June, 2006 Issues of Woodland Walkers Guide These are stories of the walks our collie has enticed us into taking as published in "The Home News", Spring Green's local paper. .

June 27, 2006

Month-old baby skunks are cute and cuddly; in fact, some people have kept them as pets throughout our country's history. There are stories told by European settlers in America of finding skunks living in certain Native American villages, and some Pilgrims were said to have enjoyed having them around, as well. The striped skunk species, (others are the spotted, hog-nosed, and hooded), is the most social and the one most commonly domesticated, and although the practice is illegal in some states (perhaps because of fear of rabies), it is quite acceptable in others. Of course, when a skunk is kept as a pet, the scent glands are removed. Skunks are sometimes called polecats because they look somewhat like the European polecat, but they are not related. They were once thought to be part of the same animal family as weasels, ferrets, and badgers, but now, with DNA testing, they have been recognized as a separate family.

During the day, skunks hide out in burrows that they dig with their powerful front claws, or in man-made or natural hollows. A female may have a home range of a couple of square miles, while a male may claim a much larger area. A skunk spends most of its waking time foraging for food, eating both plant and animal material, but mostly meat if it can find it. Insects make up approximately 70% of the diet when available, but it also preys upon mice, snakes, toads, and other small creatures, as well as worms, fruits, berries, and nuts. Skunks eat many harmful insects and rodents but also feast on eggs and young of waterfowl and other ground-nesting birds, and are quite happy to clean up dead animals and any remains left by foxes or coyotes, in addition to human garbage.

The best-known feature of any skunk is its pair of scent glands, which contain a foul-smelling sticky fluid. When faced with danger it arches the back and erects the tail and hair. If the threat continues, the animal bends into a U-shape with both head and rump facing the enemy. It then emits two streams of fluid from scent glands located just inside the anus, which spread into a fine spray that can travel up to 15 feet. The spray, a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals, can cause nausea and burns the eyes and nasal cavities of the unfortunate target, and is sufficiently powerful to be detected up to a mile downwind. The glands contain material for 5-6 sprays, but it takes up to 10 days to replenish the supply after full discharge and skunks are usually reluctant to expend their "ammunition". Where practical, it is to a skunk's advantage to simply warn a threatening predator off without expending scent, and it will go through an elaborate routine of hisses and foot stamping and tail-high threat postures before shooting.

Several skunks, often one mature male and several females, will share a winter den site. They do not hibernate but generally remain inactive during freezing weather, coming out for food only during mild periods, but otherwise surviving on their fat stores. They mate in early spring, and each female establishes her own den where she bears 4-7 young. All skunk kits are striped at birth, and although they are blind and deaf, their scent glands become operational before their eyes are open. In six weeks they can follow the mother about, looking like miniature replicas of adults. The family group breaks up in the fall, and the young disperse to new territories, usually several miles away.

Skunks make sounds like squealing pigs; they also grunt, whine, screech, and will even chirp like a bird, usually using these sounds as warnings to enemies and in play. They are short-lived, with almost none surviving for as long as three years, mostly because of automobiles and great horned owls. Most predatory animals, such as coyotes, foxes and badgers, avoid attacking skunks, presumably out of fear of being sprayed, but large owls and hawks readily prey upon them. (Most birds are not bothered by the skunk spray as they have a very poor sense of smell, and they strike fast from above, so a skunk has little defense in their attacks.) Also, although skunks have excellent senses of smell and hearing, they have poor vision and are slow moving, and so are often killed by vehicles as they cross a road.

We occasionally run into a foraging skunk on our walks about the farm or see one crossing a field, but it ignores us and we are careful to watch from afar. One exception occurred some years ago when I was hiking with our collies. I heard a noise and turned to see a skunk running toward us. Jack wisely dropped back and I slipped behind a tree, but it ignored us and took off after Collie as fast as it could go. I have seldom seen a more ridiculous sight as that little skunk chasing a dog many times its size down the hill, before finally giving up and disappearing. Incidentally, should a pet, person, or area be sprayed, apply a freshly mixed solution of a pint of 3% hydrogen peroxide to which has been added a teaspoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of liquid detergent. This is a far more effective remedy than tomato juice or other home concoction.

