Holla Bend

January 27, 2025

The intense cold (highs below freezing) that has stricken most of the south began to lessen over the weekend and Melissa thought it a good time to get out of the house with the kids for a drive. While the motivation was to “just go”, we also wanted to see a birding site. The Sequoya Wildlife Refuge is only about 90 minutes west, but we have not had much luck finding birds in the winter. Lake Fort Smith is an hour north and has good fishing in the cove, but we have never caught much from the shore. I put in a little work while Melissa searched for a new birding site. What she found was about 2 hours away near where she spent her college years. This sounded like a possibility (and promised a trip to her favorite burger joint). We packed up the kids, got gas and aired up the tires that had been deflated by the cold, and took off for Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge.

When I looked online, I found Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge is a 7,055-acre (28.6 km²) site located 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Dardanelle, Arkansas. The refuge is bounded on one side by the Arkansas River and on its others by an oxbow lake that was formed in 1954 by the Army Corps of Engineers during efforts to straighten the river navigation channel. The resulting island was transferred to the US Department of the Interior in 1957 for a wildlife refuge. The refuge provides habitat for migratory waterfowl, indigenous endangered species, other resident wildlife, and offers interpretation and recreation to the public. The area is a year-round sanctuary for the 236 species of birds, tree frogs, and the American alligator. Migratory fowl following the Central and Mississippi flyways stay in the refuge during the winter months, including 14 species of ducks and 4 kinds of geese, with as many as 100,000 there at once. Winter migratory neotropical songbirds use the refuge as a rest stop during their long journey to and from Central and South America and during the spring and summer migratory birds use the refuge for breeding and nesting. I anticipated birds.

Last year I purchased an Interagency Lifetime Pass from the US National Park Service so we cruised past the Holla Bend information center without stopping. We turned around realizing we did not know where we were going without a flyer. As we got into the refuge, we saw large flocks of American Robin (Turdus migratorius) on the road between the trees and European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) passing among the harvested grain fields. Along the oxbow we found a flock of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and a flock of ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) along the river. The best find however, was totally unexpected. We stopped to admire a herd of 20 does and fawns racing across the far end of a harvested field. Then I noticed what I thought was a group of black vultures (Coragyps atratus) about 300 yards (274 m) out. When I focused my camera, I realized this was a flock of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) feeding in the field. It turned out to be a great day. And we topped it with a great burger.

Thoughts: When we stopped at the Holla Bend information office a sign listed the daily hours along with the caveat of “Closed when we are not here”. They were not there. The Wildlife Refuge System is the US’s largest network of lands and waters dedicated to wildlife conservation, but it is facing a staffing crisis. The Refuge System has lost over 800 permanent positions since fiscal year 2011, resulting in a 27% loss in capacity. No national wildlife refuge is fully staffed, and more than half have zero staff on-site. Much of the system is unprotected due to the lack of law enforcement officers. This shortage impacts critical volunteers by a lack of staff supervision or infrastructure. We need to invest in this system and prioritize staffing to ensure the future of this network and the wildlife it protects. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Traction

January 14, 2025

Yesterday I decided it was time to get out into the weather and take the kids for a walk. I decided to go to the lake as it was more open and had a better probability for the parking lot to be cleared by road crews. The temperatures in the morning were below freezing (-0C) but were set to warm up to 40F (4.5C) by the afternoon. I did have two concerns. The first was the possibility for windchill which would negate any increase in temperature. I decided to dress for the cold. That meant a pair of long johns under my sweatpants. Then a tee shirt, a long sleeve undershirt, and a long-sleeved thermal undershirt. I topped this off with a light ski jacket. The first concern was covered. The second concern was the potential for ice and snow on the spits we walk at the lake. The kids have been romping in the snow in the side yard, and I knew this would not be their concern. That is different for me and was my reason to shovel over the weekend. Melissa was a runner when we met and one of her first Christmas presents was cold weather gear for running in Kansas. That meant running gloves, hand and foot warmers, and a set of spikes in a rubber harness. The spikes were billed as “everyday traction aids”. The spikes should provide the traction I needed to walk the kids.

