Posts Tagged ‘mammals’

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Eastern Coyote: The Adirondacks’ Large Canid

eastern coyoteThere are few things as equally hair-raising and awe-inspiring as a chorus of coyote calls. My first experiences with these were of the hair-raising variety when I worked at a summer camp in Lake Placid for three years right out of high school.

We spent the summer living in canvas tents that were draped over wooden platforms. At night we could see the fire reflected in the eyes of the “coydogs” that lurked in the trees between the junior and senior camps.

And then we would hear the howls…no, the wails…no, the…the… Words fail to describe the sound these animals make when they all sing together, but it was enough to make me wish that we had a lot more between us than a flimsy canvas wall. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, December 1, 2019

All About Antlers

antler by adelaide tyrolThe blast of a gunshot: a deep bass roar she feels in her chest, followed by a treble ringing in her ears.

The buck drops.

The hunter remains in her crouch, watching the animal’s last breaths through her scope. When he is still she rises, trembling from the cold and the moment, and approaches. » Continue Reading.


Monday, June 12, 2017

Adirondack Fisher Cats Don’t Fish; Not Cats

fisher catThe “fisher cat” is neither of those things. Doesn’t fish. Isn’t a cat. In fact, a lot more of what people think they know about the fisher is wrong. It’s almost like we made up the animal.

The fisher, Pekania pennanti, is a big forest-dwelling weasel, related to the American marten, and native to North America. The common name has nothing to do with fish, but instead derives from French and Dutch words for the pelt of a European polecat, to which it is distantly related. Native American tribes had their own names for the animal, many of which translate roughly as “big marten.” » Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 25, 2017

Do Mice Get Cavities? All About Mammal Teeth

rodent skullWhen my daughter was four, she once asked, “Do mice get cavities?” We were coming back from the dentist, so teeth were on her mind and so were mice, since her pet mouse had recently escaped. Later in the day, she asked if ducks had teeth; such is the ranging nature of her intellect.

Why all the toothy questions? Because our teeth are interesting. Ask a dentist. And so are the teeth of our wild neighbors. Teeth can tell a lot about a species’ line of work — particularly what they eat and how they catch their dinner. Teeth are action-oriented; incisors nip and gnaw, canines stab and hold, premolars cut, sheer, slice, and grind, molars mash and crush. Teeth forms hint at a species’ evolutionary story, and crown wear can tell much about the age of an animal. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

New Research On NY’s Ice Age Large Mammals

woodland caribou drawing by wikimedia user foresmanNew York State Museum scientists have completed research that reveals when and why large mammals — including caribou, mammoths, and mastodons — re-colonized and ultimately went extinct in New York State after the last Ice Age. This research may help scientists better understand how ecosystems formed and why certain species went extinct after the last Ice Age.

Dr. Robert Feranec, the Museum’s curator of Pleistocene vertebrate paleontology, and Dr. Andrew Kozlowski, the Museum’s glacial geologist, co-authored the research that appears in the most recent issue of the journal Quaternary Research (Volume 85, Issue 2). » Continue Reading.



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