Hello Mr. Squirrel! Hope you find your nuts!

My squirrel friends are super busy this time of year. I'm sure you've noticed! Around Eldridge Park and the eastern side of the country we see the Eastern Gray Squirrel, or Sciurus carolinensis. The genus name (that first latin name) means shadow-tail. That second name refers to where it was first recorded, the Carolinas. They are a native mammal to the eastern U.S but have been introduced to some European countries, parts of Africa, Australia and parts of the western U.S. 


Most people know that squirrels bury their hoards but I don't think you realized how nuts these little fury things are! It's estimated that one squirrel can have several thousand caches per season. They have two different types of caches, long term secure ones and ones that they bury in an unsecured location that they plan to retrieve in a few hours or days for reburial. They use distant and nearby landmarks and their sense of smell to retrieve their caches. They have even been known to pretend to bury things if they feel they are being watched! Those tricky little rodents! Amazing! So next time you see a squirrel burying their stash avert your eyes - give them a little privacy!

It's also very difficult to tell whether you are watching a boy squirrel or a girl squirrel because they have the same body length, weight and color. Gray squirrels can live up to 20 years in captivity and live to about 12 years in the wild. 

They love seeds and berries and will do just about anything to get to them. So watch your bird feeders! Here's some helpful hints on squirrel-proofing your feeders: http://bit.ly/f3qhLF

In conclusion, sometimes I get a little jealous of my squirrel friends. They are the little rockstars in the local wildlife world. With their awesome climbing and great spacial memory. Raccoons also have the ability to turn our paws around in order to climb down a tree head first. But no way do we look as adorable doing it. 

Next time you see a squirrel tip your hat to them and let them know you appreciate how awesome they are.

Till next time, my friends!
Eco

Disclaimer: raccoons are still better.

Fall colors!

Hello my friends!

I hope you all have gotten a chance to be outside and soak in all the amazing colors of fall! The trees are looking beautiful here at Eldridge Park. I have been enjoying crunching leaves, piling them up and throwing them into the air!

Why do we call it fall? Say it with me: "the leaves fall!" Nice job you smarty pants, you. That's the reason. Autumn used to be referred to as "harvest" but as people moved more and more to an urban life they started referring to it "fall of the leaf" and it gradually turned into just plain old "fall".

Leaves are falling which is awesome but I think the best part of fall is the colors! "Why do leaves turn different colors?", I hear you say. Great question!

Leaves change different colors because the actual chemical composition in the leaf is changing. There are three molecules that are responsible for color in leaves:

Chlorophyll - Green

Anthocyanin - Red

Carotenoid - Orange

Chlorophyll you might remember from science class as the green stuff in plants that absorbs the sunlight used for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll starts breaking down when the hours of daylight start to slowly diminish. Once the chlorophyll starts going away the other chemicals that were always present in the leaf get their time in the spotlight.

So poor little carotenoids and xanthophylls. They wait their whole little existences for the brief seasonal transition when they can shout "Hello world! I'm here and I'm beautiful!"

The anthocyanins, however, only join the fall fiesta once the chlorophyll starts leaving. The amount of anthocyanins produced is related to environmental factors. You want fall days that are bright and cool, and nights that are chilly but not freezing for some great reds and purples.

So next time you are out for a walk take a moment to thank some lesser known molecules for the beauty that surrounds you! "Thanks for caring carotenoids, thanks for always being there for us, anthocyanins."

Love,
Eco

Predator vs. Prey

Greetings Friends!

As a human, I'm sure you have never had to worry about getting eaten. And I'm sure that feels nice. Unfortunately, as a raccoon, I have never had the luxury of being a top predator. When I say "top predator" I am talking about an animal that is a carnivore (or in your case an omnivore) and at the top of a food web.

http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/education/site_students/foodweb.html

Now, don't forget that a food web contains multiple food chains. A top predator is one of the scary animals at the top like a wolf or bald eagle. Or human... we can still be friends, though. I know raccoon isn't on your list of yummy animals.

So what makes a top predator so scary?

www.downloadcollection.com

I am glad you asked! They have special things (or adaptations) that help them achieve that rockstar status. They are great hunters. This could be because of some awesome eyesight like the bald eagle or a great sniffer like the wolf! They also have some great weapons! The birds of prey (the family of birds the eagle is in) have super sharp talons and can be really stealthy in flight. Coyotes have mastered the hunt and actually change their behavior based on the type of prey they are hunting. They will sneak up on a small mouse by themselves but take on a deer with a whole team.

I know what you are thinking... Those poor widdle prey animals! As a member of that group I appreciate your sympathy but we don't need your pity. We are pretty good at what we do, too!

webecoist.momtastic.com

I have a buddy who is an opossum. Whenever he is attacked by a predator he lays down and plays dead. And I mean really dead. Most people think of a dog trick when they hear "play dead" but the opossum is hardcore. The more accurate name for it is apparent death. They can't wake up when he want to. It's a state of shock where they are just laying there until their body snaps out of it. Some lizards, sharks, rabbits, beetles, and stingrays also can go through tonic immobility (another fancy name for it).

There are so many reasons why prey animals are good at staying alive. Camouflage, special hiding tricks, staying with a herd or large group but there is one amazing one I will leave you with...

Smaller animals perceive time differently than larger ones. Let that sink in for a minute. The distance of your head to the ground actually makes a difference. So as a raccoon, my little brain processes information at a faster rate than you lumbering humans. That's why flies are so hard to swat!! Even though predators may be big, small preys' brain gives them more time to react. Score one for the prey!

