I set up my camera at a nearby beaver pond for a few days. Besides a couple of pictures of a neighborhood cat, I got several shots of a handsome buck, one of an inquisitive coyote, and a good number of the hard-working beaver himself. I've posted the more interesting ones ... showing him with a muddy mouth, positioning some rotten-looking vegetation on the lodge and finally, mooning the camera (such a rare tail shot, I couldn't resist).
Wonderful shots, Susan! I can understand why the coyote would visit (free cats!), but I wonder what attracted the buck?
ReplyDeleteCall me a simpleton, but couldn't it be just a grassy snack that captured the buck's interest?
ReplyDeleteNot sure why a beaver scent mound would mean much to a deer, but that is what he seemed to be investigating. There are several shots of him in the exact same spot, raising and lowering his head and sniffing around. In one picture, he has his tongue out. This reminded me of the pictures I got a year or so ago of the many animals that visited an otter scat site, including deer. Neither sites were on game trails, but definitely seemed to be specific destinations for sniffing mammals.
ReplyDeleteOh. I couldn't tell there was a scent mound there. In the photo above it looked to me like he was after the grass at the base of the tree.
ReplyDeleteBut I wouldn't be too surprised about any animal investigating a strong smelling bodily fluid from any other animal. It's how they investigate the world.
Assuming the buck was investigating the scent mound: Castoreum is a concentrate of a variety of compounds, many of which are sequestered from the plants beavers eat. So, among other things, the buck could be noticing the aroma of some of the plants that he also eats.
But this also makes me curious about how much animals are capable of "sizing up" members of other species. Is the buck learning anything in particular about his large rodent neighbors, other than what he ate?
Love the sequence. Great pictures! There are few mammals that don't find castoreum to be a very interesting sniff. I like it too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, CTC. I agree, castoreum is definitely among the better-smelling critter scents out there. (Arguably a close second to porcupine urine.) Love your site, by the way. Such a nice variety of subjects. And the recent owl shots are incredible. (Some pig!)
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