Forester and naturalist Lynn Levine snapped this picture last fall. In all, there were about 25 apples in the crooks of trees at different heights – 10 feet in the air, near the ground, and every height in between. “It looked like an Easter egg hunt,” she recalls.
She makes a pretty convincing case that she knows whodunit. Do you?
Answer
Red Squirrel
We asked Lynn how she could be sure it was a red squirrel, and she indicated that each apple had clear teeth marks in it. She initially suspected porcupine, but found no sources that indicated that porcupines cache food. Red squirrels do squirrel away food, though. And the teeth on a red squirrel skull she had at home matched the marks on the apples perfectly.
Lynn has a new kids’ book out called Snow Secrets – a work of fiction that details the tracking adventures of two six-year-old girls. To learn more about the book, check out http://heartwoodpress.com/
This week’s contest winner was Jackie Donnelly of Saratoga Springs, NY. We had over 50 correct answers!