It is common "knowledge" that skunks are dangerous animals to have around as they are immune to rabies and thus can carry (and transmit) the virus without being affected, However, research has proved that they are no more or less susceptible than raccoons, fox, and other small mammals in the same area. Rabid skunks usually die in their dens away from sight and thus seldom pose a threat. Many people feel that skunks are unusual, funny, friendly animals that just have a bad reputation; however, for a pet, I much prefer our collie.

June 20, 2006

It seems strange for a tiny creature like a millipede to make the international news, but that is just what happened this past month, when it was announced that a rare species, last seen 80 years ago in central California, had been rediscovered. This particular "thousand-legger" actually had 662 legs, about twice the average for a millipede, but could have had as many 750 had it lived longer. It was only slightly longer than an inch and not much wider than a thread, so it took a scanning electron microscope to examine it.

Despite the name, millipedes do not have a thousand legs, but many do have two pairs emerging from each of their body segments that may number in the hundreds. They eat decaying leaves and other dead plant and animal matter, moisturizing the food with secretions and then scraping it in with the jaws. Millipedes are very important, because they help put nutrients back in the soil for plants and other organisms to use. Having many short legs makes them rather slow movers, but they are powerful burrowers, and with their legs and body length moving in a wavelike pattern, they easily force their way underground head first. They have tiny holes, called spiracles, on the sides of their bodies through which they take in oxygen, and they must stay in places where there is sufficient moisture, as their bodies tend to dry out.

The female lays hundreds of eggs and when the young millipedes hatch, they have only seven segments and three pairs of legs. As they grow, they pass through ten or more stages, increasing the number of body segments and pairs of legs at each molt. Most reach adulthood in about two years and can live another five. Millipedes, and the centipedes that resemble them, are distant relatives of lobsters, crayfish and shrimp.

When threatened, a millipede curls its long cylindrical body into a tight coil so that its tough shell-like covering protects its delicate legs. Many species also emit a caustic fluid as a self-defense mechanism that may produce allergic reactions in some humans. Millipedes are eaten by frogs, lizards, some beetles, and a few birds, although their main predators are shrews, who seem to consider them delicious snacks. Lemurs also have been known to rub their fur with millipede bodies, presumably expressing the irritating chemicals, much as birds use ants, although the reasons are not well understood.

Two centipedes also made the news recently, when one of the world's smallest species was discovered in Central Park in New York City. It was only about a half inch long and was thought to have been brought from Asia, perhaps in potting soil. The other was a nine-inch long giant captured in a home in north London, which might have hitchhiked into Britain in a cargo of electrical goods or fruit from South America. This particular creature could have given a nasty bite but any centipedes we might encounter are relatively harmless, at least to humans.

Centipedes are easily distinguished from millipedes as their bodies are flattened rather than round, their antennae are longer, and their legs project from the sides of their bodies rather than the bottom. An adult centipede may have 15 to 177 body segments, (always an odd number) with one pair of legs on each segment. The first pair of legs is modified into venomous fangs that are used to kill the insects and other small creatures that they prey upon. Luckily, the jaws can rarely penetrate human skin, and if bitten, the pain is usually no worse than that of a bee sting.

Any centipede found in your basement is likely to be a member of a species originally from Mexico that now has spread throughout the United States. Commonly called the house centipede, it has a flattened, segmented body about 1 1/2 inches long, slender antennae, and 15 pairs of very long banded legs. The last pair is much longer than the others and the legs give the animal the appearance of being much larger than it really is. Though house centipedes are sometimes found both indoors and outdoors, they prefer to live in damp sections of basements, bathrooms, unexcavated areas under a house, and in woodpiles stored indoors. An average female lays about 100 eggs in spring and early summer. These hatch with only 3 pairs of legs and in successive molts acquire 5,7,9,11, and finally 15 pairs, before becoming adults in about 3 years.

