The April Photo of the Month is this curious deer spotted peeking at a trail camera of our volunteer, Emily Case. Thank you Emily for submitting this photo!

Not only are deer naturally curious animals with an inclination to run when presented with a potential threat, but these animals can reach speeds of up to 40mph in short bursts. As deer are considered a prey species, they are adapted to have impeccable eyesight with motion detection and are able to clear jumps of up to 9ft high. According to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the Massachusetts deer population is around 95,000, which is about double the amount of the 1990s deer population. 

For any more deer or mammal sightings, submit any photos to the form here!

Reminder to anyone with a Ring camera or similar security system installed; these systems help us collect important data on the presence and absence of mammals in your area. We welcome you to join our team of registered volunteers who submit photos once a month. Having regular reports from a fixed location allows us to learn even more about mammals in your area than individual sightings.  New volunteers can register here 

Mimi and Camilla alongside librarians from the Jones Library!

This month, we were fortunate enough to team up with the staff of the Beneski Museum here on Amherst’s campus, as well as two lovely Librarians from the Jones Library, for a mammal-related storytime! The event had an incredible turnout, with about seventy attendees. The families got to listen to three stories, all of which engaged the children in learning about different animals and their behaviors, with an emphasis on a variety of bears!

A shout out to Pam Landry from the MA Division of Fish and Wildlife, who shared her stencils of animal tracks so that kids in our program can explore track patterns of different wildlife species! 

A big thank you to all involved in making the event happen, especially Mia and Fred, and our readers.

Alex tabling at the Farmers Market!

This month, we were able to attend our first farmers market this year! The MassMammals team tabled at the opening Amherst Farmers Market on Saturday, April 20th. It was so great seeing everyone who showed up and decided to visit our table. People who were unfamiliar with the project learned about who we are and what we do, along with how they can become volunteers and provide us with data on mammal sightings. Some people who came to talk to us were mammal enthusiasts who already had some kind of trail camera setup. If you already have a trail camera, visit the trail camera page on our website to find out what to do next. We hope everyone who participated in the“Spin The Wheel” activity enjoyed their gummy bears! Stay tuned on our Facebook and Instagram to know which farmers market we will be visiting next!

Over the following months, MassMammals will be showcasing new members on social media and newsletters. If you are following our Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen our new member spotlight for Kaitlyn on the education team!

Meet our new member, Kaitlyn!

Kaitlyn is a first year at Amherst College who joined MassMammals in September of last year! She is undecided in her major, but loves biology and education!

A fun fact about Kaitlyn is that she really enjoys dancing!

When asked why she joined, Kaitlyn said, "I love working with kids, and I love biology, so teaching with the Education Team was the perfect combo. I hope that through MassMammals, kids can see that they can one day be scientists too! ”

Kaitlyn goes to local classrooms and teaches lessons about mammals, making science fun for students!

We are so glad to have her on board!