WildMaven’s World

Do you have any pine trees in your area? Do they have decaying cavities in them? Well, perhaps you have one of the largest woodpeckers in North America, the pileated woodpecker, living inside! They like to nest in such spots and will peck away at the hole so that the sap will flow, making for a really sticky entrance, which keeps predators away. Trees used for roosting may have as many as 16 exits to allow quick escape. It has been found that the male woodpecker does 3 times the work as the female when it comes to making the nest. (YAY!) They very seldom use an old nest again, though they may use the hole for roosting. It usually takes 3-6 weeks to make a suitable nest. Both parents feed the youngsters. A lot of their excavated holes are abandoned, only half finished, providing homes for many other species, especially tree-nesting ducks.

They eat insects, seeds, fruits, and sometimes sap from the trees. Their favorite food is carpenter ants, and they can be found sitting around on the forest floor searching for those yummy insects.

With their bright red caps, white streaks, and long necks, they are hard to miss. The male even has a bright red mustache to complete his dapper look. Most photos of the pileated woodpecker show them sitting on a tree, but if you are lucky, you will get to see it in flight. They are white under their wings, edged in black. Beautiful.

The pileated woodpecker has been removed from the status of endangered species, but you’ll still count yourself lucky to see one.

Quahog (pronounce KWA-hog)

No, it’s not a made-up word to give you more points in Scrabble. The Quahog is a mollusk found buried in sandy areas in the North Atlantic ocean. They also go by the names hard shell, steamer, or cherrystone clams. Northern American Indians used them for food, ornamentation, and currency. It is rumored that the quahog helped the pilgrims fight off starvation during the lean times. The Northern Quahog has a purple-tinted shell and eats plankton.

The hunt for a quahog can be a pleasant experience. You wade up to your waist, digging around with your toes until you feel the clam. After many disappointments of pulling up nothing but rocks, you eventually get the feel for it and get to bring home dinner.

Due to commercial overfishing, their numbers are diminishing close to the coast. Some populations may not rebound for decades because the quahog have a very slow reproductive rate. If allowed to mature, quahogs can live over 200 years! Now that’s an OLD clam!

San Joachin kit fox (vulpes macrotis mutica)

This little guy is the smallest fox in North America, barely tipping the scales at 5 pounds. Living primarily in California (after being transplanted there years ago), the nocturnal kit fox has huge ears that look like they can pick up all satellite transmissions, alien and terrestrial! These ears are actually used to cool them in the hot desert environment.

They live in dens, with elaborate tunnels and multiple entrances, though they sometimes will choose to stay in abandoned pipes, mines, etc. The entrances to their dens are very small, thus enabling them to escape capture by large predators.

Their numbers are dwindling, though, due to extremely low birth survival rates, eating rodents that have been poisoned, destruction of their habitat, road kill, and drowning. Kit foxes are beginning to wander into towns, surviving on handouts, though some of the stories I’ve read make me doubt the good this is doing for the fox. Some well-meaning humans are giving them things like candy, pastries, and other equally non-nutritious foods. Their more customary diet includes small mammals (mice), lizards, birds, insects, and fish. I read that biologists say they must eat about 6 ounces of meat a night.

They mate in early winter, and give birth in March to 3-6 pups. In the two months that the parents feed the pups, they bring the pups the equivalent weight in meat of one super model (100 pounds). They are listed as Endangered (as of 1967!!) and their numbers continue to fluctuate. Estimates have their numbers at a mind-numbingly small 7,000 individuals. The San Joachin Kit Fox is under the care of the Endangered Species Recovery Program.

Owning one of the best scientific names (Upupa epops…pronounced OOO papa EE pops) the Eurasian hoopoe is also the proud holder of the award for the smelliest nest in the world, built of feces. They also emit a strong musky oil which they can eject when they are alarmed. The hoopoe have a beautiful striped crest atop their heads that rises when they sense danger, and their backs are also striped. The beauty of this bird is evident when you examine the number of postage stamps that have been created in its honor:
Hoopoe Stamps http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/9600100.htm

Nesting in holes in walls and trees, the female lays her eggs (5-8 of them) and the male feeds her until the young are hatched. They eat insects and larvae, poking around grasses with their curved bills and can be found throughout Europe, Africa, India and Asia.

