It's hard to believe it's September, and almost Fall! This time of year is always exciting for us because it means it's almost time to dust off the ol' snowshoes, start watching the snow reports on the mountain, and get ready for Winter Wildlife Tracking and Camera Surveys! 

Although winter may be on the horizon, our summer wildlife surveys are not over yet, and this past month was a busy one in the forest! We have lots of different animals to share with you and, with that, some fun facts. Let's get into our camera survey findings for the month leading up to September.

Black bears (Ursus americanus​) were consistently present at many of our camera sites this summer. Although only one species of bear resides in Oregon, the black bear, elsewhere in the country they can be confused with other bears such as grizzlies. Black bears' coats come in a variety of colors, including cinnamon, blue-black, brown, a combination of light and dark, and even white! Size will also vary intraspecifically (between members of the same species), making it difficult to use size alone as a factor in identifying bears. Some black bears can even be larger than grizzly bears! So, how do we tell black bears apart from grizzly bears?

It's all in the face! A lot can be determined through looking at the facial profile and ear shape. Black bears have a straight face profile from forehead to nose tip. Looking at a side profile of the face, a straight line can be drawn from the eyes to the end of the nose. Black bears' ears are, on average, longer, larger, pointed, and more upright. Keep in mind the angle in which you look at the bear could skew their facial profile, as well as if they've recently been in water, which will make the fur wet and cling close to the body, changing the size comparison of the ears to the rest of the body. In comparison, grizzly bears have a concave facial profile and smaller, rounder ears.

Take a look at the bears we detected throughout this past month and notice variations between these individuals, despite them all being black bears. Note that the last bear is young and not yet full size.

Bobcats (Lynx rufus), despite their small size (about twice the size of a domestic cat, on average), are ferocious carnivores. They usually prey on small mammals like rabbits/hares, squirrels, woodrats, and voles. The largest animal a bobcat has been known to kill is deer! If this occurs, it often happens in the winter months when food is more scarce to find and deer have a harder time getting around in the snow. In pursuit of food, bobcats have been known to climb up tall trees and expertly navigate around rocky terrain. Unlike their domestic counterparts, bobcats have no aversion to water and are quite skilled swimmers. Adult bobcats have no natural predators, although if the opportunity presents itself, larger predators will target bobcats, in particular juvenile bobcats.

This past month we detected a mother bobcat and her two kittens (shown below)! These felines will mate in early spring and after 60-70 days, anywhere from 1-6 kittens are born. These two kittens were likely born at the tail-end of summer, and will stay with their mother until they are around 8 months of age, dispersing in the winter time to find territory of their own. Other than when mating and rearing offspring, bobcats are solitary creatures, as exemplified by the other detections we've had of them. 

Below are two photos of bobcat scat. The scat is blunt ended, contains no tapering or twisting, and is pretty much one solid tube, leading us to believe this is scat deposited by a feline. At around 0.5-0.75" in diameter, it's the right size for a bobcat scat. Feline scats are more likely to be segmented than canine scats - which can be close look-a-likes - as they are extremely dense due to their carnivorous nature. In the second photo there are some hairs that can be seen, take a look for yourself!

Next, we have another member of the feline family, the mountain lion or cougar (Puma concolor, sometimes also referred to as Felis concolor). Their coat color ranges from tan, light brown, brown-orange, and gray-brown, and like bobcats, are solitary creatures. Their main food source is deer, which they kill with a powerful bite to the neck. A mountain lion can leap up to 20 feet while hunting! In addition to deer, they target elk, bighorn sheep, and sometimes even raccoons, birds, and small mammals.

Unfortunately, these majestic big cats are listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened in some locations, though not in Oregon.  At one time, however, they were in danger here.  In 1843, in what is now considered Oregon, a mountain lion bounty program was initiated, which continued until 1967 when the animal was reclassified as a big game animal. By 1961, it was estimated that around 200 individuals were left and were in danger of being extirpated (locally extinct). In 1994, Measure 18 was passed in Oregon, banning the use of hounds to hunt mountain lions. Since then, they have been recovering, and as of 2019, Oregon's Fish and Wildlife Department estimates the mountain lion population in Oregon to be over 6,000 individuals. However, this count includes kittens, most of whom don't survive until adulthood. 

Moving onto a different family, we have the Canidae family, consisting of coyotes, foxes, wolves. The coyote (Canis latrans) is an intermediate sized canid and, like other animals we discussed, also come in a variety of coat colors, including grayish, cinnamon, brownish, or a combination of those colors. Coyotes on the eastern and western sides of the state have differences in color and markings, although this difference is so subtle it can easily be overlooked. In western Oregon, individuals tend to be darker and have more brown coloration than their eastern counterparts. Albino coyotes with pink eyes and foot pads have also occurred in Oregon, although extremely rare! 

