Saturday, March 12, 2011
TX Panhandle Wildlife: Series on Myths: Bullsnakes Eat or Keep Rattlesna...
TX Panhandle Wildlife: Series on Myths: Bullsnakes Eat or Keep Rattlesna...: "I was raised here in the Panhandle, so I have no qualms what-so-ever with discussing some of the 'not so correct' teachings we grew up on...."
Series on Myths: Bullsnakes Eat or Keep Rattlesnakes Out
I was raised here in the Panhandle, so I have no qualms what-so-ever with discussing some of the "not so correct" teachings we grew up on.
Bullsnakes are good to keep around because they eat rattlesnakes or they are good to keep around because they keep rattlesnakes away. Fiction: Bullsnakes are great to keep around, but for a vastly different reason than what the local teaching indicates. Bullsnakes are extremely beneficial in that they are a rodent-eater deluxe! Aren't snakes the perfect mousing machine?. If they can get their head through a hole, they can usually enter it to secure a meal.
End the brag session, right there, but that is enough to consider them valuable.
Range-wide analyses of bullsnake diets have yielded the same result time and time again. Bullsnakes are nearly a specialist on rodents. In the summer months, they will switch heavily to bird eggs and nestlings should the nest density be worth the energy to search them out. Snakes in their diet? Rattlesnakes? A snake or two showed up in the stomachs of the thousands of bullsnakes examined......but literally a snake or two.
Bullsnakes certainly don't keep rattlesnakes out of anywhere. I'll explain how this probably got started in a minute. Ask me to take you out to an area that will have the highest densities of bullsnakes...do you know where I am going to take you? I am going to take you to habitat that I know as having the highest densities of rattlesnakes (watch your step). Bullsnakes and rattlesnakes are both predators of warm-blooded prey (mice, birds). They commonly winter in the same dens, can be found basking a few feet from each other, hunt the same trails, holes, packrat middens, etc. There is no territoriality what-so-ever, in either bullsnakes or rattlesnakes, although males of either will "combat" each other when competing for the same "ready" female.
So how did this myth get started? Bullsnakes are more tolerant of cultivated areas. So in areas with more cultivation, bullsnakes may remain plentiful, while rattlesnakes will often be rare. Bullsnakes get their name from features of their skulls that aid them in pushing through loose soil (loose soil within gopher holes, cultivated soils, etc.). The skulls have ridges, that resemble bull horns, only visible under close examination. Although, I am not saying that bullsnakes regularly plow through cultivated fields, they are none-the-less more able to survive there.
So you have seen a bullsnake eating a rattlesnake? Wow! Are you sure it was a bullsnake doing the eating? Did you know the mating of bullsnakes is violent (?) - the male bites the female during the act, holding her down. Did you see a bullsnake trying to mate with a female or tussling with a male? Are you sure the snake doing the "eating" was a bullsnake and not a kingsnake or a coachwhip? By the way, neither of these will lower a rattlesnake population or keep them away.
If you think you see a bullsnake eating a rattlesnake, please post it on here. This will be a rare photo, indeed!
Bullsnakes are good to keep around because they eat rattlesnakes or they are good to keep around because they keep rattlesnakes away. Fiction: Bullsnakes are great to keep around, but for a vastly different reason than what the local teaching indicates. Bullsnakes are extremely beneficial in that they are a rodent-eater deluxe! Aren't snakes the perfect mousing machine?. If they can get their head through a hole, they can usually enter it to secure a meal.
End the brag session, right there, but that is enough to consider them valuable.
Range-wide analyses of bullsnake diets have yielded the same result time and time again. Bullsnakes are nearly a specialist on rodents. In the summer months, they will switch heavily to bird eggs and nestlings should the nest density be worth the energy to search them out. Snakes in their diet? Rattlesnakes? A snake or two showed up in the stomachs of the thousands of bullsnakes examined......but literally a snake or two.
Bullsnakes certainly don't keep rattlesnakes out of anywhere. I'll explain how this probably got started in a minute. Ask me to take you out to an area that will have the highest densities of bullsnakes...do you know where I am going to take you? I am going to take you to habitat that I know as having the highest densities of rattlesnakes (watch your step). Bullsnakes and rattlesnakes are both predators of warm-blooded prey (mice, birds). They commonly winter in the same dens, can be found basking a few feet from each other, hunt the same trails, holes, packrat middens, etc. There is no territoriality what-so-ever, in either bullsnakes or rattlesnakes, although males of either will "combat" each other when competing for the same "ready" female.