When I looked online, I found Merriam-Webster defines traction in several ways. The first definition (and applicable for me) is “the adhesive friction of a body on a surface on which it moves”. A variation of this meaning says traction can refer to “a pulling force exerted on a skeletal structure (as in a fracture) by means of a special device” (splint). A second definition is “the force exerted in the act of drawing or being drawn”. The third meaning took a different approach with “the support or interest that is needed for something to make progress or succeed”. This indicates something “gains traction” as people begin to accept and/or adopt an idea or methodology. Finally, traction refers to “the drawing of a vehicle by motive power”. Here a tractor is something that pulls something else. This is often a piece of farm machinery or the part of a big truck that includes the engine and the cab. The word tractor comes from the Medieval Latin “traction”, or from the Latin “trahere”. The first known use of traction in English occurred in 1608, in the meaning defined by the second sense.

I was intrigued by the spikes guarantee to provide traction as I walked the kids. After I bought them, Melissa had never had an occasion to use them. They sat (in the original package) in my closet along with our shoes for 15 years. When we pulled into the lake for our walk, I found the parking lot was generally clear of ice and snow. Even the roads leading out to the end of the spits were clear, even though the grass on either side was snow covered. I left the traction spikes (still in their packaging) in the car and started on our hike. The temperature was higher than forecast at 45F (7C) and my decision to bundle against the cold seemed unnecessary. Neither of my concerns were warranted. I was toasty in my layers and the snow and ice were gone. However, I was not anticipating the mud. The ground was mostly frozen, but my four-wheeler buddies had been taking laps in the snow and over the roads. As we walked the spits, Loki’s legs and underbelly quickly became covered in mud. We took most of our laps circling the parking lot. Luckily there was enough snow on the grass to wash Loki off before I let him back into the car.

Thoughts: This was one of the (rare) occasions where I over planned for the cold and loss of traction. Even though I did not need all the extra layers, it was nice to be warm and snug while we walked. The traction aid I bought for Melissa went back into the closet next to my shoes to wait for another day. I do not know if my over planning can be accredited to experience or unwarranted caution as I age. As a Boy Scout our motto was “Be Prepared”. That is still a good motto for hiking, camping, and even for life in general. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Snowstorm

January 10, 2025

Our first snowstorm of the new year started yesterday and continues this morning. The kids have come a long way since their first snowstorm 2 years ago. Zena had moved tenuously through the flakes giving them their sniff evaluation before finally deciding they were ok to play in. Loki missed that storm, and this was his first real opportunity to snuffle. We let them outside as the flakes were coming down yesterday. Zena immediately went on patrol prancing up and down the perimeter of the fence. Loki was more discriminating. Sensing “something” beneath the inches of snow he began to snuffle and dig. This morning brought on the “zummies”. Both dogs raced through the snow, only stopping long enough to get into a quick fight before getting back to zooming. Since it is below freezing (32F or 0C) I did not keep them outside too long. I also felt obligated to stand and watch to see how they were doing. That probably limited their time, as I get cold fast.

When I looked online, I found the snowstorm that moved through Arkansas overnight dumped nearly 15 inches (38 cm) of snow in some parts of Arkansas, roughly 8 inches (20 cm) across the Little Rock metro area, and 7 to 10 inches (18 to 25 cm) in the areas around my town, according to the National Weather Service in Little Rock. We average around 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow annually. Entergy reported 8,496 customers without power as of 7:30 am, with most outages in southwest Arkansas. The Electric Cooperative of Arkansas reported 5,390 customers without power. Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field (east of Little Rock) reported there had been 36 flight cancellations as of 8:30 am Friday. Airlines are challenged by deicing planes in the snowfall, delaying morning departures. Airfield crews worked all night and into the morning to plow and sweep the snow from the main runway, taxiways, and air carrier ramp, airport spokesman Shane Carter said in Friday’s news release. Other parts of north-central Arkansas are expected to receive 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30.5 cm) and Northern Arkansas is forecast for 5 to 7 inches (13 to 18 cm) of snow, and some in the area could get more. We still have flurries expected to last until the afternoon.

