Secrets of the fall

This is a post I began last year in the fall. I kept hanging on to it, thinking I could get the little things on trail camera. Spoiler alert: I was wrong. In the meantime, we've had knee-deep snow. Yesterday, we were at 16˚ C. and have lost a great deal of snow. I haven't set a camera up there, as the walking is too difficult for me right now. We had 9 mm rain on top of the snow.  

These little holes intrigued me. I think they've been here at least a few years! They have to be a rodent of some sort. I could tell they are active, and while there used to be two, now there are four holes under this tree. 

I set up the trail camera on the tripod, which has been capturing many critters. The two trees on the right, the camera on a tripod.

The one hole on the left was the first one. I am so curious! You'll see the middle hole was either filled in, or was being excavated. 

Then it was opened.

I've been watching the hole:  Oct. 13.

I tried to see what came out of the holes. I may have given up!

We had a ton of rain, so I wasn't confident. I don't know if they like the rain or not! Most rodents have multiple entrances. So, they may just fool me. 

They keep working on this hole!

Oct 23

Oct. 28 – all covered up. Maybe they knew it was going to rain heavily?

Oct. 29 – one hole is opened up!

Nov. 1st – still nothing on the trailcams.

Nov. 2

Nov. 29

Dec. 4th – a little circle of frost!

 

Eventually, the knee-deep snow covered them up, and there are zero tell-tale signs of them. I hope they sleep and dream of spring. I can see no signs of activity. 

Aha! The Rodent mystery is solved (I think)

There have been a lot of tracks about in the powdery snow.

I've been deeply suspicious about some tracks. I know what mice tracks look like. Little toes, teeny feet. The deer mice tracks from step-to-step are about 2" apart.
I consulted my sources, various guides. Reviewed previous posts/photos: Tracks in the snow. These were different.

There was a dragging tail, which is typical of a mouse in snow, but the feet were larger than mice. I haven't see these tracks too often. Not until recently, with the terrible cold we've had: The Polar Vortex. It's been around under the bird feeder.

Rodentia

tracks with a tail
–much larger than
a mouse
The tracks are 8" apart.

We have a lot of rodents about. Rodents are characterized by constantly growing incisors. The single largest group of mammals >is Rodentia. Most non-flying mammals are rodents: there are about 1,500 living rodent species (out of about 4,000 living mammals overall).

This is a large and varied species: according to uBerkeley,

• the larger family includes common pets: guinea, muskrats, chinchillas, porcupines, lemmings, deermice, field mice, voles and packrats,  
• but excludes shrews, moles, hegehogs, rabbits (double incisors).

Most are herbivores.
Lots carry disease, like Hantavirus.
A lot of these are diurnal, we see deermice in the daytime all the time, but see evidence of their tracks from the night, and safety, of the dark.

Capybara - largest rodent

Vole (larger than deer mouse).

Shrew
Love the little toes!

The largest rodent, Capybara, I happen to have a photo of one, from the Lynwood Fun Fair. They can be 66 kilos!

Deermouse

Back to my critter, which is nocturnal.

Packrats or Woodrats

Woodrat - from Wiki

I've heard of packrats, vaguely. My mother always accused me of being one! And she was right. You never know when you need stuff for crafts!

After doing some research, there seems to be quite a few varieties of woodrats; Eastern Woodrat  ( Neotoma floridana >) a Key Largo Woodrat, Allegheny woodrat, Bushy-tailed woodrat, or Packrat. Bushy-tailed Woodrat - Neotoma cinerea, The Allegheny woodrat ( Neotoma magister ), is a species of " pack rat >" in the genus Neotoma . Once believed to be a subspecies of the eastern woodrat , extensive DNA analysis has proven it to be a distinct species. ^[2]

The rats that infest cities are called Norway rats. (Our soon-to-be D-I-L's cat caught and ate one a few years ago in Vancouver.)

woodrat Wiki

Woodrat house - used with permission
Kim Cabrera

Woodrats build really cool homes (see: Kim A. Cabrera's web page: out of sticks and shiny things. This is why they are called packrats!