So how did this myth get started? Bullsnakes are more tolerant of cultivated areas. So in areas with more cultivation, bullsnakes may remain plentiful, while rattlesnakes will often be rare. Bullsnakes get their name from features of their skulls that aid them in pushing through loose soil (loose soil within gopher holes, cultivated soils, etc.). The skulls have ridges, that resemble bull horns, only visible under close examination. Although, I am not saying that bullsnakes regularly plow through cultivated fields, they are none-the-less more able to survive there.
So you have seen a bullsnake eating a rattlesnake? Wow! Are you sure it was a bullsnake doing the eating? Did you know the mating of bullsnakes is violent (?) - the male bites the female during the act, holding her down. Did you see a bullsnake trying to mate with a female or tussling with a male? Are you sure the snake doing the "eating" was a bullsnake and not a kingsnake or a coachwhip? By the way, neither of these will lower a rattlesnake population or keep them away.
If you think you see a bullsnake eating a rattlesnake, please post it on here. This will be a rare photo, indeed!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Series on Myths: Prairie Dogs Carry Plague
I was raised here in the Panhandle, so I have no qualms what-so-ever with discussing some of the "not so correct" teachings we grew up on.
Prairie dogs carry plague. Fiction: This could not be further from the truth, but the myth is rampant! Plague originated in Eur-Asia, and came across with ship rats when man started sailing back and forth between Europe and the colonies. In the original range of plague, there are no colonial rodents. None!
To be a carrier of a disease such as plague, the carrier has to be able to survive it. Plague is new to prairie dogs and when plague is brought into a prairie dog colony by fleas on a carrier animal, 95-100% of the colony dies rapidly! Prairie dogs cannot survive it. It is too new of a disease to them and their colonial lifestyle does not help one bit.
So how do they get it? Certain species of mice can survive it and serve as carriers. So can coyotes. Mice populations are a continuum across the landscape (in some situations) and so plague can spread through this continuum. Radio-marked coyotes have been known to move 30-plus miles, thus they are able to transport fleas considerable distances. USDA-Wildlife Services monitors plague by collecting coyotes throughout the Panhandle and they test for plague titers.
Again, folks....prairie dogs cannot live with plague. So, if you see an active colony of prairie dogs, plague is not present. Now....if you see an absence of prairie dogs for several weeks or you see lots of dead prairie dogs, DON'T GO OUT THERE!
Prairie dogs are the "canary in the coal mine for plague." An active colony in your area means that plague is not around.
Trust me!
Prairie dogs carry plague. Fiction: This could not be further from the truth, but the myth is rampant! Plague originated in Eur-Asia, and came across with ship rats when man started sailing back and forth between Europe and the colonies. In the original range of plague, there are no colonial rodents. None!
To be a carrier of a disease such as plague, the carrier has to be able to survive it. Plague is new to prairie dogs and when plague is brought into a prairie dog colony by fleas on a carrier animal, 95-100% of the colony dies rapidly! Prairie dogs cannot survive it. It is too new of a disease to them and their colonial lifestyle does not help one bit.
So how do they get it? Certain species of mice can survive it and serve as carriers. So can coyotes. Mice populations are a continuum across the landscape (in some situations) and so plague can spread through this continuum. Radio-marked coyotes have been known to move 30-plus miles, thus they are able to transport fleas considerable distances. USDA-Wildlife Services monitors plague by collecting coyotes throughout the Panhandle and they test for plague titers.
Again, folks....prairie dogs cannot live with plague. So, if you see an active colony of prairie dogs, plague is not present. Now....if you see an absence of prairie dogs for several weeks or you see lots of dead prairie dogs, DON'T GO OUT THERE!
Prairie dogs are the "canary in the coal mine for plague." An active colony in your area means that plague is not around.
Trust me!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Series on Myths: Don't Touch a Bird's Nest or Baby Bird
I was raised here in the Panhandle, so I have no qualms what-so-ever with discussing some of the "not so correct" teachings we grew up on. This is part one, of several that I plan to cover.
If a mother bird smells human scent on its nest or the nest's contents, the mother will abandon them. Fiction: First off, with the exception of vultures and condors - who's survival depends on locating dead animals - bird's sense of smell is poorer than that of humans. We can smell a bird as well, or better, than a bird can smell us. Secondly, as the nesting cycle progresses, the parent bird's investment has built to such a degree, that the chances for abandonment goes to practically zero. So, touching a nest, or eggs, or baby birds is not going to cause abandonment.