Another reason to let the kids out in the snowstorm this morning is the combined group of red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), and a few brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) that descended. I do not mind feeding these birds, but when they descend, they quickly devour everything and drive the smaller passerines off by their presence. The blackbirds are skittish and just letting the kids into the yard makes them retreat to the surrounding trees. The smaller birds return despite the kids’ presence. Collectively, blackbirds may be described as a “murder” when they are seen flying together or perched on a tree branch. A “cloud” is a poetic term used as they fly together in formation. A “merle” is an older term used to describe the group as they forage for food on the ground while a “colony” is used to describe a group nesting together. Finally, a “congregation” is used to describe a group of blackbirds gathered in one area. The different names indicate the level of human interest in their various activities.

Thoughts: As the snowstorm winds down, I begin to reflect on getting out. Tad Sours, director of communications for Washington County said, “All that we really ask from the public is if you don’t have to get out in it, don’t . . . give plenty of room to our road crews.” Still, I did not make the pre-snowstorm dash for milk, bread, and toilet paper like most of the area’s residents. Global warming means extremes of both heat and cold, and opposite events at the same time (like a snowstorm and wildfire). Make a difference NOW, not later. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Birds 2024

January 04, 2025

I am a little later than usual, but it is again time to recap my annual birder list. Once more I saw a number of red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) on the power lines going to and from town but this year I was unable to actually get a picture, so they were not added to my count. I was unable to take my usual trip to the wildlife area this year and so missed out on any of the birds I might have seen there. The end of year presence on my feeders was good as the cold weather brought the small Passerines (sparrows and finches), although the larger birds (cardinals and jays) were mostly absent. I cleaned out the bluebird (Sialia sialis) house last week. One of the squirrels who frequent the feeders has taken to gnawing on the entrance, so I opened it to check if everything was ok. It was fine but I cleaned the nest and debris in preparation for the next nesting season. BTW: for those who read last week’s blog (Gaggle) a group of squirrels is called a “dray” or a “scurry”.

All that said leads up to the “great reveal” concerning my birder totals for 2024. You may recall I recorded 26 species in my first year (2020). I got off to a great start in 2021 with 29 species by the end of January and a total of 52 species for the year. During 2022 the sightings were slower, with 44 different species, not counting the six European sightings (50 total?). During 2023 I recorded my lowest number of sightings since my first year, with only 30 species. During 2024 the numbers rose slightly to 39 documented species. Building a fence in the side yard helped as the kids no longer play near the feeders and the birds feel free to come and go more frequently. Still, early morning and early evening are the best times to watch. We also added three new feeders that attach to the glass on the bay window next to where Melissa works. This allows her to watch as the American gold finch (Spinus tristis) and Dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) as they battle for feeding rights.

As I pulled onto the entrance road to the lake to take the kids for a walk yesterday, I caught sight of a large bird perched in the trees. I drove by as the bird turned and flashed the unmistakable white head of a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). I slowed and then pulled over as soon as I (no shoulders). I walked back the 1/4 mile (400m) scanning the trees and hoping to be able to get a photo for my birding list. Unfortunately, the eagle had moved on and was now out of sight. When we began our walk out onto the first spit of land, I heard the call of a red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). I scanned the trees along the road and caught sight of the bird high among the branches. I pulled out my phone to take a photo but again, by that time the bird was gone. That made two birds I usually only see a couple of times a year and I had missed documenting them both. These were part of the many birds I have seen but not photographed over my last five years of birding. The official Cornell Lab of Ornithology bird list guide does not require documentation with a photo to count as a sighting, although that has been my criteria. Perhaps I should rethink.

