Gary upgraded the memory card and batteries for his birthday wildlife camera, so now it takes a ten second video every minute of the day. Or, it feels that way when you review the videos.
We've employed a speed-viewing method, which sounds like "bird ... bird... squirrel... squirrel ... squirrel ... OH GOD WHAT IS THAT?"
[If your video is not enabled: Video of scalped squirrel. Picture Ray Liotta in Hannibal. Or, Google Ray Liotta brain. Less blood, though.]
Gary has dubbed this Zombie Squirrel. I say he's a zombie victim. Whatever you call him, he is the first to eat every day.
Speaking of wounds, Gary did find out why so many of our skunks sport bloody neck wounds: the males bite the females on the neck to induce ovulation. This explains why the females look bloody and ratty ...
,,, while the males swan about in glorious coats, hickey-giving bastards that they are.
I think that skunk was just giving the camera a warning. Even with all the hot hickey sex, both genders of skunks are irritable.
[This skunk below just had a feeder full of seed dumped at his feet by a treed raccoon. He is not sharing. Double-click for all the action.]
If the video of skunk and raccoons eating at the same trough surprises you, observe this view of skunk, raccoon, and black-eared opossum sharing a meal.
Gary seems to feel the brutality of nature the most. He really gets upset when the squirrels are injured. Ray Liotta Zombie squirrel makes him scream, but he is encouraged because we see his brains every day and they seem to be healing up. The squirrel that really gets him is Oedipus Squirrel.
"But hon," I implore, as Gary hides in the corner clutching his head, "If you keep watching you'll see he still has one good eye." Oedipus Squirrel gets up early and eats right after Ray Liotta.
It looks like we have two distinctive disabled squirrels, four raccoons, two opossums, one male and three female skunks, and given the amount of ovulation going on there will be loads of skunk babies.
These are amazing! But don't you ever worry that a fight will break out some night over the last of the seeds and your backyard will smell like skunk spray for the next year? Still - the promise of baby skunk videos may make it worth it :).
Posted by: Lynn | April 05, 2016 at 08:47 AM
Nature red in tooth and claw, right there in suburbia!
Posted by: Hattie | April 05, 2016 at 01:56 PM
Lynn - Skunks only have a limited number of sprays in them (5 over 10 days), so it's rare that they spray. Plus, I think that like opossums they have to feel cornered. Our skunks can run under the porch if threatened.
Hattie - it is lovely yet terrifying.
Posted by: theQueen | April 05, 2016 at 06:17 PM