Bobcat: these photos were all taken at Site 2 (Lot 12), (proving that there really are bobcats roaming around campus!) It was only observed smelling the area where the lure was placed, with no direct evidence of scent-marking itself.
Gray Fox: these photos were also taken at Site 2(Lot 12), and you can clearly see the fox mark the vine where the lure was left with his/her own scent; and then returns a few minutes later with a fox friend to investigate the area again.
Red Fox: this photo taken at Site 1 (Cadwell), and you can see that this fox species also likes to rub/roll on the lure scent (likely trying to cover up the scent of the lure with his/her own scent)
Coyote: this photo was also taken at Site 1 (Cadwell), and you can see the coyote leaving its scent in the form of urine in the general area where the lure was spread. This was 1 of only 2 coyote pictures my cameras captured over the entire 3wks because coyotes tend to be very wary of human presence (and scent).
I'm wondering why the other animals were recorded having a stronger response to the odor than the bobcat, when the lure is made with a bobcat-gland base? I expected to see a stronger reaction from the bobcat, smelling another bobcat in its territory.
Posted by Brianna Eddy (7)
Very cool that you were able to set up an experiment like this.
ReplyDeleteIs there any way to tell whether the scent you placed was from a male or female, or the sex of the animal investigating the area? Maybe that had something to do the the Bobcat's response.
Posted by Emily Nobrega
I Wish I didn't read this blog. I'm already scared of running into a opossum or a skunk on campus, now I need to worry about bobcats, foxes, coyotes oh my! I feel like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I hope I never bead to go to lot 12 that's for sure! This is very interesting to know that all these species still persist in the area even with such a large human presence around.
ReplyDeletePosted by Noelle Kellicker
Hi Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you posted this because now I know I have to look out for bobcats and foxes along with all the other wildlife out on this campus.
One reason why the bobcat did not respond to the scent could be that it was a male scent to a male bobcat. So once it sniffed the scent it could automatically tell that there is another male bobcat around and that was his territory. And obviously fighting is costly so it probably left to avoid the fight.
The other animals took longer examining the scent because they could be trying to identify what animal it is and if it is a threat because you can tell a lot about an animal just by its scent as we have learned.
Posted by Whitney Huynh
I had no idea that we had these creatures on and around campus. Have you done any experiments on the odors of these creatures? Professor Houlihan talked about odor images in class before, is that something you will do for your wildlife habitat management class? You mentioned that this project is to compare the various carnivore species, but is there an overall goal to this project?
ReplyDeleteIt appears that both coyotes and foxes are covering site 1 with their scents. Is this a territorial act? If so, would you expect the two animals to fight if they encountered each other at this site?
Posted by James Lin
I am so glad you posted this! It is funny because I know a few commuters that park in Lot 12, I will have to tell them to watch out! Last year, I was coming back from lamb watch for sheep group at 3 am, and I went to park in Lot 11 outside of Southwest, and I see a coyote trotting down the parking lot towards me, stopping to sniff under every car. It was amazing. I wonder if it was the same one that you caught on camera- they have a very wide range. This makes me wonder how well foxes and coyotes and bobcats can all share different portions of the same territory around here, since they are different species, and the space is so urbanized and confined. Was the bobcat lure real pheromones or was it artificial? That may have something to do with how the bobcat reacted to it.
ReplyDeletePosted by Chelsea Van Thof.
Different animals probably have different olfactory responses to different degrees of odor. This is really cool! Although, I don't really know about the whole experimenting on vertebrates thing... This is interesting nonetheless, and it would be cool to see what the chemical compositions of the odors are and tweak it to see responses.
ReplyDeletePosted by Michael Shi
Aw, I didn't mean to scare anyone, sorry about that! I just think it's amazing how we can have these fascinating predators so close to home and not even realize it. I tried looking up the lure online, but I can't get any info on exactly what the ingredients are and whether it might smell like a male or a female or artificial or anything like that.. I was also wondering how far the lure was attracting animals; because the point of the work we're doing with our findings is to compare the species found in natural, altered, and urban habitats, and I'd like to know how far away these animals could be potentially attracted from.
ReplyDeletePosted by Brianna Eddy