Spy camera results-no bobcat but interesting finds.

[dragoncjo]

Well today I got my camera it has been out for a week for the third time. So far I got a raccoon, possum, and a hairy leg of a homo sapian. Today while I didn't get a bobcat, I did get a couple things that I'm pretty estatic about. This confirms the scratch marks and the unusual scat, that always had crayfish in it.
The otter family, if you look at the dates you can see they use this area frequently, I think it is there winter slide that otters like to use for fun.

This photo I'm not sure what is going on, I'm pretty sure it is a yote or grey fox rubbing his scent all over the sand.

And lastly a pictue of myself looking like a jack ass, checking out my camera.

An interesting note is that the flash did not scare away the animals. In testing it in my backyard the flash scared away the raccoons. I knew this because I have it set to take two picture at a time with a 30 sec. interval in between and the second pic always came up blank. Also it did not deter them from coming back again a few days later also a good sign. I'm taking it back down later in the week, I'm going to do this all winter at various spots in the same stretch of woods, so I'll see what I get. Also today I helped this fella and a female he was chasing across rt. 49 in cumberland county. He was risking his life all in the name of a booty call, that is commitment . Fortunately I got both safely across and placed them about 100 yards into the woods. Nice thing about it was an elderly couple saw me doing it and came back to make sure the two turts were alright, and thanked me, a nice gesture. All in all a good day.

 

[dragoncjo]

On second thought I'm not sure if some of those pics are otters, mink, or weasels.....hmmm. Ahh I'm pretty sure they are otters...

 

[ChrisNJ]

Hmmm I wonder why I cant see the pics :-(

 

[grendel]

Definitely otters,not sure about the other critter,chupacabra probably. I hear Bigfoot keeps them as pets.

 

[BEHR655]

Nice capture. Your guess is as good as mine. I've never seen otters up this way but I have seen them further south.

steve

 

[Teegate]

That is cool that it even gives you the temperature. I have to get one them them. Thanks for the photo's...especially the turtle

Guy

 

[dragoncjo]

I wasn't sure if they were otters because i couldn't tell the size. But they are clearly as long as the yote, which means otter. Plus all other signs point to an otter possibly with her young, they have the light bib otters have also.

 

[Boyd]

That is very cool! Can you tell us a little about the camera?

 

[Bobbleton]

very very cool. i've been wondering how to find / photograph otters for a while now - i suppose i should start looking at midnight.

 

[dragoncjo]

Boyd it is a moultrie spy camera. It was pricey about 180. But it is 4 megapixel. And it came with the battery, and solar panel for the field, and a charger. Besides that it is your basic spy cam, holds 100 pics but you can buy additional memory, I think 16 mb are built in. It takes time, temp, and moon phase. I bought it primarily because it had a laser that shot out so you could see where it was aimed at. I've had pretty good results so far. Here it is http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0039106&type=pod&cmCat=catfeatel.

Bob, actually otters are more active by day as long as the area is undisturbed. I was suprised to see these guys out at night quite honestly. I've seen two before in the pines and both were out during the day but I was viewing them from some distance. I think one way to find them is by looking for there scat. It is very easy to identify once you see it, look for cat poo only wetter and flatter with crayfish, fish bone remains in it. These guys tracks and scat are always found on slope ground about 300 yards from a marsh but the slope leads down to one of those old crystal blue sand quarries. I'm guessing they use the slope as a tobagon in the winter. Obviously in florida this won't be the case, but I would think they should be numerous down there, i'm sure if anyone can find them you guys can.
Chris

 

[woodjin]

Very cool!! I would say otters and a young coyote rather than a fox but it is a little hard to tell.

Jeff

 

[uuglypher]

Very cool!! I would say otters and a young coyote rather than a fox but it is a little hard to tell.

Jeff

Size matters, and it's hard to tell... but the head shape sure looks vulpoid; I bet it's a fox with a bad case of Sarcoptic mange to me. Sarcoptes scabei is a commonly occuring ectoparasite of foxes that becomes especially prevalent when a local fox population is on the increase. Individuals severely affected, as is this bitch, may lose all their outer hair coat and are left with a sparse, light grey-tan undercoat and a rat-like, obviously depillated tail. No proud white-tipped red "brush" on this one!
Dave

 

[dragoncjo]

Dave, if you look at the last otter pic and the first fox, you can see they are almost the same length. The otters are almost as long as the fox. I thought fox because of its size. While I know they are not here it looks like pictures I have seen of kit foxes. The tail really threw me off, because it was so skinny, and the color of the coat made me think it wasn't a yote. Is this a pretty common parasite in the wild?

 

[woodjin]

Now you see, I was thinking the head looked more yote than fox, the fox having the very narrow "stream lined" features. But the lack of fur is very evident and the size is more in line with the fox. The head didn't come out real clear with the positioning and the flash. So, I'll go with your conclusion on this, Dave. I know your experience dwarfs mine anyway.

BTW I did see a coyote last night on route 72 near the route 70 intersection. Pretty big. I got pretty close with the lights on him and, from what I could tell, he looked very healthy.

Jeff

 

[Piney Boy]

Great pics, keep updates with the animal menagerie you have going over there.

 

[onehand]

great shots ! got to get one to see the night critters up here

i agree with jeff on the id.

 

[long-a-coming]

Great photos man! You know a great spot to put one of those cameras would be a beaver lodge to get some shots of those guys working through the night!

 

[Bobbleton]

Size matters, and it's hard to tell... but the head shape sure looks vulpoid; I bet it's a fox with a bad case of Sarcoptic mange to me. Sarcoptes scabei is a commonly occuring ectoparasite of foxes that becomes especially prevalent when a local fox population is on the increase. Individuals severely affected, as is this bitch, may lose all their outer hair coat and are left with a sparse, light grey-tan undercoat and a rat-like, obviously depillated tail. No proud white-tipped red "brush" on this one!
Dave

I was thinking the same thing. As a vet tech I never heard of sarcoptic mange leading to death, but it was said to have contributed to the collapse of the island beach fox population. Possibly in conjunction w/ the murderous swarmps of flies and / or hypothermia over the winter. Its not terribly uncommon to see foxes in this state: here's one I snapped a quick shot of this year in Delaware.

 

[bobpbx]

Nice. A window into their habits. I recall a few years back a fox or something showed up with mange over in west jersey and people in a neighborhood freaked out. I think if we search our history on this site it would turn up.

PS; can we agree that the fox was rubbing the smell of the otter into his fur?

 

[dragoncjo]

Bob, I'm guessing that one has mange, poor guy looks like he could use a square meal. Fox are pretty common around camden county. As I've mentioned many times there are a few dozen in haddon heights, haddonfield area. In fact one has been visiting our pond on almost a weekly basis, just two weeks ago he ran under my neighbors shed with a squirrel in his mouth.

Bobm, the exact spot the fox is rolling around in is were there are about a half a dozen otter droppings, and urine. If you look back to my bobcat post, with my phillies hat in it that is the spot.