I have a love/hate relationship with chipmunks. They are such cheery little animals that are constantly busy. Yet, one house in MI that I lived in they became the bane of my existence. The neighborhood was full of chipmunks. The house backed up to multiple other houses that all had chain-link fences. “My” chipmunk would sit under my window, every Saturday morning-early, and bark at the chipmunks in the other yards. And they would bark back! They were so loud and insistent And they also ate my succulents. But, other than that experience, I really do enjoy watching them gather food and run about.
I read about black bears while making this post https://realwildlife.substack.com/p/wild-life-american-black-bear and wonder if it's possible, through education, to live alongside? Bears are smart creatures. Reminds me that it's time to take down the bird feeders and leave them all be.
Thanks, I will listen to this! I really want to coexist with bears. We've never had much trouble with our compost either, just need a bunch of dried leaves to offset the gooey stuff.
Thanks for this! So interesting about the trees' strategies as well, it's all such a moveable feast. Related to the mention of roads, here's a study I found about small mammal avoidance of roads (which I was glad to know about, I've always wondered): https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/89/4/895/871210
From Lauren, writing about chipmunks in Michigan:
I have a love/hate relationship with chipmunks. They are such cheery little animals that are constantly busy. Yet, one house in MI that I lived in they became the bane of my existence. The neighborhood was full of chipmunks. The house backed up to multiple other houses that all had chain-link fences. “My” chipmunk would sit under my window, every Saturday morning-early, and bark at the chipmunks in the other yards. And they would bark back! They were so loud and insistent And they also ate my succulents. But, other than that experience, I really do enjoy watching them gather food and run about.
"a sleeping room the size of a basketball" ... love it
It sounds nice, doesn't it? They stuff it full of food and then sleep on a layer of grass and leaves. Not bad, really.
Also, my favorite cassette as a kid, played over and over, was Chipmunk Rock. Here's their version of "Whip It" by Devo !! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL-9hvDpce4
I read about black bears while making this post https://realwildlife.substack.com/p/wild-life-american-black-bear and wonder if it's possible, through education, to live alongside? Bears are smart creatures. Reminds me that it's time to take down the bird feeders and leave them all be.
Thanks, I will listen to this! I really want to coexist with bears. We've never had much trouble with our compost either, just need a bunch of dried leaves to offset the gooey stuff.
Thanks for this! So interesting about the trees' strategies as well, it's all such a moveable feast. Related to the mention of roads, here's a study I found about small mammal avoidance of roads (which I was glad to know about, I've always wondered): https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/89/4/895/871210