Continual flushing of a bird off its nest, particularly, in the nest-building, egg-laying and early stages of incubation (that investment has not tallied up, yet) is not advised, and technically any harassment or harm to a migratory bird or its nest, eggs, and young is prohibited by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (any bird but European starlings, House Sparrows, pigeons, and the Eurasian collared dove). Game birds (quail, turkey, pheasant) are covered by similar state laws.
But don't let that prevent you from building a child's interest in wildlife, the outdoors, and respect for wildlife law. Show them the nest and explain to them that they need to stay clear so that the parent birds can attend to their young, and so that cats don't follow their scent trails to the nest. Perhaps have them select a location, that with your approval, they can set quietly and watch the progression of the nest. If the bird's seem reluctant to visit the nest, have them back off another ten feet or so, or behind some object that provides some concealment.
If a mother bird smells human scent on its nest or the nest's contents, the mother will abandon them. Fiction: First off, with the exception of vultures and condors - who's survival depends on locating dead animals - bird's sense of smell is poorer than that of humans. We can smell a bird as well, or better, than a bird can smell us. Secondly, as the nesting cycle progresses, the parent bird's investment has built to such a degree, that the chances for abandonment goes to practically zero. So, touching a nest, or eggs, or baby birds is not going to cause abandonment.
Continual flushing of a bird off its nest, particularly, in the nest-building, egg-laying and early stages of incubation (that investment has not tallied up, yet) is not advised, and technically any harassment or harm to a migratory bird or its nest, eggs, and young is prohibited by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (any bird but European starlings, House Sparrows, pigeons, and the Eurasian collared dove). Game birds (quail, turkey, pheasant) are covered by similar state laws.
But don't let that prevent you from building a child's interest in wildlife, the outdoors, and respect for wildlife law. Show them the nest and explain to them that they need to stay clear so that the parent birds can attend to their young, and so that cats don't follow their scent trails to the nest. Perhaps have them select a location, that with your approval, they can set quietly and watch the progression of the nest. If the bird's seem reluctant to visit the nest, have them back off another ten feet or so, or behind some object that provides some concealment.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Rattlesnakes Not Rattling Anymore!
Ok. I heard this one again this morning:
"In the last ten years rattlesnakes have quit rattling." Some are attributing this to the rattlesnake's hereditary response to predation by feral hogs....
Folks, don't fall for this one. Facts:
1). Rattlesnakes have always had predators, including man.
2) Rattlesnakes order of defense is and has always been:
a) camouflage; rattlesnakes blend in perfectly to their environment and they know that.
b) escape; slipping into a hole or cover.
c) rattling; the last thing a rattlesnake wants to do is give away its biggest "weapon" - camouflage - by rattling. Anyway, it has long been theorized that rattling is actually an adaptation to warn the large grazing animals from stepping on it - NOT TO WARN PREDATORS!
Even where there our no pigs (yet!), radio-tracking studies show that the prairie rattlesnake, which is quicker to anger than the diamondback, relies on camouflage and escape before rattling. A certain researcher in the Panhandle will tell you, "99.9% of our rattlesnakes carrying radio transmitters will allow you to walk up, take a G.P.S. reading directly on top of him/her, and walk away, without even a tongue flick, let alone a round of rattling." "And I use to assume that prairie rattlers always warned you."
Why people will make up stuff......I just don't understand. Trust me on this one! Laugh at it when someone tells you this one!
"In the last ten years rattlesnakes have quit rattling." Some are attributing this to the rattlesnake's hereditary response to predation by feral hogs....
Folks, don't fall for this one. Facts:
1). Rattlesnakes have always had predators, including man.
2) Rattlesnakes order of defense is and has always been:
a) camouflage; rattlesnakes blend in perfectly to their environment and they know that.
b) escape; slipping into a hole or cover.
c) rattling; the last thing a rattlesnake wants to do is give away its biggest "weapon" - camouflage - by rattling. Anyway, it has long been theorized that rattling is actually an adaptation to warn the large grazing animals from stepping on it - NOT TO WARN PREDATORS!
Even where there our no pigs (yet!), radio-tracking studies show that the prairie rattlesnake, which is quicker to anger than the diamondback, relies on camouflage and escape before rattling. A certain researcher in the Panhandle will tell you, "99.9% of our rattlesnakes carrying radio transmitters will allow you to walk up, take a G.P.S. reading directly on top of him/her, and walk away, without even a tongue flick, let alone a round of rattling." "And I use to assume that prairie rattlers always warned you."
