Site Discussions

I have been feeding a mamma raccoon and 3 kits.  She lost one.  My neighbor has kids and told me to stop or they will call an exterminator.  It is November and I still want to feed them but my hands seem to be tied.  Any suggestions.

The approach of “what will my woods look like” (and from forester, landowner, logger) is spot on and is something that I can help with my forestry clients. I couldn’t reach Amy’s PDF, : (  Thank you for the good work though. S

Hopeful that at least some species are co-existing in a semblance of peace.
We had a mother porcupine and her young `un feasting under our apple trees from late summer through harvest and they were nonplussed whenever I had to pass nearby during chores.
But no evidence of co-housing in our woodland.

How has nobody commented on this yet?  Let’s face it, Northern Woodlands (which I read avidly) is not normally known for stellar creative writing or humor.  But this piece was different. I chuckled all the way through it and re-read it several times.  Excellent work Dave Mance III and I hope the magazine will continue to feature such work when the opportunity presents itself.

The ice has just started to form on our lake. Over the last week I have watched a muskrat use a hole about a foot off my shore to dive in and out with clumps of grass it is pulling out of my lawn. The muskrat is cute and grass can be replanted in the Spring so he can have at it. However, I am concerned about my shoreline. I put a lot of work and money into fabric and rocks. Will the muskrat try to burrow into my bank if I let him continue to progress with his winter hut?

Interesting article!  Thank you.

I don’t have any first hand stories, but know my cat is not concerned with porcupines.  We don’t have raccoons.  (He is curious about deer, loves small rodents, ignores skunks, hates turkeys, and is deathly afraid of coyotes.  I haven’t experienced his reaction to the weasel family, though they are here and guess he is pretty afraid of them.)

Back to the article, I wonder if another animal isn’t a threat (food source or safety wise), it’s mostly a “live and let live” world out there.  They are not going to burn extra calories avoiding each other. 

The single entrance to multiple dens theory makes sense.  As well as more warmth and/or safety in numbers possibilities. 

One idea I like is humans are not the only species to enjoy interacting with other species.  There are enough YouTube videos to prove that - though it’s often a baby of one of the species.  But how many different types of animals does that inter-species interest include?  Porcupines and raccoons?

One thing I find interesting is I’ve always considered raccoons to live more around people and porcupines deeper in the woods. 

We really know so little about nature.  Not only what we know we don’t know.  But ideas we don’t even know enough to consider.

I have seen similar behavior on my game camera. I’ve posted a video here from YouTube showing interactions with raccoons. All the visits that the raccoons make are very short and I’ve never seen them stay more than a few minutes. The porcupine seems distressed when it returns and finds that the raccoons have been there. I’ve been in contact with Dr Roze in regards to scenting behavior at this particular densite. The porcupine would scent mark regularly when leaving the den and occasionally when returning.

I will be placing a couple of cameras out this winter on a different den to see how often they mark along the trails to their feeding sites. I will share this to the Trail camera photo video Facebook page to see if others have some more insight into this topic.

So interesting, Elise! If you haven’t already, it might be a good idea to set the camera to record video so you can see what they are doing. Are both repeatedly going in and out of the entry hole? At this time of year, some animals are just searching for good winter shelters, so the fact that they were both seen near the entry hole doesn’t necessarily mean they both live there. They may be competing for the same spot, not sharing it. Also, individuals don’t necessarily use the same den every day. Could be a porcupine tonight and a raccoon tomorrow. And, as you suggest, the entry hole may lead to different chambers. Finally, animals are curious about the dens of other animals, both those of the same and those of other species. They stop to sniff and sometimes urinate or defecate near the entrance. With still photos you really can’t tell what is going on there. I haven’t seen porcupines and raccoons sharing entry holes, but in the western US I have seen multiple species visiting old badger dens: some apparently to use it, and others just to take a whiff probably to see who lives there. Usually use is sequential, not simultaneous. The one pair of species I have seen repeatedly using the same den entries during the same time period are kangaroo rats and antelope squirrels. Presumably they are using different tunnels that branch off of the entry tunnel. Nonetheless it’s very interesting because they compete for some of the same foods but the rat is nocturnal and the squirrel is diurnal, so it is as if there’s a day shift and a night shift for the same niche. Here is a blog post with a video montage of animals visiting 4 different badger dens. I have a lot more material of animals using the same burrows that I haven’t gotten around to posting yet. https://winterberrywildlife.ouroneacrefarm.com/2019/07/28/life-at-four-badger-burrows/