The hoopoe was loved by the Egyptians and is found in their mythology adorning the sceptre of the god Horus, symbolizing happiness. They also created a heiroglyph based on the bird’s crest. Moslems forbid the eating of the bird due to it’s odor and the fact that it eats worms. The legend in Islam shows that the hoopoe smells foul because it carries the dead on its head, which is why it is forbidden to kill one. The hoopoe is mentioned twice in the Torah. Research has shown that when the Torah mentions a bird called the dukhifat, it is the hoopoe. The Torah lists it as one of the birds forbidden to eat. Other legends tell tales of magic and recommended using parts of the hoopoe to aid memory. My favorite legend tells that the hoopoe originally had a crest of gold, but because they kept being killed for it, they asked King Solomon for crests of feathers.

“There are tigers in China?” This was a comment I heard recently from a friend as I explained the plight of these beautiful creatures. That lack of knowledge is one of the reasons their numbers continue to decline. It is estimated that there are less than 100 individuals left on Earth, including those in captivity. The destruction of their native habitat has resulted in isolated pockets of habitat, not enough to ensure a diverse flow of the gene pool. Human intervention is needed if the South China tiger is to survive. The first step was listing them under First Level Protection according to the Law for Protection of Wildlife of People’s Republic of China. The next step is the reforestation of their homeland, not an easy task in a country already bursting at the seams. In 1998, a major project was begun to re-establish the tiger population in the Meihua Mountain Reserve, a place almost devoid of the human presence. Unfortunately, trade in tiger skins and organs (for medicine) continues despite the Law for Protection. With the increased demand for “holistic” medicines, tiger bone sales have gone through the roof, selling to 26 countries. Their whiskers are used in potions, and even their feces have a medicinal use. A ban on the trade of such items is needed, as well as stiffer penalties for poaching, or all we will have left of this magnificent animal will be their skins hanging on the wall.

It is estimated that, if their situation does not improve quickly, they will be extinct in less than years.

There are a lot of things scary about New York, but I never thought there could be such a thing as a two foot salamander traipsing about in the river drainages!!

With their short little legs, beady eyes, and wrinkled skin, they cannot be called cute or cuddly. Like most New Yorkers, the hellbender becomes active after dark, seeking food and/or courtship. Misconceptions about its nature are common (much like NYers). Caught by fishermen, they are killed in the mistaken assumption that they are poisonous. They eat crayfish and small fish and like to hide under rocks. This is one New Yorker who doesn’t mind “swimmin’ with th’ fishes.”

(Actually, the Eastern Hellbender is found from NY to Georgia)

Pollution of waterways is the major concern for this slimy, spotted creature who breathes through his skin and has no eyelids.

The next time you’re in a really nice trout stream, watch out…the hellbender is there….watching…..

Ready for a dose of reality? There are only an estimated 350 mountain gorillas remaining in the Virunga Mountains and 290 in the Bwindi Forest. Poaching destroyed their numbers dramatically until, in the early 1980’s, Dian Fossey brought their plight to the public. Males don’t reach maturity until they are 10-13 years old, at which time they begin to develop the silver patch of hair on their backs. Females who are taking care of a young one, will not mate for about 4 years. These all contribute to the slow rate of recovery in their numbers. A more recent tragedy struck the gorilla: the war in Rwanda, which destroyed prime mountain gorilla habitat as humans moved into camps at the edges of their territory.

Highly socialized, the mountain gorillas will protect each other and even mourn the death of a member of the group. They have a vocabulary all their own, which includes chuckling, belching, barking, hooting, screaming, chest-beating and roaring.

Not the creatures portrayed in movies such as “King Kong”, the mountain gorilla would rather spend its time eating, playing and napping. They are mostly vegetarians and favor bamboo shoots, fruit, vines, roots, wild celery and bark. Gorillas do not know how to swim, so it is a good thing they get most of their daily water supply from the foods they eat. (The first gorillas (lowland) brought into captivity were fed hamburgers!)