THOUGHTS: I acquired several new feeders (now 13, plus 9 hummingbird feeders) during 2024. Melissa asked about the cost as she watched me buying seeds and filling the feeders on a daily basis. I tend to buy seeds in bulk, and I only have to restock two or three times a year. Watching the birds (and squirrels) gives us both pleasure. Like my garden and Melissa’s succulents, the expense to feed the birds is well spent. Be sure to mark your calendars for the Great Backyard Bird Count 2025 (February 14 to February 17, 2025). As I mentioned last year, birds are the (literal) canary in the mine shaft (earth) when it comes to gauging the health of our ecosystems. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Gaggle

December 30, 2024

The kids were overwhelmed as we took our walk at the lake last week. They had been intrigued in the past by the occasional greater egret (Ardea alba) or great blue heron (Ardea herodias) that spend time in the shallows at the end of the two spits we walk. The kids will stop and even strain on their leash trying to get a better look at these large solitary birds. They were not prepared for the mass of birds we encountered on this occasion. The herons had flown away as the kids approached, but the Canada geese (Branta canadensis) stood their ground. Both Zena and Loki hesitated in the face of this loud and raucous group of birds. It was not until the kids composed themselves and began to move forward that the group decided they wanted no part of these two large dogs (Canis familiaris). This gaggle of geese took flight and moved to the safety of the water.

When I looked online, I found a gaggle of geese occurred in English print in Julia Berners book, “The Book of Hawking, Hunting and Blasing of Arms” in 1486. Geese are called a “gaggle” because together they are noisy and rowdy. Little is known of Berners, and much of what is known cannot be verified with certainty, but she is thought to be the earliest female author writing in the English language. Based on her last name, scholars suggest that she was either the daughter of the courtier Sir James Berners or wife to the lord of the manor of Julians Barnes, and she was high-born and well-educated. Since she was most likely brought up at court, she would have hunted and fished with the other fashionable court ladies. It is generally believed that she entered the monastic life and became the prioress of Sopwell Nunnery near St Albans. Berners seemed to retain her love of hawking, hunting and fishing, and her passion for field sports, leading her to write her treatise on hunting and others. These treatises are some of the earliest extant writings of their kind and include remarks on the virtues of environmental conservation and on etiquette for field sports. These concepts would not become commonly accepted for hundreds of years after the publication of these treatises. She is also remembered as one of the first authors (of either sex) to write on angling.

A gaggle is just one of the 165 collective nouns (a “naming word for groups of things) for groups Berners defines in her publication. A group of owls (Order: Strigiformes) is called a parliament, possibly attributed to the idea that owls are considered intelligent and wise. A group of wildebeests (Genus: Connochaetes) is called a confusion. This could be due to the huge numbers of animals that in the annual Great Migration and the resulting confusion and noise that happens when the animals migrate. A group of lemurs (Superfamily: Lemuroidea) is called a conspiracy. Lemurs are social animals and live in communities of around 10 to 25 members who often work together (conspire) to outwit predators using a technique called “mobbing”. A group of hippopotamuses is called a bloat. Hippos live in groups of 10 to 20 females and one male, and bloat may refer to their large, bloated bellies. Finally, a group of wild cats is called a destruction. Feral cats can be territorial and fight to protect their territory, and when a group of feral cats get together, they can become destructive.

THOUGHTS: Canada geese thrived around the golf courses I played in Salt Lake City and would form into a large gaggle around the water hazards. The geese were generally docile as they sat on the lawn or swam in the ponds. The problem came when you hit your ball in their midst, when they cackled and blustered a warning. One even decided my ball was her egg and made an aggressive defense. Animals form groups for protection and defend their territory against predators. Humans use the same tactic and form resistance movements against tyrants or marauders. Like a gaggle of geese, we are stronger together. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Cute