Hi Elise,

I have spent quite a bit of time with porcupines in their winter lodgings and can share a couple of observations. In talus areas where there appear to be many potential dens, porcupines use those sites that have been used historically by other porcupines. These are the ones that remain dry and cozy. Maybe raccoons have learned that porcupines know the good spots, and vice versa.

Like Uldis, I have found porcupines denning solo most often, but have also observed porcupines developing friendships and choosing to den together when other dens are available nearby, Burdock and Dangerous Dan most notably. Burdock was a juvenile male and Dangerous Dan was an unrelated adult female. They still complained about who got which corner (first come, first served), but chose to share the same cave and followed each other when out and about.

I didn’t check to see if the guy who asked about skunk legs growing back posted on April 1, but I hope so. Lizard legs do NOT grow back and neither do the limbs of any vertebrate. Amazing how often vets get asked this question. Should’ve paid attention in biology class, pal.

Thanks for the kind words, Mary. There are lots of great guidebooks out there. Though few books do both identification and edible uses well. For ID I still recommend the old Peterson Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs by Petrides. It’s a great botany lesson as well as a key. Happy foraging.

We have a group of mature turkeys living in some woods next to several acres of grasslands. I have wondered about many of the things in this artilcle.  Thanks for posting it.

This is a very helpful article.  I have not been able to find a good guide to wild shrubs of the north woods that gives me the detail I need to identify each.  I had no idea, for instance, that these shrubs had edible fruit for humans. Thanks so much for this wonderful, informative article.  I love the magazine.

Lovely article! Could it be that humans identify with the wooly bear because of their mammal-like coat? We are rather mammal-centric.

Last year we had a large white skunk visiting our apartment complex here in NH every night into early morning digging in the yard..This year, he/she isn’t anywhere ( maybe he died?) Last night I went out for a cigarette and caught some eye-shine from a small skunk ( size of a kitten) and when I came out this morning it was still out there digging for grubs. How old are they when they leave mom and venture out on there own and could this be a baby of our albino skunk? Why isn’t he out all summer long and why start foraging now when it just started snowing ? ( Our first snow was yesterday November 8, 2019) Thank you.

An engaging and encouraging article. I miss all the connections with Vermont friends, wardens, waters and forests. Maine’s, too!

What an interesting interview, Elise.
We should be very grateful to have such an outstanding public servant working on behalf of Vermont’s forests.

I thought I had seen one of these in a wooded patch in an industrial park in Avon MA, could have been a Fisher though. It freaked me out, I didnt know these existed and to see it in that setting made me think it was a weird cryptid/mutated/maimed cat or fox

We went from 80 degrees during the day on the 9th of Oct. to a low of about 25 degrees and then consistently below freezing to a low of about 5-7 degrees the following night, the 11th. None of our leaves had changed color. Leaves froze on the trees. Elm leaves have blown off with a wind event. But our prize American Elm and cherry tree have not dropped their leaves. If we get a heavy wet snow, that will be a problem. Is there anything I can do?

3 a.m.  Cat brings in a mole [dead]. It is approximately 4”. But it has a white, a red and another white stripe from it’s head to it’s nose. It also has a green nodule [looks like and is the size of a small pea [green] on each front foot. I didn’t get a picture, just wanted it off my bed. Have seen a lot of moles, etc. growing up in country, but not like this one.  Thanks