My animal interest is not discriminating; I have a fascination with all species. But I do notice the rhythm of my encounters goes in waves. And as the encounters go, so does my fascination with that particular species. I’ve had my wolf and bear periods, now I’m into my bobcat and marten epoch.
Last winter, walking to my mailbox at dusk, I caught a glimpse of something low in a nearby tree watching me. The light was dim, I couldn’t see well, only a vague outline. At first I thought it was an owl, a large one, maybe a Great Horned. But then, something told me I was missing the mark. I looked again. It was a bobcat, watching Koda and I peacefully. It’s repose came from its certainty of the dim light hiding its form, its’ knowingness that humans have bad night vision and that a canine can be fooled by staying still. I’ve caught that guy on my camera, but the camera wasn’t working right, the photo was blurred, and this winter I’m determined to get some good photos and track him further. Bobcats have become my new favorite animal.
My only bobcat photo which is terrible. That's a track plate apparatus a la Jim Halfpenny in the background
People trap bobcats up there. Last year their pelts were going for over $500. What a crime! If I see a trap, although by law I could be fined, or jailed, for damaging it in any way, including putting a suffering animal out of its misery, there is no crime for peeing around the trap. I pee around every trap I see. That tells the animals “This is my territory so don’t go here.” Save an animal by urinating.
This year my other fascination is martens. There are plenty of martens around here. I hadn’t learned their tracks last year, but now I know it. I followed some trappers last year to understand how to find them. Although I don’t agree with trapping, I admit that trappers have to know their animals well. So after asking them some questions of where to look, now I know. I’ll set up a photography trap, one with bait that only takes pictures, not kills animals. I’m looking to figure out those martens.
This is a marten
Another in the weasel family is the elusive mink. We have mink in the river. This summer I tracked them, as well as cast their tracks. I got a ‘bead’ on where they’re hanging out and I want a good trail camera video of them. They don’t hibernate, so I’m hoping to get some winter footage.
Hard to see but these are mink prints
Two other animals pose a great attraction for me this winter. Snowshoe hares and lynx. They are connected to each other too, one the food for the other. The more snowshoe hares, the greater the chance of seeing lynx. A recent study in Yellowstone found that before the introduction of wolves, the booming coyote population feasted on snowshoe hares. As their population dropped so did the lynx. Lynx decline had been thought to be related to climate change, but now that the hare is recovering (‘Amazing alert’: wolves do what no humans can do–reduce coyote populations!), lynx are coming back there too.
I know there are a few lynx here, but I’ve never seen them. A few summers ago the forest service even did a vegetation study in the valley to determine food sources for snowshoe hare. Really it was a lynx study. A friend of mine who hunts the hares in the Big Horns said he saw zillions of tracks in an area that will be closed in the winter to traffic. Its high up on a series of reefs. I can easily snowshoe the road in winter and check out the tracks.
tracks of the snowshoe hare
The last on the list would be another in the weasel family. This is an animal I’ve longed to see my entire life, ever since I was seventeen, backpacking in the Tetons, when I heard that the only animal that will take on a grizzly is a wolverine. Yes, I’d love to see a wolverine. They are essentially endangered, though not yet listed. Several years ago an intensive study was done in the GYE, including Sunlight valley and the Beartooths. No wolverines were found here during that study. They used a variety of methods, including winter traps that look like miniature log cabins and regular fly overs during the winter months, the best time to see tracks. Wolverines have incredibly large territories. Glacier National Park, one of the few places in the lower 48 to boast a population of wolverines, can only support 6 or 7 males territory-wise.
Although these mountains are prime wolverine territory, the study found wolverines only in the southern Absarokas, and none in these more northern parts of that range. They also found wolverines in the Wind River Mountains. I still like to think there’s some wandering around out here though. If you see their tracks this winter, report them. Doug Chadwick wants to know about it. A movie that has fabulous footage of wolverines is called Running Free. Essentially targeted for middle school age kids, the movie isn’t half bad but worth the watch just to see all the footage of wolverines.
Filed under: Mustelids | Tagged: Bobcats, lynx, marten, snowshoe hare, wolverine | 1 Comment »
Leslie Patten Books: Wild Places, Sacred Spaces 