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Hide-and-Seek with the Low-Lifes
I am one of those people who never grew out of
looking under rocks. Unless the soil underneath is compacted, you nearly
always find something interesting. Usually it is a colony of ants or some
assortment of pill bugs, earthworms, centipedes, ground beetles, spiders,
crickets, or any of a host of other invertebrates.
While always fascinated by what I find, I can't help but be attracted to
the more unusual animals - usually some sort of reptile or amphibian. Last
spring I took some time out from a long drive between art shows in Texas
and Missouri to stop and look for critters in the Mark Twain National
Forest. In one hour of turning over rocks and logs, taking care always to
replace them, I found 4 Western Slimy Salamanders, 3 Ringneck Snakes, 2
Ground Skinks and 1 Deer Mouse. In spite of their nose-wrinkling names, I
find them all to be beautiful and remarkable creatures.
The Western Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon albagula) were
indeed slimy, coating my hands with a sticky layer that took days to wear
off. Until a few years ago, it was thought that there was just one species
of Slimy Salamander whose range extended from Texas to Florida and New
England. But genetic studies convinced herpetologists to divide it into 13
different species!
Ringneck Snakes (Diadophis punctatus) like to defend
themselves by tightly coiling their tails to show you the bright red
underside. Not particularly threatening to a naturalist, but then I'm not
a particularly dangerous naturalist. We both survived the encounter.
The Ground Skinks (Scincella lateralis)(skinny, 4-inch
lizards) quickly scurried off into the leaf litter when I lifted up their
rock. I resisted the temptation to catch them, (for temporary observation
in the hand) because their tails break off easily when captured by any
predator, including naturalists. When this happens, the tails continues to
wriggle which, hopefully for the now tailless skink, distracts the
predator long enough for the skink to escape.
The Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is one of the most
widely distributed mammals in North Americ, being found from the southern
Canadian tundra to the subtropics of southern Mexico, and from coast to
coast. It is at home in tundra, mountains up to tree line, forests,
swamps, prairies and deserts. Mammals are far more rare to find under
rocks than snakes, lizards, slamanders and even frogs. So when I see one,
I'm usually as surprised to see it as it is to see me.
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A Close
Encounter of the Ermine Kind
Once, while backpacking and photographing in the Absaroka Mountains in
Wyoming, I had an unforgettable experience with a small but deadly
carnivore. I was shooting alpine wildflowers, well above the tree line,
when a movement among some nearby rocks caught the corner of my eye. I
looked over, but saw nothing and continued my work with the flowers. The
movement happened again, and this time I saw the unmistakable tail of a
Long-tailed Weasel disappearing down a hole in the rocks.
I finished photographing the flowers and decided to see how closely I
could stalk the weasel. The light wasn't right for photographing it, so I
left my camera behind as I crawled forward. The weasel popped its head out
of the hole, and I froze. The weasel wasn't fooled. He knew I was there,
and backed down the hole. I crept closer, stopping each time the weasel
surfaced. After about 30 minutes of this, I found myself sitting right
next to the weasel's den. It came up several times to look at me. I put my
hand next to the entrance. More tentatively, the weasel's head appeared
two more times, reaching within two inches of my fingertips. After another
minute or so, it came back up and nicked me on my middle finger. I felt
its canines on my finger pad and nail, but the touch was ever so slight,
like how your would touch something forbidden or strange. It was the most
gentle warning you can imagine, but I treated it with respect. I backed
away, leaving us both free to ponder such a rare encounter.
The Long-Tailed Weasel is found in nearly every habitat, except the
southwestern deserts, from southern Canada to Panama. Like other weasels,
it mates in late summer but, 8 days after fertilization, development of
the embyo is put on hold until spring. Although it weighs less than a
pound, it is a fierce predator, often consuming up to 1/3 of its body
weight each day. It preys on various small reptiles, birds and mammals,
including other species of weasels.
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