Until next time my friends,
Eco

The farm!

Greetings!

I wanted to share with you what we have been doing at the Eldridge Environmental Education Center. Me and my friends started a millipede farm! We also have some roly-poly bugs in there, too! We collected from the area. We found them by turning over rocks by Salt Creek! You could find them in your backyard, too! They live in our soil and help break down detritus. That's the fancy word for dead leaves and sticks and stuff.
  Here is a picture of our tank. We put in soil that we found in the area, alot of dead leaves and a decomposing turkey tail mushroom. Turkey tails are those fungi that you see growing like little steps up the trunk of a tree.

  Millipedes and pill bugs (another word for the roly poly) are herbivores. That means they don't eat meat. If you look closely at them you can see that there bodies are in segments - or little parts. Not all one part like us (mammals) are. They are very different animals but they have the same defense - curl up into a ball. When they get nervous they curl up into a little ball and they stay very still. (You can see this if you try to pick them up.) Animals that like to eat bugs lose interest in eating if a bug is not moving and looks dead. So curling up into a ball is a pretty good strategy to avaoid being eaten!

Here is a picture of a millipede  tickling my face. I named him Max.

  Millipedes and pill bugs are part of a big group of animals called arthropods. These are animals that wear their skeleton (their hardest parts) on the outside of their bodies! A skeleton on the outside is called an exoskeleton. We are mammals so we have an endoskeleton! Exo- in front of words means "outer or outside" and Endo- means "inner or inside".
  Tune in next time for more juicy details of our farm's residents!
Eco.

Dear Eco

Greetings!

I have received another great email! Two brothers were walking through the woods and they found a skull. They wanted to know what animal it was from so they sent me a picture:

Here was my response:

Thank you for those great pictures! I love being a part of your family of Eco's! I am so happy to hear that you go hiking with your family. I love hiking. 

I think it is an opossum's skull. The size makes sense and also it has those big side eye sockets. Animals that have large eye sockets on more of the side of their head are considered "prey" animals - as opposed to forward-facing eye sockets like humans or owls which mean they are "predator" animals. Prey and predator are just words that tell us where an animal would fall on a food chain. "Prey" means they would be toward the bottom and "Predator" means they would be towards the top. 

The reason prey animals have their eyes more on the side of their head is so they can easily see if their are any predators chasing them. Predator animals use their forward facing eyes to be a better hunter. It's easier to focus on what's in front of you when you have both eyes facing forward. 

Great find! Keep looking for interesting things on your hikes! I can't wait to see more pictures of what you find out there. 

Keep exploring!

 

Here is a picture of me with my new friends! 

Until next time my friends,

Eco

Dear Molly

Greetings friends!
I recently received a great email from one of my dear friends, Molly. I want to share her message and her great question with all of you!

Here is her letter:

   Dear Eco,

I have ants in my house. 

The sun is out and it's really beautiful to play outside.

We have bees living in our wall.  We found a hole in the brick. The bees left yellow powder right outside the hole. Then the bees plugged up their hole all by themselves.  What kind of bees are they?

Good bye Eco, I love you.
Love, Molly

I also want to share my response with all of you, too. Some of you may have the same question!

Dear Molly,

Bees sometimes can be a problem. But usually its only a problem that lasts for a short time instead of forever. They only live in a hive for a short time. Then they leave and find a new place. I found a really cool video about getting bees out of a house. Make sure you ask your parents permission to watch it! http://www.wimp.com/beesextracted/

 I would guess that you have honey bees. Honey bees like to live in colonies (alot of family members living in the same place). There are alot of bees that live around us don't live in colonies, too. They live by themselves.

The yellow powder is pollen from flowers! When a bee eats from a flower it gets the pollen all over its legs. When it brings that pollen to other flowers it helps those flowers make baby flowers. So when they come back home to their hive it just gets knocked off their legs.

Great questions Molly!

Love,

Eco


Thank you so much Molly! I can't wait for more amazing emails!
 Eco

Why did the turtle cross the road....

Greetings friends!

In the past week I have found 2 turtles at Eldridge park that have been quite a distance from the pond!



Here is a picture of the most recent turtle's location.

The one before that was found under the swings on the playground! Both of the turtles were of the same species - Red-eared slider. Here is a picture of one close up

You can see why its named a Red-eared slider! Those red markings are not on any other turtle in this area so it's easy to identify. They are often kept as pets. They started showing up in our ponds and streams 30 years ago. It's possible that people released them into our water systems after buying them as pets.

The turtles I have found out of the pond have been males. But the females nest from mid-May into early July. Sometimes when people find turtles away from their pond its a female looking for a good spot to make their nests. All turtles lay their eggs on land - not in the water!

I tried to ask this turtle for a ride but he was so nervous he wouldn't walk with me on its back.

Whenever you find a turtle on land or on the side of a road be very careful when going near to it. Some turtles, like the snapping turtle, are dangerous and can really hurt you. It's better to leave wildlife alone when you come close. Just give animals enough space so they don't feel scared. Sometimes when animals feel scared they might try to defend themselves by biting or scratching.

Environmental teachers, ecologists, and other professionals in the environmental field could be called on for help when figuring out what to do with wildlife that might get in the way of human activity.

Don't forget! We share this world with all the animals that live here. It's their home, too.
Until next time my friends!
Eco