December 26, 2024

It is the end of the year and that means the internet is barraging us with stories of “The Best” and “The Worst” of everything from sports (Pommel Horse Guy) to music (Gabriela Ortiz, “Kauyumari”) to food (Sour Patch Oreos) . . . (ad nauseum). One story that caught my attention was about the animals that filled 2024 with sadness, intrigue, and delight. Sadness came with the tragic end of Flaco, the escaped Eurasian eagle owl who appeared to die in a building collision in February. Our intriguing was piqued by the Governor boasting of killing her misbehaving dog and a presidential nominee who deposited a dead bear cub in Central Park and cut the head off a dead whale found of the beach. The delight was the previously mentioned slippery potato named after a pork meatball (Moo Deng) who rocked the internet and drove cosmetic influencers for several months. Then there was Terrance the octopus who had been identified as male until “he” laid 50 fertilized eggs. The online audience watched the heroic efforts to keep the fragile hatchlings alive, even as there is only about 1% chance of survival for the hatchling to grow to .4 inches (10 mm) in the wild. It seemed what held media interest best was stories of cute baby animals learning to survive in the world.

When I looked online, I found there are two ways (of course) to answer why we find baby animals so cute. The proximate answer requires you to single out the features of animals that make them cute versus ugly, and often merge them into a general explanation. Why are baby ducks cute and baby parrots ugly? A proximate answer might involve fur, size of the head or the eyes, length of the limbs, all of which help us define cute. The ultimate answer is perhaps an evolutionary one. Is there an evolutionary reason why we find some features attractive and others repugnant? Answering these sorts of questions is the foundation of evolutionary psychology, and while the answers may be elusive (or even beyond our grasp), we still like to think about them. The reasons we find animals cute or ugly come from criteria that have evolved to help us evaluate members of our own species. Baby animals are cute because natural selection has given babies of some species traits that remind us of a human infant.

Some of these ideas could be tested to determine whether there is a commonality between features we see as ugly or cute in animals and compare them with similar features in humans. Regardless, it is important to remember things are not innately ugly or cute. Features humans find ugly may be exactly what attracts the female to the male of another species. As Darwin recognized, our tastes may be no less evolved than our brains or our bodies. For humans, there is no reason for why the signs of age make someone innately less attractive than the freshness of youth. It may be that our standards of beauty have evolved to reflect candidates for mates and older people are seen as less attractive because they are near or past the age of reproduction. This is a preference that could have been instilled in our ancestors by natural selection. Still, beauty in nature is not innate but evolved and our biology co-evolves with our tastes. Only in animal breeding is this reversed, where human desires allow us to sculpt the features and appearance regardless of the environment.

THOUGHTS: There are some babies (animals and humans) that are so ugly that they are cute. In Planet of the Apes, astronaut George Taylor is preparing to leave and thanks the chimpanzees who help him escape. He overcomes his repulsion and turns to Doctor Zira (female) saying, “Doctor, I’d like to kiss you goodbye.” Zira responds, “All right, but you’re so damned ugly.” Humans need to look beyond the traits that make one superficially cute and find the inner beauty that is only revealed when we get to know each other. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Chipmunk

December 20, 2024

One of the casualties of building my raised beds was the wood pile located along the back fence. This wood had been stacked when Melissa and her parents used the raised fire pit that sits adjacent. We have not used the fire pit (or wood) in the six years we have been back, and it was beginning to deteriorate. This was the perfect wood for the bottom layer of the raised beds. As I transferred the wood to the beds I encountered a variety of critters. There was a small Texas Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi texana) hiding in the pile and toward the bottom I encountered several of the invasive earth worms (Lumbricus terrestris) that repopulated North America along with the European colonists. As I continued to work a small furry critter darted out of the wood pile and into the refuge in the next yard. had noticed the chipmunk on several previous occasions as it foraged beneath the bird feeders.

When I looked online, I found the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) is a species endemic to eastern North America and the only living member of the genus Tamias. The name probably comes from the Ojibwe word “ajidamoo”, translating as “one who descends trees headlong.” The species was first described by Mark Catesby in 1743 and was eventually classified as Sciurus striatus by Linnaeus (Latin, “striped squirrel”). The scientific name was changed to Tamias striatus (“striped steward”) by Johann Illiger in 1811. The chipmunk reaches about 12 inches (30 cm) long including its tail and weighs 2.3 to 5.3 ounces (66 to 150g). It has reddish-brown fur on its upper body and five dark brown stripes contrasting with light brown stripes along its back. The fur of its lower body is lighter with a tawny stripe running from its whiskers to below its ears and light stripes over its eyes. The eastern chipmunk has two fewer teeth than other chipmunks, four toes on each front leg, and five toes on the hind legs. There is no external difference in appearance between the sexes except for genitalia. The eastern chipmunk lives in deciduous wooded areas and urban parks throughout the eastern US and southern Canada, preferring rocky areas, brush, log piles, and shrubs for cover.

