Friday, June 10, 2011

Lynx rufus Redux

Remember that Santa Cruz Mtns bobcat that spritzed the rock & rubbed the cam in Smell-o-vision?

Seems bob wanted a curtain call...

bob again
Bobcat smelling a rock

after marking
Coming to check out camera after marking the rock

curious
"Oh - you again"

This set was only about 1/4 mile from the Smell-o-vision set, so it's not surprising that we caught the same kitty. Does suggest that it's a resident though, which is nice to see.

A couple of lady black-tails stopped to marvel at my homebrew too...

vain deer
Deer in the headlights

another doe
"Is this thing on?"

And, this deep woods set caught the first raccoons in the area. Funny, but raccoons are much more common in the cities and 'burbs among the houses than in the parks. There's a lot more water and food options living with us. And fewer predators.

These coons probably trundle this trail because there's a small creek nearby that runs for a large part of the year. They just can't resist the call of a babbling brook...

young raccoon
Young raccoon

older raccoon
Older raccoon

This location also appears to be a front in the gray squirrel species reshuffling that is currently underway in much of western California.

As mentioned previously, western grays are on the decline in the bay area, and easterns are taking over - first the cities and suburbs, and now out into the parks and open spaces.

eastern gray
Non-native eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis

western gray
Native western gray squirrel, Sciurus griseus

I wonder how long it takes for easterns to drive out the westerns in a given area? And, is it only because they're more aggressive, or are there other factors? Do they have more young? Are they better at avoiding predators?

Hmmmm...

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References:

The Nature of a Man (this blog) - Smell-o-vision
The Nature of a Man (this blog) - posts on cam trapping the Santa Cruz Mountains

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9 comments:

  1. great pix of lots of critters. :)

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  2. I am honestly astounded by how many cats you get photos of!

    Also, nice to see the pic of the western gray squirrel.

    Nice job, RT!

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  3. I hadn't heard about the squirrels. I wish some big nice squirrel would push out our tempermental mean pine squirrels. I so enjoy your photos.

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  4. Great photos of such curious wildlife!

    -- Marilyn

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  5. Nice pics RT! I have read the Eastern gray squirrels are also invasive in Europe, and have almost wiped out the native red squirrel in Ireland and Italy. As for California, I wonder why the larger Western gray squirrel doesn't beat up on the Eastern cousins. Must be peaceable critters.

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  6. These animals' curiosity of your homebrew cam trap makes for some incredible photo booth type candid shots.

    It's interesting to hear about the eastern greys. I've seen how they've trained humans to feed them in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, where I've read they were originally introduced in CA.

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  7. 1. NICE bobkitty and deer shots--I love "Is this thing on?" =)
    2. I heart the native greys (aren't they more gorgeously grey with clearly superior (huge, fluffy, long) tail. =)
    3. I saw a skunk on our property for the FIRST TIME EVER (we're in the sticks) and was so excited. Saw them all the time in San Diego. Just like your racoons.

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  8. ooh, Katie, leave it to you to know the start of the invasion. Interesting. Thanks! =)

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  9. That Ribes is a great host for Monkey Grasshoppers, Eumastacidae, Morsea, Eumorsea etc. They are best seen at night.

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