Posts tagged animal-behaviour
I live in a rural area around 59° north. When driving around I often see rodents darting across the roads during high winds (20-50mph), but very rarely see them when the weather is calm. Rain doesn...
A few nights ago I saw some minks in the grass right next to a seasonal irrigation canal that is dry most of the year shortly after dark. The irrigation canal has no fish or crawdads in it, because...
We prefer watching animals from a distance, to try and cause them the least disruption. Every so often I've seen an animal in a distant part of a large area that doesn't appear to feel right. For i...
I found this dragonfly, here, at around 13,400 ft. The coordinates are 43°10'52.96"N, 109°39'17.74"W if anyone would like to check the location themselves. It didn't look like it was moving...
Female mountain lions will scream to attract a mate, and males will do it as well. This YouTube video and this one both have audio of what it sounds like. Given how loud it sounds, would there be...
I wish to get rid of these wasps. I am not sure what they are trying to do. Are these wasps creating a hive? Or is there something from the A/C they are collecting to create a hive somewhere else?
There is a video going round of two guys flipping a sea turtle that had ended up on its back so it could get back into the water. How would a sea turtle end up on its back in the first place (it s...
Yesterday, there was a raccoon climbing a 20 plus story building in Minnesota, today it made it to the top and was caught in a live trap for transport to back to the wild. It brings up the questio...
I was reading this answer about how raccoons were introduced into Germany, and after the other questions on this site about the harm caused by non-native species,(grey squirrels, house sparrows, et...
This question is based on my desire to avoid disturbing, injuring, or scaring away an octopus which is camouflaged to look like a coral reef. Since it's so difficult to see, I'd like to know how to...
I live in the West Georgia area. We now have several trees chewed up beginning 5 feet off the ground and all the way around the tree, some to the very top. I found a birch that had a 4 foot section...
In one of the gravel parking lots I pass on my way to work there are a number of cotton tail rabbits that hang out there. At one end of parking lot there is piled up gravel from all of the plowing...
All of the times I have seen Rocky Mountain goats it has been by accident, you come around the corner of the trail in the mountains and there they are. If one were to go deliberately looking for t...
While hiking in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada, I came around the corner and saw several mountain goats who had made several fairly large scrapes (3-4 ft long and a couple feet wide) in the ground. ...
This question is inspired by the question of @Sue on the peripheral vision of squirrels. It is a much less appealing question, but I figure if we can ask about animal behavior at feeding stations,...
Our suburban yard in Massachusetts has a small woodsy area. We use a section for feeders for birds, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, and the occasional bear or fox. In an area o...
We went to Gargantua this weekend, I've been going at least once a year for the past few years, and it's not uncommon to see rocky mountain goats up at that elevation, but this time around we ran...
After finding out that Rocky Mountain Goats have killed one person and have been known to harass hikers, how would you protect yourself from an aggressive goat? In most cases I would guess that sim...
Is a coyote or pack of coyotes likely to attack my small dog if she is with me on a trail on a leash? I heard of someone's dog being eaten while the woman was walking her pet on a leash. She was a...
I currently live about 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. On February 20-21, 2015, a fairly significant snow and ice event struck the area. On February 29-March 1, 2016, a smaller event...
I spent much of today cycling around quiet country lanes in South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, and saw at least 6 dead badgers on the road. I saw a few others earlier in the week on ...
A friend of mine told me that elephants used for tourism in Thailand are mistreated. They are taken away from their mothers in the wilderness and brought to a station where they are tortured to mak...
I live in Massachusetts, in the Northeastern region of the United States. As a lover of bees, I'd like to learn how to identify some varieties, including their behavior, and how they're raised. M...
I was out in the woods the other day and I came across a tree. It had all of the bark around the bottom removed, and a good layer of wood removed as well. I estimated the damage was a good 7-8 feet...
There is a gravel parking lot with trees on either side that I pass on my way to work and there are always a couple of cottontail rabbits hanging out under and next to the cars parked there. Why a...