House centipedes feed on small insects, insect larvae, and on spiders, and kill their prey by injecting venom through their fangs. They are not considered dangerous to humans, but they will sometimes bite if harassed, although in most cases the bite is no worse than the sting of a bee. Their appetites cause them to be considered beneficial residents in a damp basement by some, but most homeowners would much prefer they live elsewhere.

June 13, 2006

A gawky fawn gambled down the roadway in front of our car this week. It seemed tiny and all legs, but had probably already doubled in size since it was born last month. One must drive the back roads with caution with all the various babies abroad, and it is seldom that we fail to see something or another. Near any bodies of water, there are the additional hazards of the amphibians and turtles crossing roads as well, heading for their breeding or nesting sites. Turtles are never encountered up in our hills, with the lone exception of the box turtles on the sandy conservancy land, but the various types are quite common at the river and in larger ponds and lakes.

Of the five major groups of creatures with backbones that share our planet, only two are warm-blooded, mammals and birds. The others are all cold-blooded, meaning that they have body temperatures close to those of their surroundings and require external warmth to be able to move around. There are the fish that are usually covered with scales and use gills to take in oxygen from the water. Then there are the amphibians such as salamanders, toads and frogs that start out in water and, as they grow older, most spend more time on land. These take in oxygen through their smooth skins and most also breathe with lungs or gills. The final group is the reptiles, and in North America, these include alligators, lizards, snakes, and turtles. Alligators have tough skins covered with dry, horny scales or plates, with nostrils and eyes situated on top of their heads so that they can see and breathe while almost entirely submerged in the water. Lizards come in all shapes and sizes, are also covered with scales, and live on land. Snakes have no eyelids, external ears, or legs, and have extremely long spines with 200 to 400 vertebrae, but they manage quite well, with at least a dozen species present on our farm. Both turtles and tortoises (the name used for those that live wholly on land) have scales on the head and the legs, with the rest of their bodies encased in rounded, bony shells. The shell is a unique adaptation of an overgrown spine and ribs and in almost all cases is joined to a lower part by a bridge of bone. Turtles are the only animals with their legs inside the rib cage.

Turtles come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. There are more than 250 species, the majority of which lives in the Tropics. There are species only 6 inches long like our box turtle, and, others such as the giant leatherback sea turtle that may grow to 8 ft. Many of us, as children, owned baby turtles, when such pets were in vogue, but nowadays, we see them only as they bask in the sun along some shore. Even the water turtles lay their eggs on land, however, and females must leave the water to find a suitable site, sometimes quite a distance away, rendering them vulnerable to automobiles and other hazards.

One of the common turtles in the Wisconsin River is the snapper, our biggest freshwater turtle and a fierce predator. It is a good swimmer but usually lies on the bottom, waiting patiently for its food to come to it, and when an unwary fish or other creature swims by, it grabs it with lightning speed in its huge mouth and gulps it down. Even when young, it is easy to recognize as its shell has saw-tooth ridges and back edge, and its tail is considerably longer than those of other turtles. Underneath, the lower shell is much smaller than the top, so it cannot protect itself by drawing into its shell as do other turtle species, and it tends to hide among the water plants. An adult has few enemies other than humans, but many are harvested for their meat that is considered a delicacy in many parts of the world, and others are routinely killed every year by outdoorsmen who consider them threats to fish and water birds.

Our family discovered that killing a snapper is requires far more perseverance than one would think. A 12-inch specimen swallowed a large hook on one of our fishing lines, and believing we could not just release it in that condition, we decided to try eating it. Chopping off its head was very difficult as the neck was extremely tough, and once that was accomplished and the body was hung to drain, it kicked reflexively for what seemed hours. Even after we managed to dress it, the heart lay on the table beating away. Dissecting out the meat was tedious and time consuming, and we finally gave up and dunked it in the soup pot, shell and all. The results tasted like swamp muck, and we decided that although others may find this doable and delicious, we certainly would not try that again.

