Recently I got footage of otter families (Lontra canadensis) at two different locations, and in each case the mother does the “poop dance” (also called “latrine dance”) but her kits do not. It made me wonder what juveniles might learn … Continue reading →
Black bears engage in various behaviors thought to relate to scent communication. As I’ve discussed before, they mark larger trees by rubbing, biting, and clawing at them, and they mark the ground with their feet by as they walk, sometimes … Continue reading →
In my last post about the badger (Taxidea taxus) I discussed badger dens and showed a video of the the various species using, or at least visiting, old badger digs, and we saw that a badger revisited some of the … Continue reading →
Black bears visit certain “mark trees” that they bite, rub, and claw presumably for the purpose of communication with other bears. Multiple bears may visit the same tree repeatedly, resulting in an abundance of accumulated sign. Males mark mostly in … Continue reading →
A deer scrape is a scenting area where the animals scrape their hoofs on the ground and chew, mouth, or nose the end of a thin, low, overhanging branch. They sometimes urinate on the scrape, allowing the urine to run … Continue reading →
The bobcat (Lynx rufus) uses urine and scat to mark important places within its home range. Like house cats, bobcats sometimes spray urine back onto vertical surfaces, such as stumps, trees, and stones. The animal might spray quickly and casually, … Continue reading →
