Nature & Wildlife Thread

[HARO]

Nice, j.w. Just wondering; did you dig smelt fish, or did you smell fish? :biggrin:
John

 

[j.w]

Hardy har har Haro :biggrin: We used a scooping type of net and when the big swarm of smelt came near you scooped them up and in the bucket they go. We fed them to our seagull we were nursing back to health and of course we ate some ourselves. You don't even clean the little suckers,you just flour them up, use salt and pepper and fry them in lots of real butter........................oh man they were good :trampolin:

 

[HARO]

We used to net them in Lake Ontario, until about 1975 or so. Haven't seen any since, and don't even think they still exist in our lake! Wonder what happenned? :dunno: In the mid-sixties, a friend fell into the water while smelt-fishing. When we pulled him out, he had half-a-dozen in his pockets!!
John

 

[j.w]

Did not know they were in freshwater too. The ones we caught were from the Pacific Ocean.

 

[HARO]

Apparently they migrated down the St. Lawrence and became established in Lake Ontario and (I think) Lake Erie. :fish2: :goldfish:
John

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Apparently they migrated down the St. Lawrence and became established in Lake Ontario and (I think) Lake Erie. :fish2: :goldfish:
John

Yeah we had them in Lake Michigan too, not any more i don't think. Or at least not enough that people talk about it anymore.

 

[sissy]

geeze haro should have thrown him in a couple of more times

 

[Catfishnut]

Here's a bit of info I found on the critters:

The woodchuck — whose scientific name is Marmota monax — is more commonly called by one of several other names, such as groundhog, whistle pig or even land beaver. Woodchucks are rodents from the group of large ground squirrels called marmots.
So what’s up with all the different names? Woodchucks live all over the United States. Because they can be found in so many different areas, they came to be known by unique names in different regions.
For example, some people call them whistle pigs. When woodchucks are threatened, they will squeal loudly. Their squeal sounds somewhat like a whistle. This warns other woodchucks of danger and may also scare off predators.
In those areas where they’re known as woodchucks, it’s not because they like to chuck wood. Native Americans had several different names for woodchucks: otchek (Cree), otchig (Ojibwa) and wuchak (Algonquian).
English settlers used the more familiar sounds of their own language to come up with a word that sounded like these Native American names. That’s how “woodchuck” came about.

Punxutawney Phil happens to be a woodchuck / groundhog.

They can actually make good pets if you get them young, before they become accustomed to being wild. I have had three of them as pets for a short time. The first one was very young and I think that his mother had been killed because he was out of the den and way too far away to be on his own alone. He may also have simply been ill because he did not live long and he was sneezing when I found him. I fed him and took him for sunny walks in the yard and if he strayed too far away, I would make a chirping whistle sound (by sucking air in through tightly pursed lips), and he would run right back to me and sit on my tennis shoe or between my feet or try to climb up my pant leg. When I was sitting down, he would climb up on my chest and curl up under my chin and go to sleep. The other two I found turned out to be too old already and they were too fiesty to be converted into pets. I admired them and studied them for a while and then released them.

They can be litterbox trained, will perform tricks for treats and also eat every table and chair leg in your house. They do actually go into true hibernation during winter months, like Punxutawney Phil. However, I think they are artificially bringing Phil out of hibernation early to match up with Grounhog Day. Normally they emerge from their dens when the temperature rises to a specific warm level for a period of time and that should not be until later in February, March or even early in April.

Also, they do actually chuck wood, I saw it on a Gieco commercial once.

 

[addy1]

We had 4 pups born and growing up under our garage and deck. They were so darn cute, but but but, no thanks as a pet. Not that bad when grown up, but their poo stinks unreal, and they munch munch munch all plants they can find. They sure have big teeth.

We trapped and moved around 6 mid summer when it is safe to relocate them, so they can have time to make a new home for winter. We had few too many eating our plants.

They loved to lay on the deck and sun themselves. We stopped building it until they moved out of the den.

 

[Catfishnut]

Addy,

Out at our cabin we have so many woodchucks that we must reduce their population. They were digging under everyone's foundations and in a couple of campsites they really did some major damage. So I started live-trapping them and relocating them to another property that we own where they can be really happy and not cause damage to any human settlements.

I didn't have that much time with them to experience their odiferous poo! hee hee But when I read about their gnawing and chewing habits (their teeth grow just like a beavers - continuously - so they must gnaw on wood and things to keep their teeth in check) I figured that it was not a good idea for a house pet. Info on the web stated that they would make sawdust and shavings of all your wood furniture. NOT happening here!

However, they are definitely "cute" and funny critters and the little one was simply adorable! He responded to people just like a small puppy! I kid you not. I actually have to admit that I fell in love with the little varmint. I did not have any idea that such a wild animal could be so receptive to human contact. I'd set him down in the grass and he would go everywhere I would, following me around like a puppy. Eat fruit and veggies out of my hand, but take them in such a gentle way that it almost seemed that he was sincerely trying to be polite about it. He would grab for the food, but if I didn't release it right away, he would stop and look up at me as if to ask if he could have it, "please".

It was an amazing experience.

Gordy

 

[addy1]

That is the reason we relocated a bunch of them, they were taking over, under garage, under shed, along fence. Just loving the salad bar of my yard. yummy plants to snack on.
Lost the power to my pond, I think they chewed through the lines under the deck, Honey finally ran a new line from the house, in pvc from the house to the pipes heading to the pond.

 

[HARO]

Yes, they are such darling creatures.... until a horse or cow breaks a leg stepping in a chuckhole! I made a few $ in my youth shooting the buggers for local farmers. I don't think a relocation programme would have gone over too well with the neighbours! Now-a-days the coyotes have pretty well wiped them out in our area.
John

 

[addy1]

We are rural enough there is farm less, house less areas, that I took the ground hogs to, nice river, some fields, woods, no people.

 

[Catfishnut]

Wanted to share this photo with all of you...

 

[addy1]

Very nice.