**technically, this is a slug trap for the garden. Practically, it is an all night (and day?) bar for the Wood Rat that lives in my backyard. (the Dusky Footed Woodrat, Neotoma fuscipes -- native of Southern California -- also known as the "pack rat")
If you're wondering where the loose change you dropped on your back patio is... likely it's back in the pack rat midden...
From the NWF: "Members of the genus Neotoma are also called packrats because they have a tendency to hoard things, especially shiny objects left out by humans. Woodrats are also called “trade rats,” because when they come across a new treasure, they’ll drop whatever they’re carrying in order to pick up the new item, effectively trading one token for the other. " #traderats#treasure#woodrats
I've come for you, the vulture does say,
As they do in that Edgar Allen Poe way,
I'll sit right here and wait for some lunch,
On your rotting bones and flesh shall I munch
Oh wait, I'm wrong and you're not dying alone?
That smell's just your brand new cologne?
** not sure what the vulture smells... probably something dead there on the hill. I hope not smelling the demise of a neighbor. (When my last dog was dying -- literally on her last legs, dying of old age -- about 7 vultures showed up in the backyard the day we ended up taking her to the vet to give her a humane end. They knew the end was near. )
Just LOOK at this adorable baby bunny! Not even the size of your clenched fist.
It must have sought shelter from the thunderstorm up against the basement door. We were equally surprised when I opened it to step outside. For a hot minute, we had a tense stare down that allowed me time to snap these two pics before it scampered off into the underbrush.
Seen elsewhere. Not my photo. Don't handle bats.
"Hello I'm a bat...
I don't suck your blood and I won't get tangled in your hair.
If I happen to enter your house, please don't hit me with bats or squash me out; it hurts a lot and on such occasions I'm very scared. It was an accident and I didn't mean to scare you.
If I land, I may not be able to get up and I need your help. Just grab a towel and pull me out carefully. I'll fly right away, I promise.
I feed on mosquitoes and many other insects.
Our houses are being demolished to build other buildings and we still have a few places to go. So if I'm flying in your space, turn off the lights and leave the outside light on with the door open, I'll be out shortly."
@AskPippa
I can understand panicking, I'd panic as flying things that close freak me out. I'd be too busy trying to get away to hurt it before I'd start thinking about how to help it, open windows, doors etc.
It's never happened as it's too urban where I live. I'd want the critter or critters to get out safely & unharmed, so worst case, leave it to the professionals.
@theRhinoDragon Or maybe just go out the door, leave the door open, and sit on the porch/balcony and wait for it to leave? Hopefully you'll have a cup of tea with you. :)
@ai6yr And, in case you didn't know, these BIG animals move REALLY fast and can leap up to five feet in the air. You WILL get made into a flattened meat patty, so don't even try it. If you're closer than 25 feet, that fucker WILL outrun you and squash you FLAT.
"rown howler monkeys are dropping dead by the dozens in southern Mexico. Between May 4 and May 21, at least 138 died, with deaths occurring in places where temperatures have been abnormally high, exceeding 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit).
Before perishing, the animals suffered convulsions, hyperthermia, and fainting, which are symptoms of dehydration. Organizations responding to the catastrophe note that the main cause of death seems to be heat stroke, although they haven’t ruled out other factors."
"We spoke to hundreds of people, and were heartened by the majority saying that they had already begun to think of what they can do. Some had built a pond, some had left their lawn to grow long, some had made holes in their fences to allow the hedgehogs to move across gardens, and some had left log piles to create habitats for our beleaguered wildlife."
Riverside County: Prescribed Burn Scheduled at Lake Mathews.
Monday, June 3rd, through Friday, June 14th, 2024... CAL FIRE / Riverside County Fire Department, in cooperation with Riverside
County Habitat Conservation Agency, and Metropolitan Water District, will be conducting a a vegetation management prescribed burn at Lake Mathews. The prescribed burn at Lake Mathews accomplishes the goal of rehabilitating the burrowing owl and Stephens’ Kangaroo Rat (SKR) habitat through eradication of invasive, non-native grasses and weed species. This allows mammal species to find food and make homes.