It’s a wonderful time to explore the county, but this is also the season for increased situational awareness when driving anywhere at any time. Today’s “Wilder Side” draws attention to unplanned interactions with white-tailed deer, encounters that can lead to property damage, injuries and deaths. Continue reading
Wandering through winter is the way of life for the white-tailed deer living in our midst. They need not wander far. For snowy days, temperatures below freezing, and winds that howl across open meadows and fields rarely present a danger to the thousands of deer that live in Oakland County. Deer have evolved a four-step basic strategy for surviving winter that is really rather simple: go about a slightly altered routine, don’t over exert, sleep near your best food supply, and just wait for spring. They can do this thanks to physical traits and behavioral patterns that slowly changed as autumn faded. Continue reading
When many of us think about nature and wildlife, our thoughts drift to faraway places. However, Oakland County remains surprisingly rich with wildlife. Even with increased urbanization and a loss of biodiversity accelerated by human actions, wild animals are abundant in parks, trails, greenways, and even have the freedom to wander our cities, villages, and townships. One might say their wild spirit leads them, but in reality, it is their endless search for prey.
Despite the fact that we live in the midst of a vast array of wildlife, it’s not easy to get a true glimpse into their daily lives. By using hidden cameras, we can observe wildlife in their natural habitat and view a true representation of their day and nighttime behaviors. Three species are standouts when it comes to being captured by motion-activated camera traps: the red fox, the white-tailed deer and the eastern coyote. Their stealthy night moves, caught on camera, give us a glimpse as they are, not as our minds imagine them. Continue reading
