Our Furry Neighbors

While I was a docent at Tohono Chul Park in Tucson, I had the opportunity to support a student at the University of Arizona who was doing a study on bobcats as part of her thesis.  My job was to operate a camera in the arroyo where I lived.  To make a long story short, I got hooked on taking wild life photos on a game camera.  I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the game photos I've taken in our neighborhood the past year.

I have to believe you have all seen the mule deer in our area.   Still, it wouldn't be right to start this blog without their photograph.  Love 'em or hate 'em, they are an integral part of our neighborhood.

Hopefully, you all know that where there is big game, there are big predators.  Most of the professionals I've talked to agree that the second photo is of a young mountain lion.  Can't be a bobcat because there are no stripes on the tail or legs. We also know from a photo taken of a deer's head from about the same distance from the camera that the animal in this photo is too large to be a house cat. This photo was taken in our back yard in July.  By the way, the deer were scarce behind our house for a few weeks after this photo was taken.

While I haven't managed to capture a photo of a bobcat in this neighborhood, I have seen a fox several times.  Carl Taylor has named this one Sally.  (No, I know know if its really a female, but since Carl named her Sally, I figured I'd go with the flow.)  The fox has been spotted several times during the day in the common area off lower Ventana Way as well as at night walking along the salamander "channels" on upper Ventana.  Did you know grey foxes are believed to be the only canines that climb trees?

Sometimes my game cam only captures part of an animal.  Sometimes it's the plume of a skunk's tail, or the (ahem) gender of a deer.  I've even caught the blur of an owl swooping by at night, creating an interesting blur.  I also have plenty of shots of house cats as well as one human foot.  Most of these partial shots are easily identifiable, such as the bald tail of a scruffy opossum in this photo.  Opossums are North America's only wild marsupial, carrying the young in the female's pouch for 2-3 months, and then on her back for another 1 or 2 months.

Skunks are especially plentiful in our neighborhood, and are often responsible for that bark that has been tossed out of your flowerbed as they dig for grubs.  They really love to dig into a bee nest that's in the ground for a spicy treat. Breeding season is about to start so its a good idea to ensure there are no open access points to beneath your house.  You definitely do not want the young to be born beneath your abode.  Skunks, by the way, are one of the more common carriers of rabies, along with foxes and racoons.

Most of the Uplanders have probably had some sort of encounter with racoons who are keeping a close eye on out garbage.  Being omnivores, they eat a variety of plants and animals, depending on what's available.  Of concern to the home gardener, they like a variety of fruits such as apples, berries and citrus fruits as well as nuts and other plants.  And I thought I only had to worry about the deer in my garden!  By the way, this is also the start of their breeding season, so they may take detours from their usually straight line paths between food and home for an evening of romance.

 t

And lastly, while I haven't had my camera at the right moment to catch the appearance of a gopher, I did find this mole laying on the sidewalk just outside the Uplands one morning during a dog walk. Moles live almost entirely underground, so I don't know why this one was out on the sidewalk unless it had been killed by a cat. Moles can eat some roots and bulbs as well as other plant material, but generally they prefer worms, insects, and other invertebrates.  They are an important member of our community because small mammal burrows like those created by moles (and gophers) are where our Santa Cruz Long Toed Salamander spends a good portion of it's life.  That's why our CC&Rs prohibit the use of control measures for burrowing animals, except for non-lethal methods approved by the Endangered Species Management Agency.  Ah, the information you can find in our CC&Rs!

P.S. Thanks to Rachel for mentioning she liked seeing photos of our critters. If you enjoyed it, she's the one who inspired this particular blog.