We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their loved ones! Check out our November Photo of the Month from volunteer Jon Vartersian! A Ring camera caught two bears making their way through the backyard in the rain. Ring cameras are not only effective at protecting your home, but are also a great alternative method to trail cameras way to capture sightings of bears and other local mammals without having to set up a separate device. We encourage everyone who has a Ring camera or similar security system installed, as well as people who might have neighbors that are spotting wildlife around the community on Nextdoor, to spread the word about MassMammals and let them know that we would love to see their security footage of any furry visitors! New volunteers are welcome to submit their sightings using this link.

If you happen to see any bears in your yard before they soon enter hibernation for the winter, do not panic! It is common for them to wander around residential areas looking for food from any open trash cans, bird feeders, etc., but these kinds of sightings should become less common as we enter the colder months. Can you spot both bears in the photo above?

Over a weekend last month in late October, two MassMammals team members, Mimi Hamada-Peña and Annika Baldwin, presented at the Northeast Wildlife Trackers Conference in Charlton, MA during a workshop dedicated to student research on wildlife. 

The presentation focused on sharing the project outreach initiatives we have developed throughout the last year to engage more diverse communities in community science, from visiting classrooms to farmers markets. We also discussed the ways we envision using our baseline data to answer community questions about distributions of various mammals across Massachusetts and the impact of scientific engagement on young students' educational experiences.

We also gained valuable insight from the audience members, many of whom have tracked wildlife for decades, on how to better support our volunteers who may be new to using tracking tools like trail cameras. Overall, this experience was a great way to share the growth of MassMammals and connect with the greater wildlife community across the state! 

"Little Monarchs" by Jonathan Case, our November Book Club at Jones Library pick!

 In early November some members of the MassMammals Education Team visited the Jones Library in Amherst as a guest speaker at their children’s graphic novel book club. We read the graphic novel “Little Monarchs”, which was an entertaining book about a young scientist trying to find a cure for an illness using her local environmental knowledge. It was incredibly enjoyable to be able to talk to the children about the book and what they felt was important about the power of science. The best part of the activity was when we made comic strips at the end out of trail camera pictures. The kids seemed to enjoy it a lot and we LOVED seeing all the creative ways they saw the world and the animals around them. Educating children about wildlife in fun, engaging ways helps them to develop a deeper sense of appreciation and coexistence within their local ecosystems while sparking their scientific curiosity. 

In the month of November, we also taught in four different classrooms around the area, where we gave lessons on a variety of topics ranging from soil erosion, to seed dispersal, to trail camera usage. It was great to introduce our project to these new students and answer their questions about community science and how they can get involved starting from a young age!

Winter is getting closer and closer, and many mammals’ behavior will change. Bear sightings might slow down as they enter their dens for hibernation until they come out again between March and April. Another mammal that hibernates from October to March is the woodchuck. Woodchucks slow their heartbeats and lower their body temperatures during the winter as they lay dormant in their dens.

Trail Camera photo of a coyote in the snow by volunteer Don Pugh!

 Don't fret, there are plenty of mammals that will still be around but will change some of their habits. Coyotes like the one pictured above grow thick fur coats to keep them comfortable in super low temperatures. This extra fur often gives them a larger appearance, leading people to believe they are bigger than they actually are. Coyotes normally weigh no more than 40 pounds. Young coyotes leave their families in early winter to look for new home ranges, which can actually lead to an increase in coyote sightings!

Deer and moose often travel less in the winter to conserve their fat reserves and energy.  Moose will conserve energy in deep snow by staying on packed trails or cleared areas such as roads and train tracks, so be careful when driving in the snow! Mice, voles, and small mammals create tunneling passages through the snow to insulate from the cold, avoid predators, and feed on the grasses and seeds below. All mammals might look bigger than usual as they grow out their fur to stay warm.

While some mammal sightings may decline, we would love for our volunteers to keep sending in any submissions amidst the chilly weather! Additionally, snow makes it much easier to identify animal tracks, so if you have any photos of those feel free to send them our way for help with identification as well. When identifying tracks, it's important to place a ruler, coin, or some sort of standardized identifiable scale next to the track to help us be more accurate in our answer. Stay warm and we wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Source: Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife