didn't have an electric fence around them.  My husband said, "The bears will take care of those bees pretty quickly."  They did!  Four nights after the bees arrived, a Black Bear destroyed half the hives and ate the bee larvae and honey.  Two nights after that, he returned and destroyed the remaining bee hives and feasted again!  

In the meantime the homeless bees swarmed together in two trees on the adjacent neighbor's yard.  Because the hives were destroyed over a couple of days, there were two HUGE separate swarms, containing thousands of bees!  Bees swarm to protect their queen, who is the mother of them all!  It was beautiful, amazing, and fascinating to watch!  The swarms hung on the trees for about two days each.  During those two days, my husband said that the scout bees were probably out looking for a new location for their colony.  After two days passed, the first swarm took off.  Two days later the second swarm took off!  The sound of all those bees taking off at once was incredible, the loudest agitated hum I've ever heard!  They are all gone now, and the destroyed hives have been removed.  I really hope the bees were successful in finding a good home!  Perhaps I might come across one of the colonies when I'm wandering around our neighborhood!  I'll keep you posted!

Large Honeybee Swarm containing thousands of Bees

Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris

Marmots on the Rocks!

I've seen Yellow-bellied Marmots in the Lakes Basin only 6 times in all the years I've been hiking there.  Last week we spotted one ahead of us on the trail.  They like to live in underground burrows, beneath rocky talus slopes near alpine meadows, around 6,000' in elevation.  Marmots live in colonies, or as singled or paired animals.  I usually only see one at a time.  They will often perch on a large boulder, from which they can watch for predators.  If threatened, they make a very loud chirp that you can hear from quite a distance.  The main predators of Marmots are coyotes, followed by badgers, martens, bears, and Golden Eagles.  

Marmots eat plants, mainly grasses, wildflowers, and seeds.  Before winter they eat all the time, to bulk up for up to 8 months of hibernation.  During hibernation their body temperature, respiration rate, and heartbeat rate all drop.  They will lose up to 50% of their body weight during hibernation.  Unlike Black Bears, they are "true" hibernators, and do not wake up during the winter.  Warmer temperatures will trigger their emergence from their burrows in the Spring.

Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris

I came across this "blonde" marmot in Sequoia National Park a few years ago. 

I need to do some research, and find out if this is common.

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

A few weeks ago, our electric power unexpectedly went out at 7:00 pm, so I decided to go for a walk.  Right away I saw this lovely Gray Fox sitting on our road!   I zoomed in with my camera and got a few photos before it took off.  This one looked so familiar to me!  Most mammals are active at night, as well as dawn and dusk.  I should really make an effort to go out during that time more often.  I'm sure I'd see a lot more mammals that way.  I haven't seen any foxes in quite a while, so this was a fun encounter!

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

I've seen two different bucks in our neighborhood lately.  Every time I see them, their antlers are larger.  The antlers will keep growing until Fall when rutting season begins.  The following information about deer antlers is from the website https://sciencing.com/do-deer-antlers-grow-6642858.html.

"Deer antlers are growths of bone that deer and similar animals produce for mating season. Only male deer produce antlers, and few deer keep their antlers for long periods. Contrary to popular belief, the size of the antlers and the number of points do not indicate the age of the deer. The size of the antlers are decided by the health of the deer and its access to nutrients.

Deer antlers are primarily grown for mating purposes. A male deer not only shows off its antlers to prove its health, but also uses them to battle other male deer for supremacy and choice of mates. 

Deer antlers take a lot of energy to grow. The antlers are bony, and like bones are made mostly out of calcium. Deer do not consume much calcium with their vegetarian diet, and the calcium in the antlers is grown just like the calcium in the bones, produced by chemical reactions in their bodies. This takes up a large amount of available nutrients and energy, and only the healthiest deer can grow large antler.

Even the largest antlers grow from small nubs to full size in three to four months, making them one of the fastest-growing types of tissue. They begin as small bony growths at the top of the head, and are covered with a layer of skin and hair known as velvet. This velvet keeps the antlers protected while they are fragile.

When antlers have reached a larger size and slow down or stop growing, the blood vessels that keep the velvet growing shut down around the base of the antlers. This causes the velvet skin to die and eventually peel away, sometimes leaving trailing and hanging bits for a few weeks. Male deer typically rub their antlers against trees and other objects to remove the peeling velvet.

Because deer antlers take up so much energy, it is advantageous for many smaller deer to shed them as quickly as possible after mating season ends. The deer draw calcium and similar nutrients back into the system, so that the antlers become brittle and drained. A layer of cells grows at the base of the antlers, gradually severing their connection to the body and causing them to falling off."

Royal Rein Orchid - Brookfoam 

 Piperia transversa - Bokinia occidentalis  

What's Blooming?

Even though it's drying up in my neighborhood, there are still flowers blooming 

in the shady forest!  Here's some of the ones I saw this week.

Lemon's Keckiella - California harebell

Keckiella lemonnii  - Asyneuma prenanthoides

Bullock's Oriole (male - female) - Icterus bullockii

 

The beautiful Bullock's Orioles left our neighborhood this month, and are on their migration south to Mexico, Guatemala, or northern Costa Rica.  I am always amazed that they return to our neighborhood year after year!  I hope they have a safe journey to their winter homeland!

Did this Banana Slug just give birth to a baby slug?

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

What's happening on the river?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

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Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com