Historically, Oregon's coyote populations were kept in check by gray wolves, which were extirpated from the area in the 1800-1900s and only recently re-introduced, leaving that role unfilled, which in turn has lead to a boom in coyote populations over those years. Although many have vilified coyotes as pests in farm and urban settings due to livestock and pet killings, coyotes play an important role in the ecosystem by controlling rodent populations and foraging on carrion that could otherwise spread disease if left to rot. Cemeteries and golf courses have noted the significant reduction of damages made by gophers and other rodents due to coyotes. Coyotes also help control geese populations that destroy young crops and feral cat populations that prey on birds. We speculate that the coyote below is catching their next meal and wish them luck!

Additionally, coyotes have complex social structures and will use scent marking as a form of non-verbal communication. The two coyotes shown below exemplify marking via urination, which is done by both males and females. Both coyotes are believed to be males, using a lazy pee squat instead of the normal lifting of the leg.

Naturally curious, coyotes will sniff and explore sites quite often.  Based on our observations, like the ones below, they seem to do this more than other animals (except for black bears). ​

Coyotes will also rub and roll on scents they deem worthy. Studies have shown that the rub-roll behavior is most frequently documented during the summer and early fall, although coyotes do roll around in the snow at times as well. This rub-roll behavior has been accredited to preference for certain baits over others, where the most attractive smelling baits elicited the highest numbers of rub-roll responses. Take a look at the rub-roll behavior exhibited by the coyote below!

The striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), below, is one of two skunk species found in Oregon and the Mt. Hood National Forest. About the size of a domestic cat, striped skunks are normally docile and unobtrusive, but can be susceptible to rabies infections. Their most widely known characteristic is the ability to spray a foul smelling odor from the underside of their tail. Not to worry, as skunks are mainly nocturnal creatures (most active during the night) and humans are unlikely to encounter one while out hiking. Like other animals, the striped skunk has intraspecific coat color variation that ranges from the classic white stripe and black body, entirely white, rich brown replacing the black body, or yellow replacing the white stripe.  

We had our first owl sighting of the summer! There are 14 species of owls in Oregon, and 10 of them are confirmed in the Mt. Hood National Forest, although by this photo we're not able to make a determination on which species this is. Owls are mostly nocturnal and they prey upon insects, fish, frogs, woodrats, flying squirrels, and other small mammals that are active at night. This sighting, however, happened during the day, and it appears the owl is holding something in its talons - maybe a squirrel or other prey animal. 

Fun fact: Not all owls have the classic "whoo" call and each species' call is distinct and unique. Here are two examples of very different calls from the northern pymy owl and barred owl. 

Another bird of prey that was seen this month is a hawk.  This hawk is most likely a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) but another candidate could be Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) as they are nearly identical from this back view angle. Whichever hawk this may be, it's likely to be a juvenile, since the coloration and banding patterns of the tail feathers changes as they mature. Both hawks are of similar size and coloring, having light morphs and dark morphs. These two morphs appear similar from the back, but the underside of a light morph hawk are mostly white or off-white with a dark belly band. 

Are you batty for bats? Us too! This is also our first bat detection over the summer! There are 15 species of bats within Oregon, 9 of which are found in the Mt. Hood National Forest. In Oregon and worldwide, bats are declining, with 9 of the 15 species in Oregon listed as Conservation Strategy Species. We're not able to make an identification on which species the individual shown below could be. Bats are incredibly important members of the ecosystem, eating insects known to be pests to farmers & humans, pollinating over 500 species of plants, and dispersing seeds. Bats eat around 1,000 insects every hour, which adds up to nearly half their body weight by the end of the night. These nocturnal mammals use echolocation to figure out the location of their prey. Echolocation utilizes high pitched sound waves emitted by the bat, which bounce off objects and insects in the area, allowing the bat to know their precise location.

Next up, deer. The deer in the photos and GIFs below are most likely Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus, commonly known simply as black-tailed deer), a subspecies of mule deer. In Oregon, 4 types of deer exist (white-tailed deer, Columbian white-tailed deer, mule deer, and Columbian black-tailed deer). Mule deer are also present in the Mt. Hood National Forest, but the differences are subtle. Black-tailed deer have tails that are all black on the top, as seen in one of the photos below. 

