NFR Got any mammal pictures
- Thread starter Cabezon
- Start date
Non-fishing related
Pretty sure those are yellow bellied marmots (locally, “rock chucks”) and they are indeed “obese ground squirrels,” although they prefer “plus sized.” No need to body shame rodents.
Spike elk.
Gyrfalcon22
Legend
Mystic Connecticut (just down the road from Mystic Pizza) wild mammal.
And here he is a little later seen lurking near the water…
And here he is a little later seen lurking near the water…
When I was growing up in Massachusetts in the 60’s and 70’s, seeing a gray seal was extremely rare. For a while, there was even a $5 bounty on them and they commonly drowned in the nets of fishers. But after they came under the protection of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, their numbers have exploded. Like gray wolves (…), the genesis of this recovery was immigration of Canadians, specifically gray seals from Sable Island. Current estimates put their population at 30,000 to 50,000 individuals with several pupping beaches along the coast of Cape Cod. And there are concerns by fishermen that such as large biomass of predators must be impacting fisheries. Gray seals do have a catholic diet that includes commercially-important species. But evidence on the relative importance / impact of gray seal predator on fisheries is weak. There have been multiple reports of gray seals stealing striped bass from the lines of shore-fishers on the Cape. And the presence of all this pinniped biomass has attracted a growing population to great white sharks to the area. Unintended consequences.
My wife and I had seen several large aggregations of gray seals hauled out off the tip of Cape Cod and along Monomoy Island when we visited last Labor Day (gotta get my nieces and nephews to coordinate their weddings...). Their presence has also stimulated a wildlife tourism industry in this area to see these aggregations.
So, when our striper guide on the North Shore mentioned that he knew of a reliable spot to see hauled out gray seals, I was certainly very interested. And there were 30-40 individuals hauled out on a seaweed-covered island.
Gray seals are quite a bit larger than the harbor seals that we commonly see in the Salish Sea. Adult males can reach 10 feet long and almost 900 pounds (harbor seal males top out at 6 feet and 370 pounds). Female gray seals can grow to 7.5 feet and 550 pounds (harbor seal females are smaller than males).
If anything, the recovery of gray seals is yet more evidence that 1) the biological world is never in balance (sorry, Al Gore) or equilibrium and 2) you should expect that changes in biological populations will lead to unpredictable consequences ("Life finds a way.").
Steve
My wife and I had seen several large aggregations of gray seals hauled out off the tip of Cape Cod and along Monomoy Island when we visited last Labor Day (gotta get my nieces and nephews to coordinate their weddings...). Their presence has also stimulated a wildlife tourism industry in this area to see these aggregations.
So, when our striper guide on the North Shore mentioned that he knew of a reliable spot to see hauled out gray seals, I was certainly very interested. And there were 30-40 individuals hauled out on a seaweed-covered island.
Gray seals are quite a bit larger than the harbor seals that we commonly see in the Salish Sea. Adult males can reach 10 feet long and almost 900 pounds (harbor seal males top out at 6 feet and 370 pounds). Female gray seals can grow to 7.5 feet and 550 pounds (harbor seal females are smaller than males).
If anything, the recovery of gray seals is yet more evidence that 1) the biological world is never in balance (sorry, Al Gore) or equilibrium and 2) you should expect that changes in biological populations will lead to unpredictable consequences ("Life finds a way.").
Steve
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@Cabezon They do make Great White bait. We started to see an influx of Great Whites around Monomoy in the late 80s and 90s. One of them was trapped in an inlet on the Cape for a Couple weeks in the 00’s due to entering on a spring tide and had to wait until more water was available to escape. Here’s one from a NH beach last week.
Know for fact there are far fewer wade fisherman at the Cape now.
cdnred
Life of the Party
Ya gotta luv that Mystic Pizza..
While I was working in Connecticut back in 2004-07, I used to luv stopping by for their pizza, best around at the time..
I think they have something special in Yellowstone and I’m happy for all involved…but look again….and again
These haven’t been genetically engineered nor are they albino, but every few seasons Mom gives birth to one or two. They are not considered white but a cream phase. Did not get close enough to check under the tongue for coloration.
These haven’t been genetically engineered nor are they albino, but every few seasons Mom gives birth to one or two. They are not considered white but a cream phase. Did not get close enough to check under the tongue for coloration.
SpeyrodGB
Life of the Party
Went for a little float today. Along the float we encountered a bull moose. since he was in the river where we needed to float, we anchored and watched him for a bit. Bullwinkle decided to browse on some tree branches. Bullwinkle then crossed the channel and eventually walked onto an island. We pulled anchor and floated on by. I have had the pleasure of seeing numerous moose along the river and I'm still amazed how big they are.
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They look even bigger when you are on cross-country skis in deep snow and you happen to encounter one.
They really look big when you are wading and they come out of the bushes and decide to enter the water and come towards you. Did I say fast? They are very FAST!