What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Mystery in Mud

What’s the muddy depression that these folks are looking at? (That’s our Tracking Tips columnist Sue Morse in green, for those who don’t know her.)

Answer

A moose wallow. Bull moose create these depressions during breeding season, then urinate in them. Both sexes will then roll in the pee-covered mud. It all seems weird to us, but moose, like most mammals, use scent to communicate in ways we can only tenuously grasp. If we weren’t such good talkers, our courtship rituals would probably be similar.

This week’s contest winner was Doug Plummer