Deer vs. Kangaroo

On the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, in the lands of the Mono, the native deer and kangaroo sometimes have late night encounters...


11:15pm - deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, finds and starts collecting seeds


11:17pm - kangaroo mouse, Microdipodops megacephalus, hops in while deer's away


11:27pm - deer versus kangaroo!


11:36pm - to the victor go the spoils


11:39pm - kangaroo stuffs the last of the seeds into its pouches


The next night at 12:08am - deer returns to the seedless battlefield

The mousy moral to this story?

Don't mess with kangaroos, man - they know them crazy Matrix-style moves.

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References:

• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Dark Kangaroo Mouse
• Hafner, Reddington, Craig - Journal of Mammalogy Vol. 87, No. 6, Dec. 2006 - Kangaroo Mice of the Mono Basin: Phylogeography of a Peripheral Isolate
• O' Farrel, Blaustein - American Society of Mammalogists, June 1974 - Microdipodops megacephalus

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A Fossorial Living Fossil

Mountain Beaver.

Boomer.

Showtl.

Aplodontia.

PC (Pre-Codger), I had only vaguely heard of these elusive, poorly monikered rodents.

But when we pulled Codge's preset cams during last year's cam trapping class, and saw photos of the marvelous beastie, I knew that I too wanted a crack at catching their grin.

So, this year, as part of Codger's pre-class sets, I sunk a cam at a highly likely burrow:


Cam trap on aplodontia burrow in alder grove along Yuba River


They eat and collect bark and twigs - hence the "mountain beaver" nickname

The term "living fossil" is soooooo wonderfully exemplified by these fascinating rarities. The oldest living rodents, and the only members of their family and genus sill alive, molecular biology and fossil records are showing that the Aplodontidae split from the squirrel family about 40 million years ago, during the Eocene epoch.

Yes, the squirrel family. They're big, shaggy, mud-loving, slow-shuffling, nocturnal ground squirrels. Or, perhaps marmots, which are also old and related to squirrels, are a better comparison. But they're definitely not beavers.

My shy showtl did show - but only 3 times in 30 days, and not until the 6th night...


That ain't no beaver tail...


Bingo! An adult Aplodontia rufa is 16 inches long, and weighs about 1-1/2 pounds


Check out those human-like ears and tiny, heavy-lidded eyes


Burrow full of water? No prob for a rodent that builds chambers that trap air


20 days later - its natural privacy screen is fully up

A good first try at these shy guys.

I'm looking forward to another go next year.

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References:

• Wikipedia - Aplodontia
• Wikipedia - Eocene
• Wikipedia - Marmot
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Aplodontia rufa
• Camera Trap Codger - Annual Aplodon Photos
• Camera Trap Codger - posts on Aplodontias

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Where the Dear Lil Antelopes Play

Along with the stint of trapping near the SFSU Field Campus, I also started a new survey that I think y'all will like - it's on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, south of Mono Lake, where an amazing volcano-designed landscape is being re-sculpted by water and wind.

On my first visit in late March, the region was still mostly snowbound.

But, when I returned in July, it was green. Very green...


Eastern Sierra Nevada pond and wetland at near 7,000 feet


Carved valley basin with streams that feed into pond


Small groves of aspens and willows hug the valley border


Pinyon pines, rabbitbrush, pumice and obsidian speckle the steep slopes


Jeffrey pines and dramatic outcrops line the ridges

One of the first mammals I glimpsed on my return was a small, gray chipmunk-looking tiny that bounded about in the mazes of sand and sagebrush.

But, I knew a way to get them to stop and smile for the cam.

As it turns out, they weren't chipmunks at all. They're white-tailed antelope ground squirrels, Ammospermophilus leucurus, a fixture of the desert scrub.


Antelope ground squirrel finding my friendship offering. The small ears, ashy gray fur and distinctive white side stripe are key characters for IDing the species


Groundie grabbing a cashew 1/2 the size of its head


"Burp"


Doing a little cheek stuffing


A final face full

And this is just one of more than a dozen mammal species in this region that I've not had the opportunity to trap on the other side of the Sierra Nevada.

Really looking forward to seeing what else shows up.

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References:

• Wikipedia - Mono Lake
• Wikipedia - Ammospermophilus leucurus 
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - White-tailed Antelope Squirrel

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Just Another Manic Marten

Us "grad students" love it when we get the call from prof Codge for a cam trapper's jamboree.

Because we know that fun will be had, and great critters caught.

In this case, around the SFSU Field Campus in the Tahoe National Forest, next to the Yuba River, and near the Yuba Pass, as primer eye-candy for his yearly camera trapping workshop.

A class we-who-gathered had all taken last year and thoroughly enjoyed - the curriculum, the Codge, the classmates, the campus and the countryside.

So going back to trap around that beauty area was a treat not to be missed.

Like the Codger, I too set on the slope where the elusive Martes americana had been glimpsed.

Taking a slightly different approach to his extremely cool  l o n g  log set, I planted my cam in tight to the scene, using a jumble of rocks to create a theater of focal area.


Set on outcrop for marten


The rock theater forces the focal plane

And then I dabbed a smelly scent in the cracks and crevices.

My marten visited 3 nights to frenetically search for the source of the stench...


5 nights after we set at 3:34am


5 nights later at 12:45am


"Is it in there?"


"Under there?"


"Over there?"


8 nights later at 9:20pm


One more try


Off to the next episode...

Hard to tell for sure if it's just one, and the same one as visited the Codge's set.

So for now, it's just another manic marten.

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References:

• My trip photos from visits to the campus - 2010 workshop, this quick trip
• Camera Trap Codger - Marten at dawn
• San Francisco State University - Sierra Nevada Field Campus
• Wikipedia - American Marten

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Just Add Harmonica

As soon as I saw the area around this Tehachapi spring, I knew I had to set it.

The scene was just so scruffy and western and full of California character.



I scrambled up the rocks and set the cam just above the seep, where the post could grab some dirt, and a well-worn game trail trickled down from the hillside.

Unfortunately, it lasted only 3 nights. When I picked the cam up, the post was 1/2 out of the ground, bent back, and the cam facing the sun.

A neat trick too - since I had pounded the long post in 12 inches, and had piled large rocks around it. Oh - it was also tucked into a yucca - the plant lovingly called "Spanish Bayonet."

So whatever got it, did so with stealth, or by day, because the camera was set for night only, and no photo was caught of the assault.

Yet, in just 3 nights, some fun photos were caught.

As usual, the gray foxes were the first to show, scratch and sniff the scene:



I believe the laid-backed ears and pointed down tail is a sign of submissiveness. I.e., foreground fox is saying "hey - when you're done - I'd, ya know... like a sniff too, ya know..."





On night 2, this brownish black bear showed to also enjoy the scents of the scene. Perhaps this is the brute that bear-handled the camera? That grin seems to foreshadow such mischief...







And, on night 3, this sleek bob strutted through...



And that's all she wrote. After that the cam stared into the sky, and the eneloops slowly died.

But I'm definitely gonna give this spot another try.

This Tehachapi mystery needs a sequel.

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References:

• The Nature of a Man (this blog) - posts about cam trapping in the Tehachapis

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