Animal Behavior

8 Reasons to Love Wolves on #InternationalWolfDay 

Listen Closely – Love is in the Air

A screech in the night. A quick whistle through the trees. The stink of a skunk …? These are some of the sounds and scents of mating season in the forest. When forests otherwise seem relatively quiet, it might be alarming to some when they suddenly bustle with sound. Yet late winter is a crucial season of communication for many species. Perhaps the most common and perplexing sound people hear this time of year is…

Snow-Tracking

Though there are those among us who aren’t keen on the frostier elements of winter, perhaps a new hobby could change our minds. Snow is an easy medium for spotting tracks, as they are typically quite obvious indentations in the stark white powder. Fresh snow offers a perfect opportunity to “play detective” and follow the footprints left behind by wildlife as they navigate the snowy outdoors. Paths, trails, and all sorts of meanderings are plainly…

Common Myths About Coyotes

Coyotes are a deeply misunderstood species, the subject of many myths and a persistent stream of misinformation. Many of these misconceptions lead to coyotes being unfairly persecuted by hunters, ranchers, landowners, and government agencies. These practices completely disregard how vital and valuable coyotes are to the ecosystem at large. Unfortunately, the misinformation surrounding this resilient species contributes to an enormous stigma against them. Many people find them frightening and actively call for their removal. However,…

Local Opossum Flaunts Her Baby Bump

Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) are North America’s only marsupial. As a marsupial, they give live birth but shortly after carry their young in a pouch on their abdomens. Opossums are typically born between April and August and have the shortest gestation period of any mammal, lasting only about 12.5 days. At birth opossums are as small as honeybees, and are blind and hairless. Newborns will crawl from their mother’s birth canal up toward her pouch…

Meddlesome Mammal Not Ready for Their Close-up

Trail cameras are an oft-used tool for monitoring wildlife, and one of their biggest benefits is their non-invasive nature. A trail camera (also known as remote or wildlife cameras) is easily mounted to a tree with the use of a cord, bungee, or screwed-in mount. It remotely monitors movement, and will begin to record photos and videos once its sensor detects change. Their unobtrusive quality enables one to get an idea of the daily and…

Free Coyote Coexistence Programs Encourage Appreciation for Local Wildlife

Coyotes have a remarkable ability to adapt to any surrounding. With indefatigable survival instincts, coyotes have expanded across much of the continent and live in all of the U.S. save Hawaii, despite the untiring efforts by humans to kill them. A close cousin to the wolves we are dedicated to protecting, coyotes play an equally vital role in our local ecosystem as an apex predator. Coyotes are explorers, opportunists, and one of the most successful…

What to Expect During Coyote Pup Season

With the onset of spring comes many new and exciting developments for the wild world. Flowers bloom, birds return, offspring are born … Yet alongside new growth reemerges age-old anecdotes and misunderstandings about so many wild species. Saddled with the unfortunate brunt of the rumors is North America’s most persecuted species: the coyote. Spring is coyote pup season; as a monoestrous species, coyotes have one breeding season per year that falls between January – March.…

Changing Seasons Bring Cool Temps and Cooler Wildlife Adaptations

It’s that time of year again, when the days begin to fall shorter and the nights colder. As we prepare for the cooler months of autumn and winter, so do the wild species sharing our landscape. For different species, those preparations will vary. But one thing is certain – winter is harsh, and provisions must be aplenty. In Aesop’s fable of the grasshopper and the ant, the grasshopper has been distracted making music all summer…

Expert to Offer Free Webinar about Eastern Coyotes

During the 20th-century, coyotes (Canis latrans) colonized eastern North America and then formed 2 distinct variant populations in the northeastern and southeastern regions that are morphologically and genetically different from western populations. In the past 15 years, we have expanded our knowledge of eastern coyotes in the areas of ecology, morphology, genetics, hybridization, and efficacy of control strategies. Such information is important to support successful conservation of coyotes in a diversity of environments. This talk…