The chimps did some phenomenally interesting things today. Unfortunately, these moments rarely overlapped with the times when I had the camera nearby.
As lunch passed and the afternoon rolled on, I needed to get some content for the blog but was still uninspired. At moments like that, I usually decide to grab the camera and take a walk.
Over the past week or so, the sanctuary has received a lot of snow. However, the weekend’s medley of rain, sunshine and freezing temperatures quickly converted the snow into a patchwork mosaic of slush, mud and ice. The surface provided poor footing as I slogged up the hill from the Chimp House, but I soon realized it was preserving my boot prints with almost perfect detail. Sure enough, as I passed the electrified barriers of Young’s Hill and crossed into the cattle pasture, I began to see tracks left behind by all sorts of critters. There were countless rodent trails furrowing their way through the grassy fence-lines, but I was distracted by the signs of larger animals.
The bobcat prints were easily noticeable and went just about everywhere. Katelyn also saw some bobcat tracks while patrolling a couple of weeks ago. They look like a domestic cat’s paw print, but larger and awesome-r. Much like other felines, though, they slink from cover to cover while hunting and thus leave a meandering track behind them. They’re not incredibly social animals so the numerous trails were almost surely created by only one or two individuals traveling alone. (FYI, Katelyn is a better tracker than I am. I had to text her recently to confirm that I had found goose tracks in the pasture, which were way bigger than I expected them to be).
I also found some coyote prints which reflected the purposeful demeanor that is typical of wild canines. The individual who created these prints seems to have loped through in a hurry last night, surveying the landscape with its ears, eyes and nose without breaking stride. Although roughly equal in size to the paws of an average domestic dog, the coyote prints are easily distinguished by their overall shape and the negative space between the toe pads. Also, unlike dogs, coyotes don’t continuously veer off-course to investigate every last scent. The only creatures who have time for that kind of aimless curiosity are those cared for by humans.
Of course, as far as large-bodied mammals go, mule deer are responsible for 99% of our wildlife encounters at the sanctuary. Their tracks were also ubiquitous, often crossing over the paths of other animals and obscuring their prints.
In the following image, you can see the coyote tracks going left, parallel to the creek, while the deer seemed to have gone right, trudging straight across the ravine.
Even with all of the tracks left behind by wild animals, it’s still only a “drop in the bucket” compared to all of the trodden earth left behind by the sanctuary’s cattle and the horses that live next door. You can see that the neighbor’s horses have been using the energy company’s access road quite frequently.
Of course, the walk ended with a view of the new chimp enclosures being built. The following image shows the framework of the new greenhouses and the exterior façade of the new playrooms.
One chimp who will be residing in that wing of the building, Willy B, did not leave any tracks in the snow today. Instead, he preferred to look down at the snow with what appeared to be confusion, annoyance, and/or wonder. It didn’t help that he seemed to have lost track of a walnut somewhere in the slush-covered outdoor courtyard.
Bobcat, coyote, deer…Add in fox, skunk, opossum and the neighbors cat and it’s just like my backyard. But, I do not have a Willy B on the premises! He looks so fluffy in these photos, my goodness Willy B is just so gorgeous. I hope he found his walnut without having to place his feet in the cold snow. : )
Interesting post, Anthony. The new enclosure building looks massive from that angle. What beautiful views around for all to enjoy.
I personally am not a fan of deep snow (shoveling, yuk!) except that it allows traces of some creatures I rarely see. Even here, close to Minneapolis, I’ve seen tracks in my suburban backyard of foxes and coyotes, plus the very common raccoon, two kinds of squirrels, rabbits and deer. Other than the rabbits and squirrels, I’ve never seen any of these animals during the day, so I’m always glad to know they’re still around. A few years ago when the snow pack was sparse we had a shrew move into our house. Apparently they need deep snow to insulate them during the winter, and they burrow under it and use it as insulation as they dig into the ground for food. This one decided to come inside and eat the cat food instead. It was totally unafraid of humans day or night, and would boldly steal cat food and dash into a closet, shredding a sweater on the floor to make a nest and hiding the cat food within. I decided this was ok, and even our cat didn’t mind. While we had no problem with our nice guest, in the end we realized the best place for it was back in the wild, and with the advice of the local wildlife rescue I did a capture and a “soft release” into a nearby uninhabited area in a box full of shredded sweater and cat food to tide it over. I hope we did right by it.
Thanks for your beautiful photos, it’s good to be reminded we’re not the only beings on the planet who deserve attention.
Lol, Betsy, if you’re near Minneapolis and DON’T see the deer (in the road), it’s a good thing!
I have a friend in Afton who has them in her backyard on the regular.
I’m in a small city on an island. We have deer, but I’ve not seen them in the yard. Coyotes, possum, lots of squirrels who look like they’ve been to the gym, lots of rabbits.
It’s an old brick building, so I’ve had mice once in a while in the winter. When I moved in, there was a trap in the kitchen sink cabinet, so I thought “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”, and the only food ever kept there was a foil package of espresso coffee. Guess what? I used a live trap, caught it, then drove around the island for half an hour, trying to find a place where a mousey might like to live, that wasn’t too near someone else’s house.
Oh yes Linda, we’ve had our fair share of experiences with mice! They can be unpleasant as they never, ever get the message to leave, good that you were able to evict yours! Friends a few hours north of me have had seen signs of wolves – that’s a whole other level of vigilance. I really enjoyed this blog post, reminds me there are things to be grateful for in winter.
Oh, that must be up by Bemidji….yep, a whole new level, as they don’t travel alone!
Willy B’s growth, exploration and bravery is so inspiring
I REALLY enjoyed this blog post. Although I am always happy to read about the latest antics of the chimps and/or bovines, I love nature in general and so found all these paw prints and tracks quite amazing. I live in Ohio, so we have snow, and I am always curious about various tracks we see in the snow when we have it on the ground. Sometimes I know what they are but sometimes I don’t. This was really interesting! Thank you for the awesome photos.