How difficult could it be? Eric, the biologist at the National Elk Refuge, asked if we would map invasive spotted knapweed grass in a remote area on the north end of the Refuge. Last year we mapped cheatgrass on Miller Butte on the south end of the Refuge, and that proved difficult because of its …
People who fear snakes (or spiders, or dogs, or clowns, or needles, or whatever) might add Mylar balloons to their anxieties. In the past, we have written a couple articles about the effects of Mylar balloons on wildlife and their habitats. Not only do these balloons turn up in the most remote areas as they …
Recently, we encountered some wildlife interactions we’d never before observed, although they likely happen daily. Raven on Redtail We’ve often witnessed blackbirds diving at and attacking ravens and hawks in flight to remove them from their territories or nest. In these instances, the larger birds generally appear only slightly bothered, as if buzzed by a …
“A bunny just hopped by outside my window,” I told my friend during our periodic phone conversation. Since I was in Phoenix and she was in Miami, phone conversations had to suffice until we could visit in person. “Lucky you,” she said. “The pythons have eaten all our local critters down here.” Elimination Program Pythons …
“He’s never been on the ground before, has he?” I asked Chuck as he lay our 26-year-old California Kingsnake, Spike, on the floor of our patio. “No, he hasn’t,” said Chuck. “I thought he might like a little vitamin D.” For an animal that might not have passed his sixth birthday in the wild, it …
“There are usually only two reasons a snake will bite,” Chuck tells people. “They bite to protect themselves or to get food.” A visitor to a regional park near us was recently bitten for one of those reasons, even though he likely thought he was doing the right thing. Laced with hiking trails, the park’s …
“Everything has to eat,” we tell kids who express concern watching a snake eat a mouse or a rabbit. “It’s part of nature.” Most of us can relate to cute fuzzy mice or rabbits more than we can relate to slithering reptiles, but it’s important to understand the role that snakes serve in the natural …