Miscellaneous Wildlife

SteveC

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Sep 3, 2019
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For those not in the know, these are probably the second fastest land animal on earth, second only to the cheetah. And these guys can maintain their high speed, unlike a cheetah which is definitely a sprinter and is wiped out by one good charge at prey.
They live in North America (which means they're not true antelopes...but people here call them that anyway). There's no predator here even remotely fast enough for pronghorns to need that speed. But there used to be; there was, not too long ago geologically speaking, a "North American Cheetah" (probably not a true cheetah) that could run every bit as fast as the African one,
In both cases the dynamic is the same: The cheetah has to get close enough to his prey that when he starts his dash, he's able to catch up to it before he tires out. The prey just has to run fast enough to stay out of the cheetah's grasp for a few seconds, before the cheetah runs out of steam. That's fast, but not as fast as the cheetah.
 
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Jul 29, 2012
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Canada
Fox stealing from the birds.

Excellent shot. Good timing.
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josephandrews222

Square Sensors + AI = Better Images
Jul 12, 2013
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So after witnessing (and shooting with Canon tools) what looked to be 'unusual' behavior involving two squirrels, I did a bit of internetting:


(1) from here: https://www.wildlifeillinois.org/gallery/mammals/common-backyard-wildlife/tree-squirrels/

"Each squirrel species has two breeding seasons, one in winter (January and February) and the other in late spring (March) or early summer (July)."


(2) from here (not for the squeamish ;) ):

"Twice per year — from January to February and again from May to June — everything in squirrel society seems to be in an uproar. Males can smell which females are fertile and begin to chase them. During their pursuit, they make a soft buzzing vocalization that mimics the sound of babies begging to nurse. Squirrels can run 20 miles per hour and jump eight feet in the air so the chases are quite dramatic. Males also fight among themselves at this time. Although both sexes have multiple partners, the first male to mate with a female is usually the one to sire the babies. This occurs because males can insert a waxy plug into females, creating a barrier to other males' sperm. Females can remove this plug, however, if they wish. Interestingly, genetic tests have shown that most babies in an area all share the same father, even when their mothers have mated with multiple males."

...to be honest I'm not certain that 'my' squirrels are within either of these categories but it makes for a good read!

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Two usable pix (5DMkIII and 100-400 II @ 400)--

5D3_7403 - Copy.JPG5D3_7413 - Copy.JPG
 
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About the same time as last year in the same spot, I was hiking back to the truck and spotted Pepé.
C168009-4K.jpg

R5 RF600 f/4L IS w/1.4x 1/125 : f/6.3 : ISO 1000

And one of Merriam's Chipmunks scurried to the top of this broken branch, looked around and headed back down almost as fast.
C168003-4K.jpg

R5 RF600 f/4L IS w/1.4x 1/640 : f/8 : ISO 1000
 
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