My other experiences with snappers were much more pleasant, as I used to pick up one or two hatchlings each summer at the edge of the Des Plaines River, close by my childhood home. Turtle babies are very cute and are easy to care for, and I always returned them to the river in the fall. A snapper nest often contains as many as 80 one-inch eggs, but many are dug up and eaten by raccoons and other animals. Any that survive hatch in about 3 months, but then grow quickly. An average snapper will be 5 to 6 inches in shell length by 2 years of age and 12 to 14 inches in 15 to 20 years. Many live to some 50 years and can weigh up to 75 lbs. They are generally shy and retiring, but if harassed, they will try to bite, and with their long necks, can reach as far back as far as two thirds the shell's length. Their jaws are sharp, hooked and very strong, and have been known to cut off a person's finger. So, look with interest, but only touch with great care!

June 6, 2006

A walk in the woods is a very different experience now from a few weeks ago. The frequent rains have encouraged rampant growth in the woodland garden, and after a recent shower, one could almost imagine being in a tropical rain forest. The yellowing leaves and stems of the Virginia bluebells and spring beauties are drooping, while those of the bloodroot and hepatica continue to flourish. The blossoms of shooting stars, rue anemones, and the various trillium species are almost gone, while Solomon's seal, plume and starry Solomon's seal are still in full bloom. Most impressive by far have been the yellow ladyslippers, but they, too, are fading. I counted 24 blooms in one small patch, with many more at numerous sites around the farm.

Adding to the tangle of maturing plants are the widely spreading branches of the Virginia creeper, a fast growing vine identified by its five-parted, toothed leaves. It is often confused with the poison ivy that frequently grows alongside it, but careful inspection will show that poison ivy has only three relatively toothless leaflets. Virginia Creeper blooms from June through August, producing tiny, yellowish-green clusters of flowers that mature into purplish-black berries. These are often harmful for human consumption but are eagerly eaten by many animals and birds. The foliage is also food for several species of moths, as well as white-tailed deer.

Spreading on top of this vine are two annual plants that are unusually vigorous this year, bedstraw and blue vetch. The bedstraws are a large group of annual and perennial plants with about 400 species occurring in the milder sections of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. They all have weak, square stems, and tiny flowers that typically have 4 petals. The more common varieties can usually be identified by counting their leaves, as these are arranged in whorls of four, six, or eight. I read that technically each whorl is made up of two actual leaves (that may often be recognized by having buds or shoots arising from where each joins the stem), while the other four or six are stipules, small leaf-like appendages. I admit I haven't been able to see these distinctions and am content to ignore this last piece of information.

Our most common bedstraw variety is the cleaver, a very prickly plant with eight whorled leaves and stems that may reach six feet in length. Its stalks and leaves are covered with little hooked bristles that attach themselves to anything that touches them, and the stems push their way upwards through any vegetation to reach the light, using its support and then covering it with a matted blanket. Seedpods are also sticky, and are often carried off by any passing creature, ensuring their dispersal. This plant was once called goosegrass, as geese are very fond of it, along with horses, cows and sheep. The seeds, dried and roasted, have been used as a substitute for coffee, and the whole plant can be steeped to make a tea. In former times, it was compressed in a frame to make a rough sieve, and as a filter to strain milk, a practice still in use in Sweden. In my wild garden, however, it is only a nuisance and seems to increase each year. Other bedstraws include white licorice, a broad-leafed variety with four leaves and good flavor, and fragrant bedstraw, a pleasant-smelling type with six leaves. All presumably were dried and used in early days as stuffing for bed ticks.

Numerous varieties of bedstraws are native to our area, but cow vetch, with its compound leaves ending with 2 tendrils is an exotic from Eurasia. It has attractive lilac-colored blossoms arranged along one side of a flower spike, and produces many peapods of readily germinating seeds. It was introduced to this country as a forage plant but has spread widely across fields and roadsides. It grows quickly in sun or partial shade from an innocuous seedling to several feet of branching vine and climbs anything it touches. The Virginia creeper is well rooted in the soil but I will be pulling the bedstraws and vetch until frost kills them, in an admittedly futile effort at control, but satisfying.