The fall of 2011 was a great time to see bears in the Smokies. A good mast crop (acorns and other nuts) had the bears foraging for food before they bedded down for the winter. We enjoyed seeing these two cubs napping in an oak tree after munching on acorns.
A large number of cars stopped along Cades Cove road was an indication of something interesting. Amber and I were delayed by a traffic jam while we were on an orchid search. She was a bit annoyed because she works in the park and is accustomed to seeing deer, bears, and other animals. However, she got excited too when these three bear cubs ran across a clearing in Cades Cove! I know this isn't a great photo, but I never claimed to be a wildlife photographer! I really need to get a digital SLR with a good telephoto lens! :)
Newborn Fawn
This buck died in the prime of his life in the fall. He was a healthy specimen as can be determined by his large, multi-pronged rack (antlers) and his teeth. Male deer, elk, and moose have antlers made of bone. They shed the antlers in the late fall and grow new ones the following spring. This is a skull that I use in my science outreach programs, it was given to us by a TN Wildlife Resources Agency agent.
This elk bull, cow and calf was photographed at Cataloochee Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
I snapped this photo of a Muskrat swimming in the Duck Pond at Fountain City. Unfortunately, I had to take it quickly with my little pocket camera, so the photo is a bit blurry. I didn't have room in my trunk to bring my good camera. The muskrat was diving for pieces of bread the ducks and geese didn't eat! Normally, they eat plants. It is common to see muskrat holes near lake and stream banks.
This mother bear was waiting for her cubs to join her. They were still grabbing acorns in the top of a large oak tree in Cades Cove in the Smokies.
As my friend Amber, from Tremont, and I drove through Cades Cove, we saw this buck just a few feet from the car. It is easy to see the velvet on this 8-pointer's antlers. His antlers are still growing at this stage, the velvet is a layer of blood vessel-rich skin that feeds the underlying bone. Later in the fall the velvet dries up and sloughs off. Bucks rub their antlers on low branches to rub off the dead skin (this also gets them aroused to begin the rut).
This White-tail Deer Fawn has ears like satellite dishes! The ears can move independently to help the deer determine where a sound is coming from.
We saw this pretty doe and her spotted fawn in the woods at Norris Dam State Park in early August 2007. They were quite tame, but I took this photo from the car to try to keep from spooking them.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park October 8, 2009 Elk were reintroduced into Tennessee after being hunted into extinction nearly 150 years ago. By autumn the large males (bulls) sport huge antlers (which can grow up to 1" per day!), they will lose them in March. Elk are herbivores, they eat grass, low-growing plants, twigs and tree bark. Like deer, cattle, and goats, they are ruminant animals with a four-chambered stomach. In September through mid-October the males establish a "harem" of cows and their calves. They aggressively defend them from rival males through "bugling" (a shrill, high-pitched call that can be heard up to a mile) and by intimidating them with their large display of antlers. A full-grown bull can weigh up to 700 pounds and stand 5 feet tall at the shoulder. Cows average 500 pounds and although they do not have antlers, they will protect their calves. Elk should never be approached!
Southern Flying Squirrel; Glaucomys volans
Milton, FL August 30, 2008 I would much rather photograph animals in their natural environment, but in cases like this little critter, it would be nearly impossible. Photographing these nocturnal animals would involve strobe lights and a motion sensor to catch them in flight, which are a bit out of my price range! When one of my parents' neighbors mentioned that she had two flying squirrels that she was rehabilitating, I jumped at the chance to get a photo. She called at 9:00 p.m. when they came out of their box into their cage and we went down to see them. The flying membrane (called the patagium) is the white area between the front and hind legs, it stays "folded up" until the squirrel opens it out to glide from tree to tree. The wide, bushy tail is used like a rudder for maneuvering during a glide. These cute little rodents can become a problem for homeowners if they take up residence in their attic!
). While driving through Cades Cove in July 2005 Amber and I saw this bear ambling along the road. Black bears may look cute and cuddly, but they must be treated with respect, they can be dangerous. This photo was taken from the car.
White-tailed Deer; Odocoileus virginianus
) are quite numerous in Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains. This young buck had medium-sized antlers in "velvet" in July; he should be quite a handsome deer by fall. The Smokies are also the home of recently introduced elk on the North Carolina side of the park.
I photographed this elk cow nursing her calf in the Smokies in Cataloochee.
Elk were native in Tennessee until they were hunted to extinction in the 1800's. In 2001 the National Park Service and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) reintroduced these magnificent animals back into the state. We saw Elk No.2 in the Cataloochee Cove section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This fellow was one of the first group to be released. His ear tags and radio collar are easy to see in this photo. Unfortunately, he had been injured, so he was not moving around very much. We learned that he was to be treated by park biologists later that evening.
This model Muskrat Skull shows the huge incisors that all rodents have. Rodents don't normally eat meat, so they have no canine teeth (rats do sometimes eat meat).
Eastern Chipmunk; Tamias striatus
Chipmunks are perky little rodents with "racing stripes"! I was happy to find one sitting still long enough to get a photo of it! The stripes on its sides are a form of camouflage. Like many of the other wild animals at Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport, it was unafraid of people. Unfortunately, when people feed animals they lose their fear and often expect handouts. Feeding wild animals, no matter how small, cute and cuddly they may be, is dangerous for the "feeder" and the "feedee". It is unhealty for the animal to eat human food. Many rodents store food for the winter in their dens. If they take junk food, like potato chips or cheese puffs, back to the den it will rot, then when the animal needs it during the winter there is no food to eat. Feeding wild animals will eventually kill them! Some larger animals will expect to be fed and may become aggressive. Bears become a problem if they are fed, often they must be relocated (or worse!). Park Rangers say, "A fed bear is a dead bear." In some parts of the country small rodents can can transmit the Hanta virus and the Bubonic plague.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park August 2009 We came across this bear while hiking on the Grotto Falls trail in the Smokies. It tore open a decayed log looking for grubs, termites, and ants. Bears are omnivores, they will eat a variety of foods. One food the rangers don't want them eating is human food, which they may get from picnic areas, campgrounds or garbage cans. There is a saying, "A fed bear is a dead bear," if they become habituated to human food, they become dangerous.
Doe with Flame Azaleas on Gregory's Bald
There are 3 Deer in this photo, they are very well camouflaged. Can you spot all of them? I didn't notice them until one of them stepped on a stick and I heard it crack. I wonder how long they had been watching me? :) Hint: If you didn't see all three, look for the black tail of the deer with its rump facing the camera.
In September through mid-October the elk go through the "rut," their mating season. A bull will claim a harem of cows and calves as his for breeding, he aggressively defends them from rival males. It is amazing to hear them bugle, a loud, shrill sound that attracts females and alerts other bulls of their presence. Elk spotters are reminded by signs and rangers to keep their distance from the elk, preferably near a vehicle in case the "testosterone-charged" bulls decide to take out their aggression on the spectators! We saw this bull chase away some younger, "spike" bulls. According to the rangers, this bull had just taken over the herd at the beginning of October, so he probably missed out on his chance to breed.
A beaver-eaten tree on the Bluff Trail at Norris Dam State Park. Beavers eat the bark, not the wood. Their gnawing can be fatal to the tree if they girdle the tree by eating through the bark all the way around the trunk. The tree will starve to death when it loses its' phloem layer which transports the sap.
Groundhog (a.k.a. Woodchuck); Marmota monax
) was nibbling violet leaves in my back yard. I took this photo from the picture window in my living room. These rodents chow down all summer long to put on a thick layer of fat so they can spend the winter underground. Note to folks in the western U.S. --- this is not a gopher! :)