​Breeding, for all these deer, occurs from late October through early December, and after about 7 months, fawns are born. Fawns will typically lose their distinct white spots by September, so we're keeping an eye out for that in the next few weeks. Females will usually give birth to twins, but the number of offspring depends on suitable habitat. We've seen does with only one offspring as well as does with twins on our cameras. This past month we've seen quite a few single fawns, shown in a couple instances below. Females, on average, will live longer than males - 15 years compared to 9 respectively. This is due to a number of reasons including fighting during the mating season and hunting of bucks.

Deer are the mammals most commonly seen on our cameras and while they've been known to stick around the camera site and check it out, we also get plenty of sightings of them moving through the site. Below you'll see instances of both situations.

What's chunky, has short legs, a bushy tail, and is the largest squirrel in Oregon? Why, the yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris), of course! Their brown-gray coats allow them to blend into their preferred habitat, rocky outcrops, although in some circumstances will use a pile of logs or an abandoned building. Marmots hibernate, adult males preceding all others. Following them are adult females, yearling females, and lastly yearling males. If you were hoping to see a marmot with your own eyes this fall, there's only a few weeks left to do so! They spend a mere 135-150 days above ground, going into hibernation starting around late September and not emerging until around May.

A member of the mustelid family, the weasel (Mustela spp.), presents itself below. There are two types of weasels in Oregon and the Mt. Hood National Forest, long- and short-tailed. Short-tailed weasels prefer meadows, fields, brushy areas and open woods, and forest edges for suitable habitat. Long-tailed weasels prefer habitats near water, but both species have overlapping habitats. The camera site in the photo is adjacent to a river and the weasel in the photo is rather large, leading us to believe this may be a long-tailed weasel. There can be overlap in size, so it's not always possible to tell which species is which in photos.

Don't be fooled by their small stature as both these species prey on small rodents such as mice, chipmunks, voles, shrews, rats, and squirrels. Although they can be active during the day, weasels are normally nocturnal. This is consistent with our sightings as we have only seen detections of weasel at night. They do not hibernate and are active at all times during the year. Often, fur color is white during the winter and brown in the summer, although individuals can have brown pelage in winter. 

An important prey species for many species throughout the forest, and the largest native tree squirrel, is the western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus). Like most tree squirrels (except the northern flying squirrel) the western gray almost exclusively exhibits diurnal behavior (active during the day). This squirrel is omnivorous and eats conifer seeds, acorns, fungi, insects, berries, other fruit, and some green vegetation. They are listed as a sensitive species in Oregon, as competition from eastern gray squirrels and fox squirrels have led to a decline in their numbers. 

These squirrels are fast-moving creatures and this summer, we've frequently seen them in cahoots with one another, climbing logs, and running around like the visit below.

The last member of the Sciuridae family we are sharing this month is the Douglas squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii), which are also in decline in recent decades. This has largely been attributed to loss of preferred habitat - mixed mature conifer forests - and competition from invasive squirrels. The Douglas squirrel is a Conservation Strategy Species in Oregon. They are smaller than the western gray squirrel and have a orange-red belly and light brown-gray fur on the head and back. The Douglas squirrel does not hibernate and spends the fall months gathering seeds and cones in mass quantities, earning them the title of larder hoarders. Other favorite foods include bird eggs, berries, seeds, flowers, leaf buds, and fungi.

Fun fact: These squirrels have a mutualistic relationship with fungi. As they eat and subsequently discard the reproductive parts of fungi, Douglas squirrels spread fungus spores around the forest, connecting vast mycorrhizal networks that are incredibly important for the health of trees.

Our last animal to share this month is the bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea). Although this rodent is no squirrel, they boast a squirrel-like tail that is wholly unique to members of the Cricetidae family which contains over 600 species, including New World mice and rats, voles, lemmings.

In Oregon, 3 species of woodrat reside, the bushy-tailed, dusky-footed, and desert woodrat, though only the bushy-tailed can be seen in the Mt. Hood National Forest. Out of the 4 subspecies of bushy-tailed woodrat, possibly 2 exist within the Mt. Hood National Forest. They are prey for many species of birds and mammals, including owls, martens, fishers, and bobcats. While not normally included in their diet, coyotes, spotted skunks, long-tailed weasels, red-tailed hawks, wolverines, and foxes will all prey on this rodent. 

Although this month there were no camera sightings of Sierra Nevada red fox - one our target species - we did have a volunteer turn in a potential scat from this small canine. The scat is twisted and tapered, a good indication of canine scat, but measuring at around 0.5" in diameter, it's on the cusp of our cutoff for fox scat. We won't definitively know who this scat belongs to until genetic testing can be done, but we can make our best educated postulation in the meantime.

