More Wildlife Encounters!

Well, last night I went and watched some red fox pups play. They are so comical, not to mention cute! Unfortunately mom chose a den in the bank of a drainage ditch - but it's right next to a busy road. The pups tend to stay off the road, but I wouldn't be surprised if some are hit by cars in the following months. :( They're just not really afraid of the cars, they aren't even fazed as they fly by, unless it's an especially noisy motorcycle or big truck (and then they'll run to the den).

Another problem is that these foxes are becoming very used to humans. Some idiot (and yes I do consider them an idiot for not considering the ramifications before publishing) put an article in our local paper about them. As a result, people are flocking to the area - while I was there probably about 10-20 people rotated through. I actually asked a few to move back, they were so close. The more used to people these foxes become, the more dangerous it is for them AND us. I'm estimating their age to be almost two months old since this species is usually born around March, they're just starting to grow the shiny guard hairs in that you see on adults (happens at 8 weeks), and because typically at 10 weeks (and I'm really crossing my fingers for this) they become more wary of humans.

So I took some pics and video and made one of my usual compliations. Enjoy - I know I did!



And here are a couple photos - they're the same ones from the video but they're some of my favorites and I thought some of you might like a longer look. ;)

All six:


His lil tongue is sticking out! lol!:




And my personal favorite:



Now for the obligatory "fox facts" (try saying that 10 times fast)! The Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, is the largest species of the true foxes, and is the most geographically spread of any terrestrial member of the entire order Carnivora (which includes over 260 species). They have a HUGE range and can survive and thrive in a variety of habitats. You can find them in the majority of the northern hemisphere - all the way from the Artic Circle to Central America! They're also found in central Asia, northern Africa, the northern regions of India and Vietnam, and have been introduced to Australia.

One of the things I find most interesting about this species is the large list of subspecies (which can differ significantly in color, pattern, and shape). In 2005 there were an astounding 45 subspecies listed, and yet another was discovered last year (article about that here). I would not normally use Wikipedia as a source, but there is a pretty good list there including photos, descriptions, and ranges, if you'd like to see some of the differences in subspecies - Red Fox Subspecies. Also, impressively, none of these subpsecies are listed as endangered (unlike many other foxes). This testifies to the fact that this is truly an adaptable animal, though as such it has also just (#99) made the list of the "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species" (and this list even includes plants and insects)!

The foxes I saw will be with their mother at the den site until fall unless she moves them (though I would have thought she'd have done that already if she was going to, with all the human disturbances). Then they will either stay with her to help raise next year's litter, or venture out on their own. I certainly hope they end up venturing somewhere far from busy roads and angry farmers with missing chickens!

Bat Woman?

Tonight turned into one of those nights where you never know what's gonna happen (as is my life regarding wildlife, usually). My parents and I were playing cards and they got a call from someone at our church - there was a bat in the building! We've had bat sightings for several months now and I've been worried about the poor thing (assuming it was the same one) as it wouldn't be able to hibernate properly with the fluctuating temps. In any case, we got called because I had mentioned wanting to catch and release it if it was ever in a "catch-able" place. So we finished our game, I gathered some gear, and it was off for the great bat hunt!

We arrived to the following:

So I put on some leather gloves and grabbed a towel - the bat was sleepy and weak so I considered this as the best and least stressful approach (I'd brought a bucket and a pillowcase as well). I also wanted to be able to handle him in order to release him onto a tree later as it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for this bat to take off from the ground. Climbed a stepladder, and here's me preparing for the capture:

I easily caught him and safely and properly restrained him in the towel. There just happened to be an entire troop of Boy Scouts finishing their meeting at the same time, so of course I was mobbed and we had a few minutes of "Show and Tell". They had a lot of questions but I was happy to answer them because I think bats are wonderful. Of course some were a bit wary but I explained that this species is awesome because of how many bugs they eat (including the bugs that annoy humans like mosquitos)! Here's a photo of me doing a little explaining (note the Scout over my shoulder shooting a video on his phone - cell phones were out everywhere it was hilarious), excuse the goofy expression on my face, I was talking:

And here is the very unhappy bat himself. He didn't try to bite (woulda if he coulda, however - I didn't give him the chance) but he was emitting distress calls and I tried to limit his time restrained to only a few minutes.

I then released him outside - he had a hard time of it, but after several tries I got him latched onto a big tree which he climbed, so I am hopeful that he will make it.

After several hours of research I was able to finally identify the bat as a Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus fuscus. The problem was that the photos my mom took were not quite clear enough and I couldn't remember what the tragus (part of the ear) looked like well enough to ID that way - this species is extremely similar to the Little Brown Bat, also known as the Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus). I'm proud of myself, as I finally identified it by dentition. :D Found some photos of skulls of both species, did comparisons, and the bottom teeth in that last photo are in sharp enough focus that I was able to make a for-sure ID.

In my research I came across some interesting information about this particular species. For example - "Males usually live alone; females gather in maternity colonies in the spring and summer to give birth and raise their young. A maternity colony may include 20 - 75 adults and their offspring. Females in the eastern United States usually give birth to twins; those in the West usually have a single pup each year. Females may return to the same colony year after year." (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History) What especially interests me is the difference in offspring number regarding geographic location. What's up with that? Increased predation/other dangers for young bats in the east? WNS? (Keep reading for info on that - it's moving west slowly but surely). Who knows!

And for those who don't know much about bats, I must bring up the subject of White-nose Syndrome, something that is killing our bats and we know little to nothing about. It is wiping out entire colonies and we don't even know for sure how it is spread, much less have any idea how to treat it. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a good page on it with current news and make sure to click on "Learn more about white-nose syndrome". A sobering statistic from that page says that since this was first discovered in February of 2006, "More than a million hibernating bats have died since then, making WNS the worst wildlife health crisis in memory." It's something to be aware of, as bats are a very important part of our ecosystem and without them... well... I don't even want to go there! There's enough mosquitos in Kansas already.

Signing off for now!
~ Bat Woman