I had not seen the chipmunk since removing the wood pile and forgot about it. Over the last month Loki has been going crazy every time we have let him out back. From the frantic way he was acting I figured there was some critter living under the ramp off our back door. When I mentioned this to Melissa, she said she thought she had seen a rat (Rattus norvegicus) scurry under the porch when she let the kids out in the morning. I poked around with a stick to see if I could scare the rat out, but it never budged. Last week the mystery was solved. I was up early and let the kids out and saw a flash as something tried to speed from beneath the feeder back under the ramp. I recognized the animal as a chipmunk and tried to keep Loke from grabbing it. It finally reached safety as Loki scratched, sniffed, and whined around the ramp. Melissa now makes a point of making noise before she lets the kids into the yard, giving the chipmunk time to scurry back to safety.

THOUGHTS: I was relieved when I found out we had a chipmunk rather than a rat. I have liked chipmunks since I encountered them as a boy around the picnic sites in the Rocky Mountains. Even though rats and chipmunks are both rodents, these smaller cousins seem cute and innocuous while rats seem menacing. Perhaps it is a throwback to the Black Plague that ravaged Europe and was blamed on the fleas carried by rats. I read an article last week suggesting it was more likely it was the human fleas that spread the disease rather than the rats (Europe was not very sanitary). Humans tend to have similar reactions when encountering other cultures. If they are welcoming or meek they are deemed ok, even if often taken advantage of. If they stand up or hold their ground, they are deemed a threat and often eliminated. Whether it is rats, chipmunks, or other humans, perspective changes how we treat them. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Capybara

December 19, 2024

As the year ends, yet another baby animal is going viral on social media. Tupi was born at the San Antonio Zoo on December 3rd and the zoo has been sharing pictures and videos of him, his mother, (Luna), and other animals in his enclosure. As the largest rodent in the world, most capybaras spend their days munching on grass and water plants in dense vegetation around bodies of water. Tupi is the first of his species to be born at the facility in 25 years, according to a statement from the zoo.
Jacob Downing, a spokesman for the zoo, said, “Their births are not super rare. At the end of the day, they are still rodents.” There has not been any capybara at the zoo since 2018 and no babies since 2000. The zoo announced Tupi’s birth on its social media accounts late last week, getting an outpouring of internet love as Tupi was embraced on social media. An hour later the zoo distanced itself from a memecoin ($TUPI) named after the new capybara.

When I looked online, I found the capybara or greater capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest living rodent and is native to South America. The genus Hydrochoerus has only two member species, the greater capybara and the lesser capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius). Close relatives of the capybara are the domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) and rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris) both endemic to the Andes. The capybara is distantly related to the agouti (genus Dasyprocta), the two species of chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla and Chinchilla lanigera), and the semiaquatic nutria (Myocastor coypus), all from South America. Adult capybaras grow to 3.5 to 4.5 feet (106 to 134 cm) in length, stand 20 to 24 inches tall (50 to 62 cm) at the withers, and typically weigh 77 to 146 pounds (35 to 66 kg). Females are slightly heavier than males. Capybaras have slightly webbed feet and vestigial tails. Their hind legs are slightly longer than their forelegs, with three toes on their rear feet and four toes on their front feet. Their muzzles are blunt, with nostrils, eyes, and ears near the top of their heads. The capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests near bodies of water. The species is highly social and can be found in groups (herds) as large as 100 individuals, but usually closer to 10 to 20. The capybara is hunted for its meat, hide, and the grease from its thick fatty skin.