Another volunteer also found some wild turkey feathers and a probable turkey scat. Turkeys have been in part of Oregon's history since 1961, when they were first introduced to the area. Now, more than 10,000 turkeys live all over Oregon. Did you know male turkeys are called toms or gobblers and females are called hens? In the same vein, juvenile males are jakes and juvenile females are jennies. The scat below is from a tom, as scat from hens are more balled up instead of a 'J' shape.

That's going to do it for this month's sightings and findings! Tune in next month where we will showcase our monthly blog and Wildlife Review, highlighting the best of the best findings of the summer!

Hello everyone! Before we get to the findings from the Wolverine Tracking Project's Wildlife Camera, Fox, and Wolf Surveys, we have some news to share!

Volunteers have been working hard to document the wildlife in the forest this past month. Although no target species (wolverine, gray wolf, Sierra Nevada red fox, or Pacific marten) of the Wolverine Tracking Project were documented on camera, volunteers did find some potential fox and wolf scat. And, we've got plenty of other exciting sightings to share. We've seen quite a few pairings and even groups of animals, so stick around for those!

Remember that awful heatwave that gripped the PNW a few weeks ago? These coyotes braved the scorching temperatures, and if you look closely, you can see them with their mouths open, panting, to help cool down. 

Sometimes we even get great photos like this one below. If this coyote had social media, this would definitely be a profile picture! In the second photo, we can see another coyote, majestically walking along a mountaintop ridge - what a good life!

Single coyote detections are by far the most common sighting we see, but they can travel in pairs or threes, sometimes in even larger groups than that. From a quick glance below, it appears there's only two coyotes, but if you look closely, you'll see another one comes into the mix totaling three coyotes. This other coyote conveniently has a white-tipped tail, which isn't exactly unusual, but it's definitely distinct. We've seen another white-tipped coyote in this area before, and it's possible this is the same one. However, there's also potential for it to be another member of the pack. 

Coyotes are curious creatures and we will often catch them sniffing, rolling, and marking at our camera sites. Marking (urinating, defecating, rubbing, or rolling) happens for a variety of reasons, urine being used most commonly to outline territory, mostly by males. Females also will mark, but more to define their den's territory. The first coyote that marks the ground gets really low, almost putting her bottom to the ground, indicating this is a female. The second coyote is in a semi-squatted position and lowers his belly, indicating this is a male. Juvenile male coyote will squat to relieve themselves, making use of the leg lift once they reach a certain age. However, male coyotes can also be lazy and use the squat method when they feel like it.  ​

Below, a great example of coyote scat. It's got nice long, tapered ends and is twisted in the appearance, especially the left piece, characteristic of canine scat. With a diameter of around an inch, it's likely to be a coyote's.

Moving onto felines, first up we've got the magnificent mountain lion. This animal goes by many names - cougar, puma, panther, el leon, catamount, and many more! - but they all refer to this animal here, Puma concolor. The term panther, or more specifically black panther, is also used used for melanistic leopards (Panthera pardus) and jaguars (Panthera onca). Mountain lions have the most extensive range out of any other mammal in the Western Hemisphere, from the Canadian Yukon to The Straits of Magellan. Body size greatly varies depending on region, with on average, smaller individuals near the equator and larger ones closer to the poles. With so many different communities spanning across that range, it's no wonder everyone had a different name for the animal! 

Next up in the feline family is the bobcat. Roughly twice the size of your average domestic cat, weighing no more than 40 lbs. In comparison, cougars can weigh anywhere from 65-220 lbs. Bobcats are one of four lynx species found in the world. Not to be confused with the three other lynx species, Canadian, Iberian, and Eurasian lynx, the bobcat inhabits warmer climates, lower latitudes, and are just a tad smaller than the others. Bobcats' red-tinged and spotted coats help them blend in with their surroundings in order to gain the upper hand on their main food source - hares. The snowshoe hare is most commonly seen hare in the Mt. Hood National Forest.

The snowshoe hare, the favorite meal of the bobcat and an important part of the diet of other forest carnivores, is usually seen at night. Their name stems from the large hind feet they possess, which has a snowshoe effect in the snow. This prevents them from sinking, and allows them to hop around with ease during those winter months. Their running abilities would put Usain Bolt to shame at a top speed of 50 miles an hour!  

Similarly to other forest carnivores, bobcats will also mark their home range. Marking can also signify courtship, which is one of the only time these felids are not solitary, save for the 9 months where females raise their young. Going back to our discussion about coyotes, we can tell this particular bobcat is a female based on how she is marking.

