The March Photo of the Month is this beautiful close-up of an adult moose checking out a volunteer’s trail camera. Moose are the largest member of the deer family in North America, standing over 6 ft tall, with their legs making up more than half of their height. These animals can weigh up to 700 lbs (female) and 1000 lbs (male), lacking natural predators, explaining their fearless and bold demeanor with humans. Only male moose, called bulls, can grow antlers. Therefore, this particular sighting may either be a large female or a young male moose. Thank you again to our amazing volunteer, Douglas Dawson, for submitting this trail camera photo. 

Source: https://www.mass.gov/doc/living-with-moose-fact-sheet/download

For any more 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 

This month, we had our second annual read-aloud at the Beneski Museum in partnership with the Jones Library! On March 27th, regulars of the Jones Library story time joined two of our lab members at the Beneski Museum for a read-aloud, a bear enactment activity, and a scavenger hunt around the Museum! Last year, we focused on introducing a variety of mammals, but this year, we focused on bears during hibernation and the change into springtime. Special thanks to Mia and Jess of the Jones Library for bringing wonderful books and energy, as well as Fred and the Beneski staff for their support! 

BioBlitzes are a great way to learn about organisms that live in your neighborhood.  BioBlitzes started in the 1990's as a way to find and identify as many different living things as possible in a short time frame. With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, there are a number of BioBlitzes coming up in the area. The City Nature Challenge in particular has many BioBlitzes running in the area. For instance, there is the City Nature Challenge 2025: Boston Area  and City Nature Challenge 2025: Pioneer Valley run through UMass. The iNaturalist Next app provides a way for all community members to identify living things by taking photographs and to contribute to these projects.

Mass Mammals and The Office of Sustainability are proud to announce the launch of a new project, the Amherst Campus BioBlitz! Starting with a table event on Earth Fest, on April 25th, our lab and the Office of Sustainability at Amherst will be teaming up for a campus-wide BioBlitz. The event will help engage our students and faculty with our animal, plant, insect, and fungi community! The duration of the BioBlitz will be from April 25th through April 29th; winners will receive prizes based on who collects the greatest number of species sightings. The Office of Sustainability wishes to highlight that this event is an example of a no-waste project, as students and faculty do not need to build, discard, or purchase anything to participate! Our participants will use an application called iNaturalist Next to capture images and learn about and post data about the specimens they see! We hope this event encourages students to engage more with our campus Rail Trail and Bird Sanctuary and be more present in understanding the daily community around us, including flora and fauna! Follow us on Instagram for updates, reminders, and results! 

Meet Henry!

What is your class year?  

I am a sophomore! 

What is your major? 

I am a double major in French and Environmental Studies with a concentration in environmental science. 

What is a fun fact about you? 

I play the bassoon in the Amherst Symphony Orchestra! I have played bassoon since 5th grade, and I also play piano, English horn, and mellophone. 

Why did you join MassMammals? 

I joined MassMammals because I am passionate about conservation, and I’m excited by the idea of building a local community surrounding conservation. I am also passionate about participatory science and involving local communities in scientific research.