The mountain gorilla was “discovered” in 1902 when Captain Oscar von Beringe followed native reports of ape-monsters that came from the volcanic mountains.

There are no mountain gorillas in captivity, so captive breeding programs are not an option to preserve these beautiful creatures. (Most gorillas you see in the zoos are lowland gorillas). An end must be found to the political unrest which is threatening the work of the late Dian Fossey and others who followed in her footsteps.

It is ironic that the natives considered them to be “the protectors of the living.” Think about it…

Chuckwalla (also called chuckawalla and Sauromalus)

The largest non-venomous lizard (about a foot and a half in length) in the United States, this is my absolute favorite desert creature. The chuckwalla is a plump lizard with loose folds of skin and a short stubby tail, they kind of look like a bean bag with legs and head. They live in the southwestern United States. When threatened, they run into a crack, hole or groups of rocks and inflate their lungs 4 times the normal size, wedging themselves nicely so that they cannot be pulled out! I actually got to see this in action once when I lived in the desert. They can deliver a painful bite, but they’d much rather run and hide. They mark their territories by way of a liquid passed through pores on their thighs.

Hibernating during the winter, they wake to breed in the spring, though they will not do so if food is scarce. 3-16 eggs will be laid in a burrow during the summer. They are plant eaters, and will go out of their way for yellow flowers. To aid digestion, the chuckwalla must be exposed to very hot temperatures during the day (about 100 degrees). They can change the color of their skin from light to dark to regulate the way the heat is absorbed. They don’t drink, since they get all their moisture from the plants they eat. This moisture is stored in special lymph glands to be used during dry spells.

The Mojave Indians found their tail to be a delicacy. Sold more and more in the pet trade, chuckwalla numbers have been slowly declining. Loss of habitat and drought conditions are also contributing factors. Thankfully, export from the United States has finally been banned. In some states, they are listed as a “sensitive species.” Of alarming concern is the status of the population found on a couple of islands in the Sea of Cortez. The chuckwalla numbers there have been almost destroyed by black market pet trading, where a single lizard can fetch $500 or more. The government is working with native people on the islands to teach them conservation methods and captive breeding programs, in the hope that the numbers can one day increase. I’ll be holding my breath.

Have you ever had the chance to ride a camel? If you aren´t flung to the ground as you are tipped forward, and then backward as the camel rises to his feet, you will be shaken and stirred when he begins to walk. You are perched high up on a hump, and rock back and forth with nothing to grab.
The camel was originally valued in its homeland for not only providing a ride for weary travelers across the desert, but also providing shade with its body and fuel from it’s droppings. The camel’s body temperature can reach a blistering 105 degrees but the heat doesn’t seem to bother the animal. In fact, they hardly sweat, which helps them conserve water. Speaking of water, it is a common falacy that the hump is where moisture is stored. The hump is actually a huge supply of fat that the camel uses when food is scarce. If the camel goes for a really long time without eating, using only the stores in his hump, the hump will shrink until it is just floppy skin. So, where is the water stored??? The camel can drink over 20 gallons in 10 minutes, and a lot of that fluid is stored in the camels bloodstream!

There are so many “special features” on the camel! His feet are spongy and spread out as he takes a step, so that he won’t sink in the sand! His long eyelashes keep flying sand out of sensitive eyes, but if that doesn’t work he has a third eyelid that’s transparent so that he can see and still keep his eyes sand-free. He has very good hearing and can close his nostrils. During mating, the male camel uses a fleshy frog-like inflatable soft palate to attract the female. They have thick skin on their backs to protect them from the sun, but thin skin on their bellies to help keep them cool. Large callused areas keep their knees safe from the burning sand.

Fossils indicate that the camel actually originated in…North America!