Two potential bobcat scats are shown below. In the first photo, evidence of scratching can be seen, a practice that can be seen among felids. Scratching sites are used by felines to communicate, and can even be in use for decades! This scat isn't as blunt as the mountain lion scat seen above, but no two scats are alike, even coming from the same individual. At around 0.75" in diameter, that puts this scat solidly in bobcat range.

The second photo shows more segmented and blunt ended pieces of scat. There's also hardly any twisting, and the size is well under an inch, leading us to believe this came from a bobcat as well. It's amazing the variation between scats from the same species!

A true omnivore, the black bear. Black bear detections are always a delight to see since they have so much personality! In last month's blog we saw a pair mating and this month lacked no surprises either!

Black bears have a 2-year reproductive cycle, where females will breed around May-July, but with delayed implantation the females only become pregnant in the winter, starting in November. They will carry the cubs to term through the winter, giving birth in mid-late January. Cubs will remain with their mother, called a sow, throughout that whole year and into the next spring. They will disperse in the spring coming into their second year. Once the cubs are gone, the female is ready to mate and start the process all over again.

It's pretty easy to spot bear scat in the summer! Being true omnivores, bears love to get their paws on wild berries growing in the forest. As a result, their scat looks like it, too! The enormous volume usually gives a bear scat away, but other characteristics can include cylindrical pieces and blunt ends if they've been eating a more carnivorous or fibrous diet.

Since we've been discussing wildlife communication and sign, what better time to throw in a few bear stomps? Bears make stomp trails, and they will go over them multiple times to create a deep indentation in the soil. Sometimes they will use a "cowboy walk", which is a stiff-legged, wide-based stomping gait, twisting their feet in the ground. This helps to deposit scents from the bottom of their feet, which others can smell and use as a form of communication. 

Our last carnivore is the striped skunk. It's not uncommon or unusual to have sightings of these animals, but it is not often we get to see them in the daytime since they are pretty exclusively nocturnal.

This gang of elk were spotted, traveling with two calves! Did you know that elk can count (to some degree)? When cows (female elk) are presented with bulls (male elk) having 9 or 10 point antlers, the cows will almost always choose the bulls with 10 point antlers. How fascinating is that?

Our last ungulates are deer. Not as big as elk, they're the smallest member of the deer family (Cervidae) in Mt. Hood National Forest. These two young bucks enjoyed a quick sniff and snack before heading elsewhere in the forest. Below that, a doe deer munches on some vegetation while her fawn bounds along.

Western gray squirrels are high-energy, fast moving creatures. They love to chase one another, as seen in the photos below. They shed their fur in late spring and once again in early fall. Their tails only shed in the spring. 

The golden-mantled ground squirrel, seen below snacking, is our last squirrel and last animal for this month's blog. Often confused with chipmunks, who also have striping on the body but with additional face stripes, the golden-mantled squirrel is mostly diurnal, meaning they're most active during the day and rest at night. However during the summer months they can be seen active at any time of day. They'll start hibernating in late August to November!

Although we haven't had any camera sightings of our target species from The Wolverine Tracking Project (wolverine, gray wolf, Sierra Nevada red fox, or Pacific marten) documented on camera, volunteers did find some potential wolf and fox scat! 
​
Below, a possible gray wolf scat. There's traces of bone and hair, both of which are usually not in a domestic dog's scat and can be ruled out. The ends aren't extremely tapered, like in the coyote scat we discussed earlier, but they're also not super blunt, as seen in the feline scat. Size is also very important when looking at potential wolf scat, it must be larger than an 1.25" in average diameter to be considered for genetic analysis, and this one is just that size. 

Next is a potential Sierra Nevada red fox scat sample. As stated earlier, no two scats are alike, and sometimes scat from a feline could look like canine or vice versa. This possible fox scat is around half an inch in diameter, about the size of a human's pinky. Coyote scat are usually bigger, greater than half an inch, but less than one inch. This scat was found on top of tree bark, and it's important to note that many animals use roadways, clearings, or other big geographical markers to place their scat. 

To end things on a heartwarming note, here's a small bird's nest tucked safely away in a manzanita bush. In it, two small baby chicks. How precious!

That's all we have for this month's blog, check back next month for more exciting forest sightings!

The Wolverine Tracking Project Winter Wildlife Surveys have drawn to a close, and summer is just on the horizon. As we take a look back at findings and best photos from the season, we have a lot to celebrate! And, if you are so inclined, check out our official Wolverine Tracking Project annual research report here, for all the findings of the past year!