Local Mammals!

Black Bear  - Ursus americanus

There are lots of cherry trees in our neighborhood that are full of ripe cherries right now.  Yesterday evening I saw a small cherry tree swaying violently behind our back porch.  Thinking that it must be an animal causing the movement, I quickly ran out there to see what was up!  It was a BIG Black Bear, probably weighing over 300 lbs.!  It didn't pay any attention to me, and quickly climbed a large cherry tree right next to our back porch!  It stayed up in that cherry tree for the next and hour and a half feasting on cherries!!!  WOW!!!  At one point it was fifty feet up the tree, munching away! 

Black Bear climbing a Cherry Tree!  - Ursus americanus

It seemed SO STRONG as it effortlessly climbed the tree!  Its sense of balance was amazing, as leaned out to grab branches full of cherries!  Black Bears are omnivores, but mainly eat insects, grubs, fruit, berries, roots, twigs, buds, honey, and tree cambium.  Occasionally they will eat small to medium-sized mammals and carrion.  They range in size from3'-3'5'' in height, 4'6"-6'2" in length, and 203lbs.-587lbs. in weight.  Adults can run up to 30 mph, and are powerful swimmers and climbers!  

Here's a video that's a few minutes long of the Black Bear foraging in the cherry tree.  Didn't want to shorten it, as I find it fascinating to watch!

Despite their large size, Black Bears are not usually predators. They are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), but can be seen at any time of the day. Their range is typically 8-10 square miles, and occasionally up to 15 square miles. Males and females are solitary except briefly during mating. However, offspring will stay with their mother for up to 17 months. This one is probably a male, as it didn't have any cubs.

What a privilege it was to watch this strong, beautiful Black Bear maneuver through and up the cherry tree, eating cherries the whole time!

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Doe and Fawns

Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Earlier this week, I was out wandering one morning when I came across a doe and two fawns! WOW!!! They looked at me for a few seconds and then they took off! How lucky to see them!  Does have one fawn in their first birthing year, then twins or triplets in following years. The spotted fawns will lose their spots 90-120 days after they're born. Only the does care for the fawns. Female fawns usually stay with their mothers for two years; young bucks leave after a year.

Here’s more information on fawns, that I found fascinating, from northernwoodlands.com.

"Young fawns’ scent glands are not well-developed. When a fawn is born, the doe licks it clean, removing odors that might alert predators. A few hours after birth, when the fawn can stand and walk, she moves it from the birth spot to a new hiding place. A fawn spends most of its first weeks of life bedded down alone. The doe stays away from her newborn except to nurse it periodically, and to lead it to new bed sites. That way her scent does not attract predators to the area where the fawn is hiding. If she has twins, which is common, the doe will typically hide them in separate places and make the rounds to nurse them. While the fawn nurses excitedly, its tail flicking, the doe licks its fur and genital areas to stimulate urination and defecation. She may also consume the fawn’s droppings to destroy evidence of its presence. Although secrecy is a fawn’s main defense, it has another: mom. If a fawn is in distress, it bleats, and the doe, which stays nearby, usually comes running, ready to defend it with her sharp hooves."

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Doe and Fawns

Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

"Fawns grow rapidly on their mother’s rich milk. By two to three weeks of age, they begin to nibble green vegetation. After a month, they will browse on tree seedlings. At this age, they begin to choose their own bedding sites and twins are reunited. By summer, young deer can outrun most danger, and trail their mother closely. Fawns usually are weaned at two to three months. In early autumn, a fawn’s spotted coat is replaced by the gray-brown winter coat of an adult deer. Female fawns usually stay with their mothers for two years; young bucks leave after a year. A buck fawn can be identified when only a few days old by the two round spots on its head where the antlers will grow."

If you are lucky enough to find a fawn in the forest, please leave it alone, the mother will take care of it! It is always best to leave wild things wild!

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Young Buck

Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

I also came across a young buck this week! I haven't seen any deer in months!  Male Deer usually travel in groups of males, or individually. This one was all by itself.  Males usually stick with males, and females with females except for brief periods of breeding.

There are two kinds of Mule Deer in my neighborhood, the Columbian Black-tailed Deer and the California Mule Deer. The California Mule Deer have larger ears (20”-22” compared to 8”) than the Columbian Black-tailed Deer. Another way to determine which species you are seeing is to look at their tail. Columbian Black-tailed Deer have a more-or-less solid black tail. The California Mule Deer's tail is only black on the tip, sometimes with a thin strip of black running down the tail.

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

 

This Gray Fox shows up occasionally near our garden.  I've come to recognize it!  Each one of the foxes in our neighborhood has a distinct face.  It's always a pleasure to see them!

Gray Foxes mate for life, and breed sometime between January and early March. Kits are born two months after mating. Dens are made in underground burrows, in hollow logs or trees, under large rocks or ledges, or up in a tree canopy in a hollow trunk or branch. (Gray Foxes are the only North American fox that can climb trees! They descend down a tree trunk like a bear does, with its hind feet first.) Both parents take care of the kits. After 10 months, the kits are sexually mature and disperse from the family unit. Gray Foxes are omnivores and eat plants, insects, eggs, small mammals, and birds.

Stream Orchid - Leopard Lily - Washington Lily

Epipactis gigantea - Lilium pardalinum - Lilium washingtonianum

Local Blooms!

It's heating up in our neighborhood and some of the more showy and fragrant flowers are making an appearance! Washington Lilies smell like Easter Lilies and grow to 5' tall!  Stream Orchids grow locally in large groups, numbering in the thousands!  Both the orchids and the Leopard Lilies are strikingly fancy but not fragrant.  The Milkweed, Pennyroyal and Mock Orange are all deliciously fragrant and showy! 

Showy Milkweed - Mountain Pennyroyal - Mock Orange

Asclepius speciosa  - Monardella odoratissimq - Philadelphus lewisii

Mount Elwell & Long Lake - 6/29/23

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!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!.