The San Antonio Zoo quickly posted on X that the facility was not associated with or benefiting from the Cryptocurrency named after Tupi, the new baby capybara born at the zoo. Memecoins are a form of cryptocurrency which are named after memes, characters, animals and other things related to the internet in hopes of drawing interest. The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) born in Thailand in July 2024 also has a memcoin named after it. As the crypto market experienced a revival this year, memecoins also surged, even as some, like the $HAWK coin created by Haliey Welch, appeared to exist solely to benefit the group of people behind the coin. The zoo is providing plenty of footage of the nearly 3-week-old capybara. Tupi is still nursing but has already begun eating solids. In one of the videos shared Tupi climbed entirely into a bowl of food in order to feast. 2024 has been a good year to be a cute baby animal at a zoo as social media users have personified them with popular internet lingo. The zoo gave Tupi a mantra for the new year:
“Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane. Focused. Flourishing.”

THOUGHTS: My first encounter with a capybara happened as a young boy at a small town fair in Kansas. The side show included a number of exotic animals. I paid my hard earned US50 cents to wonder at the bearded lady, sword swallower, and what had really caught my eye, a “Paris Sewer Rat”. The small town fairs have passed and have been replaced by the wonders of social media. The scam (and wonder) is still available to intrigue a young boy’s mind. “If its online, it must be true. Right?” Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Beards

November 27, 2024

As we approach Turkey Day, also known as Thanksgiving in the US, there have been a rash of stories on my browser about these interesting birds. These include the recent tradition of the Presidential Pardon. The first official presidential turkey pardon was given by George H.W. Bush in 1989, but reports credit many presidents with the tradition. Abraham Lincoln’s son took a liking to the turkey destined for Christmas dinner and the bird was spared. Harry Truman liked his bird so much he had the first presidential photo op, but that bird was not so lucky and was later served as a meal. Two days ago, President Biden pardoned Peach and Blossom. These domesticated turkeys weighed an impressive 40 and 41 pounds (18.1 and 18.6 kg) respectively. Another story was offered by the National Audubon Society and provided 10 Fun Facts About the Wild Turkey. The most interesting of these facts concerned the bundle of feathers sprouting from their chest is known as turkey beards, and it gets longer as the bird ages.

When I looked online, Audubon also offered an in-depth discussion on turkey beards. Turkey beards are plumes of dark brown or black feathers, more hair-like than a typical feather, that protrude from the bird’s chest. “If you had it in your hand, it has the consistency of a miniature horsetail,” says Gary Norman, a retired gamebird biologist at Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. While all adult male turkeys (toms) have beards, nearly 10% of hens also have one, although it is a smaller and wispier version. Male turkey beards are thought to be used as another tool for mate selection, but it is unknown why some female birds have them. Kelsey Sullivan, a gamebird specialist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, says the beards can “indicate dominance and health”. Turkey beards start sprouting when youngsters are around five months old and continue to grow at a rate of nearly 5 inches (12.7 cm) a year throughout a bird’s life allowing the biologists a rough estimation of the bird’s age. While a one-year-old beards may measure only a few inches older males can have beards over 10 inches (25 cm). The longest beard length recorded on the National Turkey Wildlife Federation website is 11.75 inches (29.2 cm). Some toms even grow 2 or 3 (and even up to 13) separate beards. In the rare occasion where multiple beards are grown most are just short, wispy feathers with a single dominant cluster.

Turkeys can lose their beards several ways. Turkey beard rot is caused by vitamin deficiency and may result in the beards shearing off. Longer beards can snap from the heavy weight of snow and ice that collects on them during winter. Fraying from being dragged on the ground is also an issue. Terrain is another factor that influences beard length, and turkeys inhabiting rocky terrain may have shorter beards than those foraging across flat, sandy ground. The abundance of bearded hens varies by region and is perhaps affected by previous conservation efforts to recover Wild Turkeys. In the mid-1900’s, wildlife biologists trapped turkeys and moved them across state boundaries to restore severely depleted turkey populations due to hunting and habitat loss. Wild Turkeys have sharply rebounded and now inhabit every US state except Alaska. Wild turkey populations peaked at 7 million birds by the early 2000’s.