There is a very special event that took place in 2003 that involves camels. Called the “Friendship Caravan”, it consisted of a caravan of 40 - 50 dromedary camels escorted by Arabian horses, from coast-to-coast across America. It set out from Los Angeles, create a memorial halt at the Pentagon, and end up in New York City with a solemn visit to Ground Zero.

The camel is not considered a wild animal now, but rather it is listed as domesticated. If you’ve ever been spit in the face by a camel, you may dispute this.

MAMMALS

Apes - A shrewdness
Asses - A pace
Badgers - A cete
Bats - A colony
Bears - A sloth, sleuth
Buffalo - A gang, an obstinacy
Cats - A clowder, a pounce
Kittens…A kindle, litter, an intrigue
Cattle - A drove, herd
Deer - A herd, bevy (refers to roe deer)
Dogs (young)- A litter
Dogs (wild) - pack
Dogs (curs) - cowardice
Dogs (hounds) - cry, mute, kennel, pack
Elephants - A herd
Elk - A gang
Ferrets - A business
Fox - A leash, skulk, earth
Giraffes - A tower
Goats - A tribe, trip
Gorillas - A band
Hippo - A bloat
Horses (colts) - A team, harras, rag
Horses (single owner) - stud
Horses (ponies) - string
Hyenas - A cackle
Kangaroos - A troop
Leopards - A leap
Lions - A pride
Moles - A labor
Monkeys - A troop, barrel
Mules - A pack, span, barren
Otters - A romp
Oxen - A team, yoke
Pigs (young) - A drift, drove, litter
Pigs (swine) - sounder
Pigs (hogs) - team, passel
Pigs (boars) - singular
Porcupines - A prickle
Rabbits (domestic) - A colony, warren, nest, herd
Rabbits (hares) - A down, husk
Rabbits (young) - litter
Rhino - A crash
Seals - A pod, herd
Sheep - A drove, flock, herd
Squirrels - A dray, scurry
Tigers - A streak
Whales - A pod, gam, herd
Wolves - A pack, rout or route (when in movement)

REPTILES

Crocodiles - A bask
Frogs - An army
Toads - A knot
Turtles - A bale, nest
Snakes - A nest

FISH

Fish - A draft, nest, school, shoal
Bass - A shoal
Herring - An army
Sharks - A shiver
Trout - A hover

INVERTEBRATES

Ants - A colony
Bees - A grist, hive, swarm Caterpillars - An army
Clams - A bed
Cockroaches - An intrusion
Flies - A business
Gnats - A cloud, horde
Grasshoppers - A cloud
Hornets - A nest
Jellyfish - A smack
Locusts - A plague
Oysters - A bed

BIRDS

Birds (in air) - A flight
Birds (on ground) - volary, brace
Bitterns - A sedge
Buzzards - A wake
Bobolinks - A chain
Chicks - A brood; clutch
Coots - A cover
Cormorants - A gulp
Cranes - A sedge
Crows - A murder, horde
Dotterel - A trip
Doves - A dule
Doves (turtle) - pitying
Ducks (in air) - A brace, flock
Ducks (on water) - raft
Eagles - A convocation
Finches - A charm
Flamingos - A stand
Geese - A flock, gaggle
Geese - (flying) - skein
Grouse - A pack
Gulls - A colony
Hawks- A cast, kettle, boil
Herons - A sedge, a siege
Jays - A party, scold
Lapwings - A deceit
Larks - An exaltation
Mallards - A sord, brace
Magpies - A tiding, gulp, murder, charm
Martins - A richness
Nightingales - A watch
Owls - A parliament
Parrots - A company
Partridge - A covey
Peacocks - A muster, an ostentation
Penguins - A colony
Pheasant - A nest, nide, nye, bouquet
Plovers - A congregation, wing
Ptarmigans - A covey
Rooks - A building
Quail - A bevy, covey
Ravens - An unkindness
Snipe - A walk, a wisp
Sparrows - A host
Starlings - A murmuration
Storks - A mustering
Swallows - A flight
Swans - A bevy, wedge
Teal - A spring
Turkeys - A rafter, gang
Widgeons - A company
Woodcocks - A fall
Woodpeckers - A descent