It felt like we had a slow start to summer here in Lyme, but my wildlife cameras nonetheless captured bears, bobcats, and more. In this post, I’ll share two videos spanning July 1 through August 5.
The first video is from a hillside near the center of town, several miles from here. (In other posts I’ve referred to it as “Region 2”.) As we’ve seen in prior videos, this hillside seems to have dozens of porcupine dens. This video shows some really interesting porcupine behavior: scent-marking. We see porcupines rubbing their cheek on a tree, spraying a spot on the ground, and peeing on a tiny sapling, presumably to mark their territory. We see, for the first time, video of a porcupine parent and child (what does one call a porcupine baby?). Watch closely and you’ll also see cameo appearances of bear, bobcat, and flying squirrel!
The second video is closer to home – literally, in our backyard. Last summer I kept a camera trained on a big pile of sticks – a pile that had accumulated over twenty years, and which apparently has become a groundhog nursery; some might remember the video of momma groundhog and her 7 rambunctious pups. This year, momma groundhog has been seen only rarely. Perhaps the pups will appear later in the season?
Coming soon: part 2, with lots more bobcats and bears!
David Kotz 