THOUGHTS: There are only two species of Wild Turkey; the North American (Meleagris gallopavo) and the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) in Central America. The domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo domesticus) shares their cousin’s trait by having beards, neither sex of the ocellated turkey have beards. As for the two pardoned turkeys, they will live out the remainder of their life at Farmamerica, a 360-acre agricultural interpretive center in Waseca, Minnesota. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Mexican Wolf

November 20, 2024

Toward the back of the front section of my local newspaper was a USA Today article on a reward being offered for information on a dead wolf. The female is protected under the Endangered Species Act and was found northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona, on November 7th. The US Fish and Wildlife Service did not provide a cause of death, but the “mortality was not attributed to agency management actions”. Officials are offering a reward of US$103,500 for information that leads to “the successful prosecution” of the case. The wolf, known officially as F2979 and colloquially as “Hope”, was first GPS collared back in July. The Western Watersheds Project, a non-profit dedicated to protecting western watersheds and wildlife, shared a photo of the wolf in July during a wellness check clearly showing the collar. Cyndi Tuell, director of the project, said,” the shooter had to know she wasn’t a coyote.” The Mexican wolf is one of the most endangered mammals in North America, being driven almost to extinction in the mid-1980’s by hunting, trapping, and poisoning practices.

When I looked online, the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), also known as the lobo mexicano or lobo, is a subspecies of gray wolf (Canis lupus) native to eastern and southeastern Arizona and western and southern New Mexico in the US and in fragmented areas of northern Mexico. The wolf originally ranged from eastern Southern California south into Baja California, east through the Sonora and Chihuahua Deserts, and into West Texas. The Mexican wolf is the smallest of North America’s gray wolf subspecies, weighing 50 to 80 pounds (23 to 36 kg) with an average height of 28 to 32 inches (71 to 81 cm) and an average length of 5.5 feet (1.7 m). It is similar to the Great Plains wolf (Canis lupus nubilus), but with a smaller, narrower skull and darker, more variable fur (pelage), which ranges from sandy to yellowish gray with black, brown, and some white highlights. The snout, inner legs, neck and undersides are white, while golden-yellow and beige hues dominate the top of the head and much of the rest of the body. The fur around the chest and neck forms a grayish black collar which flows onto the back where it is generally black all the way to the tail tip. As of 2024, there are at least 257 wild Mexican wolves in the US and 45 in Mexico. Another 380 wolves are in captive breeding programs.

There have been 92 Mexican wolf deaths recorded since 1998. Four occurred in 2012 as a result of illegal shootings. In 2015, a court ordered the US Fish and Wildlife revise the management rules after a survey done on the wolf population of the Mexican wolf in Alpine, Arizona, indicated the recovery of the species is being negatively impacted by poaching. Poaching accounted for 50% of all Mexican wolf mortalities from 2008 to 2019. In an effort to fight the slow recovery, GPS monitoring devices are being used to monitor the wolves. In 2016, 14 Mexican wolves were killed, making it the highest death count of any year since they were reintroduced into the wild in 1998. While two of the deaths were caused by officials trying to collar the animals the rest of the deaths remain under investigation.

THOUGHTS: The Mexican wolf was held in high regard in Pre-Columbian Mexico, considered a symbol of war and the Sun and referred to as Cuetzlachcojotl. The Apache call the Mexican wolf “ba’cho” or “ma’cho”, and there is a “wolf song” passed through oral tradition where the tribe used to summon the wolf’s power before battle. It is estimated up to 16% of the Mexican wolf diet may now include domestic cattle (Bos taurus), especially in locations where the cattle graze and calve year-round as opposed to seasonally. Studies suggest reports of wolf depredation on livestock are sometimes exaggerated or fabricated. That reflects the contrasting attitude as an invasive species (cattle) was introduced by Europeans. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.