Why people will make up stuff......I just don't understand. Trust me on this one! Laugh at it when someone tells you this one!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Feral hogs
I posted this recently in the Amarillo Globe News after seeing some obvious misinformation in some comments to an article:
"Feral hogs are domestic pigs gone wild. In one generation they are as wild as heck, and in two they revert back in terms of hair growth. The next several generations revert back to the original wild look of the longer snout, tusks, etc. Different traits, coloration, etc., come from the different breeds of originating domestic stock. The mention of Russian boar affecting today's feral hogs is totally erroneous. Any releases/escapes from decades ago (and they certainly were not up here), and points east, were quickly bred out by the regular feral genetics, way back, and a truck load released today would be bred out with out a trace quickly. Javelinas are not even related, so should not even be mentioned here. There are no hogs native to North America!
As for the ferociousness, you are fine provided 1) you don't walk up on an injured one, 2) you don't try to grab one, 3) and I wouldn't want to test too many times what a sow might do if you walked in between her and her piglets. Keep in mind they have terrible sight. If they cannot make you out by smell they may venture towards you to get a better look. In a panic - and partly due to this poor eye site - they may scatter in all directions and, yes, some may come your way. But they are not going to hunt you down. :)
That being said, they are terribly damaging to range, and may impact wildlife particularly rare species, nests of dense-nesting ground birds, and during times of drought when production is low due to poor cover/poor reproductive conditions.
"Feral hogs are domestic pigs gone wild. In one generation they are as wild as heck, and in two they revert back in terms of hair growth. The next several generations revert back to the original wild look of the longer snout, tusks, etc. Different traits, coloration, etc., come from the different breeds of originating domestic stock. The mention of Russian boar affecting today's feral hogs is totally erroneous. Any releases/escapes from decades ago (and they certainly were not up here), and points east, were quickly bred out by the regular feral genetics, way back, and a truck load released today would be bred out with out a trace quickly. Javelinas are not even related, so should not even be mentioned here. There are no hogs native to North America!
As for the ferociousness, you are fine provided 1) you don't walk up on an injured one, 2) you don't try to grab one, 3) and I wouldn't want to test too many times what a sow might do if you walked in between her and her piglets. Keep in mind they have terrible sight. If they cannot make you out by smell they may venture towards you to get a better look. In a panic - and partly due to this poor eye site - they may scatter in all directions and, yes, some may come your way. But they are not going to hunt you down. :)
That being said, they are terribly damaging to range, and may impact wildlife particularly rare species, nests of dense-nesting ground birds, and during times of drought when production is low due to poor cover/poor reproductive conditions.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Internet Myths - Monstrous Rattlesnakes
Have you seen e-mails that include the following? Raise the suspicion flag if it involves:
1) Rattlesnakes over 7-foot, and ones weighing over 20 pounds.
Folks, if you hear or read of a rattlesnake over 7 foot, instantly raise the suspicion flag. A western diamondback (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona) over 7.5 foot would be a record and is probably not possible. In Texas, that new record will be in South Texas where they have a longer "growing season" to feed.
Eastern diamondbacks (SE US); a 8.5 foot one would probably be a record. How much do the monsters weigh? 16-17 pounds is ballpark; maybe a 20 or so could be out there.
Concerning photos, people make them look larger by holding them weigh out in front (old fishing trick). A five-foot rattlesnake will make a man grimace holding it due to the length-weight. Kind of like it is very awkward to load a deer into a pickup by yourself.
Often Snoops.com will reveal the fraud of these photos. A 9-foot rattlesnake turned out to be a 4-foot snake held out in front of a man. Usually, the fraud e-mails will show up as "sightings, photographs, or captures" claiming many sites, and even many years - same photo. :) Cracks me up. No actually angers me because of what I know!
TRUST ME!!!!
1) Rattlesnakes over 7-foot, and ones weighing over 20 pounds.
Folks, if you hear or read of a rattlesnake over 7 foot, instantly raise the suspicion flag. A western diamondback (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona) over 7.5 foot would be a record and is probably not possible. In Texas, that new record will be in South Texas where they have a longer "growing season" to feed.
Eastern diamondbacks (SE US); a 8.5 foot one would probably be a record. How much do the monsters weigh? 16-17 pounds is ballpark; maybe a 20 or so could be out there.
Concerning photos, people make them look larger by holding them weigh out in front (old fishing trick). A five-foot rattlesnake will make a man grimace holding it due to the length-weight. Kind of like it is very awkward to load a deer into a pickup by yourself.
Often Snoops.com will reveal the fraud of these photos. A 9-foot rattlesnake turned out to be a 4-foot snake held out in front of a man. Usually, the fraud e-mails will show up as "sightings, photographs, or captures" claiming many sites, and even many years - same photo. :) Cracks me up. No actually angers me because of what I know!
TRUST ME!!!!
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