I shall have to have a look out for this type of shelter in our forest/wetland, it's great habitat for them. The previous homeowners stacked brush in the forest to clear paths. They might be a house! They build bulky nests of stick, towers that can be 5' tall.

They are anywhere from 28cm - 45cm (11 - 18"), including the tail, near as I can figure.

The mystery of this critter is that something has been in the shed, gnawing and removing the garbage can lid. Several times now, I'd thought I'd forgotten to replace the lid.
I've checked for holes in the shed, but the snow is up around it and I needed snowshoes. I grabbed snowshoes, and couldn't see any entrance in.

Identifying tracks

There are lots of things to determine: the length of the track, size of the tracks, my hand span is 8", which would fit with a woodrat.

 

Lots of track aids. This one includes Eastern woodrats!
Beside my thumb: 4" - 6" from the top set of prints to the last paw. Yep.

Time to link up with Saturday's Critter party....  
and 

Camera Critters #310

Evidence in the shed

I've seen chew marks on the handles, and I'm now sure I put it on after I filled the bird feeder the other day.
I cannot imagine how a woodrat pried the lid off, but it must have!
There are tons of black sunflower seed hulls on the floor, and something has eaten a lot more than would fit into a mouse tummy!

Their scat is quite different, too.

just for comparison

This is not how I left this garbage can,
filled with yummy black sunflower seed!

sharp teeth!

Determined little twerps!

The key to the mystery is the scat.
The black, rice-like ones are mice.
The larger, beige ones have
to be a larger woodrat.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome found in Yosemite

And a new virus, borne by rodents: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (Wiki). 

[PDF] Hantavirus factsheet 06

www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/cdc/fs/Hantavirusfs.pdf

4 more cases of hantavirus confirmed among Yosemite visitors - CNN

www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/...yosemite-hantavirus/index.html

Around 1700 people who visited Yosemite National Park from mid-June to August are being advised to seek medical attention if they exhibit 

Flying Squirrel

Formerly known as Korean Hemorrhagic Fever, it is now called Hantavirus.

It sounds much like Q-fever:
Laurentian University issued a press release to say that this bacterium was found in 6/7 species of wild rodents in Algonquin Park. 

Here is a good place for research. How does this affect people and how do we react to the bacteria?

Rodents in the park include red squirrels, flying squirrels and deer mice. It was also found in flying squirrels in the Peterborough area, indicating that the bacteria may be widespread among these animal populations in Ontario.  This is an important reason to keep clean, to not feed rodents, and seal those cracks! 

Q-Fever In The Netherlands - Avian Flu Diary
They think we might get it from inhaling air-borne feces. In 2007 this happened in the Netherlands, where more than 2,000 people were infected. 

Black Squirrel

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) website states, “In Ontario, Q-fever has occasionally been diagnosed as a cause of abortion in sheep and goats. Reported human cases have been associated with exposure to abortions in sheep and goats, and drinking unpasteurised goat's milk. Exposure to placenta and contaminated materials from cats has been a common source of human Q fever infection in Nova Scotia.

Like Lyme Disease, Treatment, according to OMAFRA, is antibiotics for animals, but some humans experience chronic conditions. Education and awareness is important. 



From Medscape:

Sadie and her mouse

C burnetii infects various hosts, including humans, ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats), and pets—and, in rare cases, reptiles, birds, and ticks. This bacterium is excreted in urine, milk, feces, and birth products. These products, especially the latter, contain large numbers of bacteria that become aerosolized after drying. C burnetii is highly infectious, and only a few organisms can cause disease.



Our cats are doing their part.



Infected rodents widespread

Researchers are now trying to determine how the bacteria is maintained and spread in the natural environment. C. Burnetii is usually found on farms and infection of humans generally occurs through contact with sheep, goats or cattle.


Farm virus

Deer mouse

 A team of Laurentian University biology researchers, led by Canada Research Chair Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde have found evidence of the spread of the zoonotic bacterium Coxiella bernetii in wildlife in the park and say their findings suggest that some visitors to the park could be at risk of infection. 

Caitlin and a chipmunk

somebody caught a mole

Red Squirrel

Sadie and her prey

Felix and his first mole

Chipmunk