Comments on: Shooting Bambi

By: Via Negativa » Blog Archive » New life from an old chestnut

Via Negativa » Blog Archive » New life from an old chestnut — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:34:34 +0000

[...] It’ll be great if the American Chestnut Foundation’s back-crossing scheme works and we can restore at least one of these two species. But in order to do so, we will also have to be mindful of a third keystone species: the white-tailed deer. Here in Plummer’s Hollow, as I’ve noted before, a number of years of good hunting have brought the deer herd down to reasonable levels, allowing a few of the chestnut sprouts to survive. But we can never quite relax: one year of poor hunting combined with a mild winter could change all that. Eternal vigilance, it seems, is the price not only of liberty but of healthy forests as well. [...]

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:04:58 +0000

Boy, I’ll say! That diorama must date back to the early 20th century. Maybe they intend to keep it that way as a kind of historical reminder.

By: Laelaps

Laelaps — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:34:29 +0000

Great post. It reminds me of the white-tailed deer diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals in the American Museum of Natural History, and how it still says that deer are relatively uncommon in the New York/New Jersey area. Sounds like they need an update…

By: Via Negativa » Blog Archive » Rock city

Via Negativa » Blog Archive » Rock city — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:12:20 +0000

[...] Hearing the thunder, we decide to pick up the pace a little — from one mile an hour to maybe two. It’s past lunch time, and we finally stop to refuel at a cluster of Volkswagen Beetle-sized boulders. A few have managed to acquire a thin layer of humus over the millennia, and sport miniature gardens of Canada mayflower and Solomon’s seal, as in the above photo. Just like the small exclosure I wrote about last Friday, such boulder-top gardens suffer very little deer herbivory and are a good indication of what the forest floor might look like if deer numbers were kept at a saner level. Tree seedlings often take advantage of these miniature refuges, as well, but the thin soil offers little support for many species. For trees such as yellow birch and red spruce, rock-top purchases present little problem, but we don’t find either species along the Fred Woods Trail. Neither black birch nor eastern hemlock seems quite as successful; we find a number of them that have grown to a decent size on top of a rock, then toppled over in an icestorm or a strong wind, taking the humus with them. [...]

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:39:52 +0000

Do woodchucks burrow for escape? Yeah, but a hungry coyote could always dig them out.

I don’t remember what I read on bobcat hunting strategy – it’s been a while.

marly – I should have another millipede photo for you in a little bit…

By: marly

marly — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:31:08 +0000

Yes, be an eco-nerd all you like! I put a spirobolid millipede reference in my last post, and it’s all in homage to Bontaland…

I’m going to have to show that wobbly, seesawing walk to my children.

By: David Harmon

David Harmon — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:17:00 +0000

Hmm indeed! I’d assume the feral cat can just climb a tree to escape coyotes. Do woodchucks burrow for escape? Bobcats presumably have a much faster attack strike (and better reach) than coyotes, but can they also dig?

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:47:32 +0000

David – Coyotes probably have the biggest impact on smaller mammals such as mice and voles – the red fox niche – but I’m sure they put a hurtin’ on rabbits, too (forgive the technical eco-jargon there). As a matter of fact, our cottontail population here on the mountain has dwindled to almost nothing here in the last couple of years, but I have no idea whether that’s related to coyote population trends. I will say that neither the abundant woodchucks nor the resident feral cat seem to be having any trouble.

Actually, you know what’s really supposed to prey on rabbits? Bobcats. Which we’ve only been seeing here with any regularity in the last three years. Hmmm.

By: Ed

Ed — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 18:35:58 +0000

Dave- Like I said, we’re never going to agree. Your side can suggest the 2 scientists you mentioned and I’m sure my side can also suggest a few. I have hope that the democratic process and common sense will prevail. Funding from the general fund will certainly put more support on your side of the debate, especially from non-hunters, and give hunters even less of a “voice” than they now have. The PGC can then be re-named the Pa. General Commission. You may respond, if you should care to, but I have had quite enough of this topic. I thank you, again, for taking the time to discuss the issues.

By: David Harmon

David Harmon — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 18:32:36 +0000

Cute fawn… I’m always impressed by how fast grazers get up-and-at-em.

Do those coyotes also handle rabbit control? Having once owned a rabbit, I was rather impressed by his chomping capability and broad appetites. Two examples: Vorpal undermined my bookcases to the point of collapse, and also chewed right through the base of my Euphorbia pseudocactus. The Euphorbia had spines, which he chewed off first, and (supposedly) caustic sap, which he didn’t seem bothered by. And don’t get me started on the War Of The Wires — I kept expecting to wake up to rabbit fricassee!

He also killed a barrel cactus, but that one was by throwing the pot over until air got at the roots. (I’d have been really astonished if he’d managed to get past that wall of interleaved needles!)