I recently came across a gif file showing a gang of turkeys circling what appears to be a dead cat. It appears to be a structured formation as the turkeys are trotting at the same pace and spacing ...
I often approach deer to see how near I can get and to watch them (just for fun - not to hunt). I take care for the wind and of course to be silent enough. What else should one consider stalking/...
Last spring, we went to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, United States. We don't like places with captive animals, unless they're work is essential for the survival of life on the planet. We m...
We have a woodpile, protected from wind and precipitation, under the eaves of our house. Earlier, perhaps a month earlier, I several times saw two chipmunks emerging from, and going back into the ...
There has been some discussion on this question about whether or not hunting would increase or decrease the likelihood of a mountain lion attack. I have seen some websites saying that it does not, ...
There are many folklore tales of animals being used to predict weather. Just a few examples from the Old Farmers Almanac: When cats sneeze, it is a sign of rain. If the mole digs its hole 2½ fee...
I've seen this happen several times. The robin hops along, stops, tilts it's head slightly and then grabs the worm/grub, etc. What's the purpose of this gesture? I'm thinking it maybe helps them...
I've heard from a friend that some bees exhibit behavioral changes during a solar eclipse event. I'd like to know what the changes are. Apparently there's a cycle that starts as the eclipse begins...
We live in a suburban town in Massachusetts, Northeast United States. We keep a lot of bird feeders stocked all year with things birds and animals like, excluding meat and fruit. Yesterday, Oct...
I live in the suburban town of Holden, in Central Massachusetts. Many hundreds of acres of mature woodland areas are being torn down nearby to create new roads and housing developments, and it's ge...
I've noticed that there is a moth on the outside of my apartment door that has been just sitting there for two days now: There is a light outside my apartment door that likely is what attracted ...
Roughly 10 years ago I hiked up Lassen Peak in Northern California, and there was a huge (hundreds of thousands) butterfly migration going right over the top of the peak around this time of year. I...
There is a video of a seal sucker punching a kayaker with an octopus, Source I suppose the seal wasn't exactly trying to hit the kayaker, but why would it be flinging the octopus around above t...
We've often heard that moose are most active in the early morning or late in the day, around dusk, and are usually near a natural water source. Every year, we travel a few hours away to areas tha...
While walking in a state park in New Jersey last week, my husband and I came upon what looked like anthills. This small sign was posted on a nearby tree: "Please don't step on the mounds of dirt. M...
There as been the claim that European and North American wolves behave differently, especially when it comes to encounters with humans. This was brought up in a comment in this question on a wolf e...
There is an area that I would like to explore at daytime and at night time. I have seen only two foxes in that area during the day time. One of the locals told me not to go out at night because fo...
Stallions will kill unrelated foals, but I have heard that male mountain lions will kill their own kittens, ostensibly to bring the females back into heat so they can breed again. (Bears will do th...
Usually when I'm at the beach, especially at low tide, there are many pieces of open or broken shells of mollusks, including clams. They can't survive without their shells, so those broken pieces a...
There are pictures of bobcats climbing on top of really tall cacti, the one story I read says that the reason the bobcat climbed the tree was to get away from a mountian lion who was trying give it...
I was on the canoe trail at Presque Isle today, and there were large fish splashing in the shallows all over the place. We learned from a passerby that it was carp mating season, and the splash w...
I found the remains a of a porcupine in the woods, with nothing left but quills and hair. As porcupines are pretty well protected by their quills, what types of animals would be capable of killi...
More than once, I have come across a porcupine in the woods sleeping on the ground during the daytime instead of in a tree. They keep their nose tucked down and their long hairs provide some degree...
I have seen some barn cats that were claimed to be the offspring of female barn cats and a male bobcat (they had bobbed tails). Wikipedia says that there is circumstantial and anecdotal evidence f...
What should I do if an elephant is annoyed by my presence and if I can't outrun it?
