As noted in The Red Paper 2022 Vol. II: Felids the records show that these animals have been in the UK since at least the 17th century, they have bred and should not be considered new introduced species -like the Red fox, wallabies, Red squirrel and wild cats along with other species.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Despite some of the images in this post remember that however "cute" any of these animals may look They are wild apex predators not pets. If you see any of these animals DO NOT try to corner or catch it (and people are on record in the UK having tried this).
Leave it well alone.
Although non-native cats were the focus of my investigations back in the late 1970's I almost immediately had a couple of reports of "rather fierce" brownish badgers. My first response was "Leave them alone then" but then something did not make sense. The description was "off" for a red ( erythristic) badger. What the description matched I had not even heard of in the UK before.
It was a very fast learning curve that eventually lead to my paper on wolverine in the UK (2000). Tracks, sightings at close range under good conditions and, in one case, by badger watchers on holiday -wolverine not being in the UK seemed unlikely.
What surprised me over the decades was the very long history of non native cats (we really ought to be calling them "large native cats" now) in certain areas. Speaking to a witness in one village I started giving the usual advice on what to do/not do but got stopped. The witness (in her 40s) had been told all of this by her mother. Had her mother lived overseas and learnt about the cats there? No. The witness' grandmother had told her daughter and the grandmother had been told when she was a child in the 1930s!
That was not a one off. I heard almost exactly the same thing from Wiltshire, Somerset, Wales and other areas. Was everyone pulling my leg? No, as it turns out because speaking to local naturalists as well as historians and even police officers I found out it was all true. This is part of the subject I will be looking at when working on The Red Paper (II): Felids.
In the meantime I thought, since I have to usually explain all of this to reporters or to members of the public, a quick guide to the four main exotic mammals might be a good idea.
blacktowercg@hotmai.com
How do you know a wolverine is around?
When you are in the appropriate wolverine habitat, there are certain things you can look for to help you to determine if a wolverine is around. Given the elusive nature of the wolverine, it is vital to be able to recognize their tracks and sign.
Tracks: The tracks of a wolverine are large, long toed and can be widely splayed in deep snow or mud. Tracks have 5 toes on both fronts and rears, though sometimes the smallest toes do not register clearly. Smallest, lowest toe is on the inside. The metacarpal pads are asymmetrical and strongly lobed. They travel in a walk or a 3 x 4 lope. Loping strides measure 7 – 45 inches long. Walking strides measure 8 – 15 inches long. The trail width measures between 7 and 10 inches. They can travel great distances over very rugged terrain.
Front Tracks: Measure 3 5/8 – 6 1/4 inches long by 3 1/2 – 5 1/4 inches wide. Five toes, nails sharp and may or may not register. Space between toes and metacarpal pad is very furry and may affect shape and detail of tracks.
Rear Tracks: Measure 3 5/8 – 6 inches long by 3 1/4 – 5 1/4 inches wide. Five toes, nails sharp and may or may not register. Space between toes and metacarpal pad is very furry and may affect shape and detail of tracks.
Scat: Cylindrical, 3/8 – 1 inch in diameter and 3 – 8 inches long. The scat can contain bones, fur and feathers.
Other sign: Wolverines exhibit other behaviors such as rolling on other animal’s trails and scent posts. They will also bite, mark and climb small saplings, breaking limbs and defoliating them. Wolverines are good climbers, and may occasionally leave claw marks on trees they have climbed.
Similar tracks: Large domestic dog tracks can look similar, when the fifth toes of the wolverines feet do not register clearly. Dogs have symmetrical tracks, four toes with blunt claws and a triangular, relatively symmetrical pad. Small bear tracks look different due to their very large metacarpal or heel pads.
Text from wildernesscollege.com
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Puma (Puma concolor)
The mountain lion (Puma concolor) is also known as the
cougar, puma, panther, and catamount, and is the largest wildcat in North America . Mountain lions have powerful limbs and can
leap as high as 15 feet and as far as 40 feet.
DIET
Mountain lions can be almost as large as jaguars, but are
less muscular and not as powerful; where their ranges overlap, the mountain
lion tends to be smaller than average.
Mountain lions eat large mammals such as deer, and smaller
mammals such as mice, squirrels, porcupines, raccoons, rabbits and beavers.
POPULATION
There are an estimated 30,000 mountain lions in the western United States .
One mountain lion subspecies, the Florida
panther, is critically endangered with a population of less than 100 individuals.
RANGE
With the exception of humans, the mountain lion has the
largest range of any mammal in the Western Hemisphere .
They are found from Canada
to Argentina .
In North America, they can be found from British Columbia
and southern Alberta to California
and Texas .
Small populations can be found east of the Mississippi
River . The Florida panther is
found in isolated populations in Florida .
BEHAVIOR
Mountain lions are solitary animals. They are very
territorial and actively avoid other cats except during courtship. Their ranges
can vary in size from 10 square miles to around 370 square miles; females tend
to have smaller ranges than males.
Mountain lions are active hunters and may travel long
distances in search of food. They hunt alone and attack from behind, breaking
the neck of their prey by biting it at the base of the skull. After killing
their prey, they will bury it and leave it, coming back to feed on it when
hungry.
REPRODUCTION
Mating Season: Commonly from December to March, but can
happen at any time during the year.
Gestation: 82-96 days.
Litter size: 2-4 kittens.
For tracks found in various conditions I highly recommend Kim A. Cabrera's website: http://www.bear-tracker.com/cougar.html
Cabrera's site does have images of puma scat but here are some images from the internet -apart from one I no longer have the photographers details so (c) 2017 prospective copyright holder. See also the post on this blog re. puma scat found in Wales.
Size Comparison
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Panther (Panthera pardus)
DIET
Leopards eat small hoof-stock such as gazelle, impala, deer
and wilde beast. On occasion, they may also hunt monkeys, rodents and birds.
They often bring their prey up into the branches of a tree to eat it and
protect it from other predators and scavengers.
RANGE
Leopards are found throughout most of Africa and Asia from
the middle-east to the Soviet Union, Korea ,
China , India , and Malaysia . Leopards live in a
variety of habitats including forests, mountains, grassland and deserts.
BEHAVIOR
Leopards are nocturnal animals, meaning they are active at
night. During the day, they rest in thick brush or in trees. Leopards are
solitary, preferring to live alone. They are very agile and good swimmers. They
are able to leap more than 20 feet.
REPRODUCTION
Following a 90 - 105 day gestation, one to six kittens are
born. The average litter size is two or three. Kittens weigh about one pound when
they are born. They will stay with their mother for 18 to 24 months.
Scat
Tracks
Size comparisons
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Habitat
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, boreal forest
Biogeographic realm
Palearctic
Diet
The lynx feeds on small ungulates (hoofed mammals) such as
roe deer, and smaller prey like hares where the former is scarce.
Population & Distribution
Over the past 50 to 80 years, autochthonous populations of
lynx have made an impressive recovery in northern Europe, in the Carpathians
and in north-east Europe, west of Russia , contributing to the 10-fold
population increase during that period.
The Eurasian lynx has a wide range, extending across Europe,
central Asia (it is distributed across the entire Tibetan plateau), Siberia and
East Asia . In Europe ,
however, there is now limited connectivity between subpopulations.
Scat
Size comparisons
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