Mammals Archives - Page 2 of 3

Photo of Dave, a Yellow Labrador Retriever, and Clancy, a Golden Retriever pup, catching some zzz’s on a mat on a sunlit tile floor. Favorite toys lie strewn on the floor next to the mat.

A New Member of the Household: Clancy

Updated March 26, 2025

I have gained a heightened appreciation of the 500 or more families who take on the task of raising puppies for the Seeing Eye each year. It takes a lot of focus, attention and work just to get them housetrained, let alone all the other things that a new puppy needs to learn. And the […]

Road-kill skunk viewed from an auto on a lonely country road.

American Sable, Anyone?: Striped Skunk

Updated March 9, 2023

“There’s a dead skunk in the middle of the road, stinkin’ to high heaven.” Isn’t that a song from the 70s? This real-life skunk was probably out hunting last night, crossing the road looking for supper, when it was hit by a car. It will be surrounded by that unmistakable skunk perfume for days. It […]

Mammals

A grey brown critter with long ears sits in the snow next to a fallen tree limb. Eastern Cottontail Rabbit.

We Are Not Rodents: Eastern Cottontail Rabbits

Updated February 16, 2023

On a February day, there’s a fresh coat of snow on the ground. About four inches of new snow fell overnight, leaving the world bright and clean. The surface of the snow contains the records of last night’s activity. Every creature that was out and about left its tracks for us to see. Raccoons, birds, […]

Mammals

Furry critter with pointy nose, round erect ears and a prominent, black bandit’s mask looks at the camera. Ringtail Raccoon.

Masked Bandit: Raccoon

Updated February 2, 2023

Raccoons have captured the fancy of cartoonists, authors, movie makers, comic strip artists, and even video game creators for decades. Rocky Raccoon, for instance, began his cartoon career in 1937, and has outlasted several generations of children and voice actors. Before Rocky hit the big screen, native Americans had created a plethora of tales with […]

Mammals

Red brown Fox Squirrel with bushy tail sits in the snow, with a walnut in its mouth

Scurry: Eastern Fox Squirrel

Updated December 22, 2022

Dave, the resident lab, and I are out for the usual reason in the yard behind the house. Dave is totally focused on a nearby tree, and I know why. A fox squirrel is sitting in its branches chattering away, scolding us for entering its world. It’s very noisy, and Dave stands, on point, entranced. […]

Mammals

Grey opossum with coarse hair, whitish, tapering face sporting a pronounced "widows peak," black eyes and pink nose looks up from a bed of green ivy.

Living Fossils

Updated November 21, 2022

They’re creepy-looking, really. They have a narrow, whiskery, tapering snout filled with fifty large, pointed teeth, and they drool. They also have a long, naked, scaly tail. People see that pointy face and naked tail and think rat. They’re not rats, though. They are opossums (Didelphis virginiana). Sometimes called “living fossils,” their history traces directly […]

Mammals

Grey mouse with long naked tail on the floor of a cardboard box. Smooth grey fur, rounded erect ears, bulging black eyes, tapering nose, bristling coarse whiskers.

Mighty Mouse, or Bryan’s Walnuts

Updated November 17, 2022

Mice. Did I mention that they are not my favorite inhabitants of Owl Acres? Along with the field mice, we have that ubiquitous invader from Europe; those little gray mice with naked tails—the house mouse (Mus musculus). They’re not living in the house, but they have been in the shed where they literally destroyed the […]

Mammals

Brown furry mouse with black eyes, white underside and long, coarse whiskers.

Little Troublemakers

Updated November 14, 2022

Mice! Not my favorite inhabitants of Owl Acres. They have been scampering about all summer, avoiding the owls, raising their broods. And now they’re looking for a warm place to move into for the winter. They can get in just about everywhere, and can chew through wires when they want to. Several times I have […]

Mammals

The view from the kitchen: 3 white-tailed deer grazing in the front yard

Wildlife Management?

Updated November 7, 2022

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) He stands beside the highway, uncomprehending, as predators flash past at unbelievable speeds. The predators’ eyes are huge and brilliant, shining into the crepuscular darkness, confusing him. 50, 60, 70 miles an hour—a meaningless datum. He has evolved over ten thousand years or more to run and leap, to avoid or […]

Mammals

Chipmunk sitting upright near a nut cracker, stuffing its cheek pouches with nut meats

Cheeky Little Critters

Updated October 24, 2022

Eastern Chipmunks Tamias Striatus We have a bumper crop of black walnuts, and Bryan has cleaned the hulls off two five-gallon buckets full. The shells are very hard, so I crack them on the front porch with a specially made walnut cracker. It works pretty well, but it flings bits of shell and nutmeat all […]

Mammals