WILDLIFE REPORT FROM N.H. FISH AND GAME - September 30, 2005 

Jack Frost has it all over Houdini when it comes to disappearing acts. 
Over the next few weeks, Jack will amaze us by making all manner of New 
Hampshire's wildlife disappear before our very eyes. As Jack lays the 
groundwork for Old Man Winter; he wipes out much of the state's wildlife 
from our view and our hearing. The flocks of whirling birds will 
seemingly disappear overnight. And that is exactly what they do! Many bird 
species do migrate in the dark of night. 

Frogs, turtles and even snakes are headed underground or into the mucky 
bottom of a beaver pond, as Jack sprinkles them with his first magical 
frosty dusting. Even the deafening roar of the nighttime crickets will 
be silenced by the first hard frost. In one swipe of his frosty touch, 
the night air will be silenced until next summer. Jack marches us all 
unwittingly into winter's grasp. Soon, another year has vanished. --Eric 
Orff, wildlife biologist

IN THIS ISSUE:

   * Prickly Porcupines
   * Pheasant Time
   * Eyes Out for Moose and Deer!
   * N.H.'s Strangest Creature?


PRICKLY PORCUPINES

One animal that won't be vanishing this winter is the porcupine, which 
is active year round in New Hampshire. With thousands of quills on 
their backs, porcupines are not in any hurry! They sit quietly munching in 
trees, or waddle along the ground. Clues that porcupines are around 
include ground littered with short twigs of hemlock. Porcupines break 
twigs off the larger branches, chew off the tasty needle tips and toss the 
rest away. Chewed bark is another sign. Porcupine scat looks like a 
pile of brown elbow macaroni. 

Porcupines are active mostly at night. This time of year through early 
December is their breeding season. Between next April and August, 
females will give birth to one baby. (What's a baby porcupine called? A 
porcupette! No kidding!) Our porcupines are also busy eating up a storm, 
feasting on bark, twigs and acorns.

Porcupines are best known for defending themselves with their quills. 
Quills can be up to three inches long, and a single porcupine can have 
30,000. Porcupines can't "throw" their quills, but if another animal 
comes into contact, the quills release easily. Once embedded, quills work 
their way deeper and deeper into an animal's skin (up to an inch a 
day!), so they should be removed as soon as possible. Porcupines don't have 
quills all over - just on their backs. That's why they lower their 
heads and turn their back when threatened. Coyotes, bobcats, owls and 
especially fishers prey upon porcupines.


PHEASANT TIME

It's pheasant time in New Hampshire, and Fish and Game biologists are 
busy releasing 13,500 adult ring-necked pheasants in 50 towns across the 
state, with an average of 120 birds released at each of about 75 sites 
(listed at 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_pheasant.htm) 
This is an increase of 500 birds from recent years. Pheasants are not 
native to New Hampshire, but the tradition of stocking birds goes back 
to before 1900. 

The pheasants are purchased with revenues from the sale of pheasant 
permits that are required to hunt the birds. Pheasant hunting starts 
October 1 and lasts through the end of the year. About half the birds 
released are generally taken by hunters, some are eaten by predators and 
others may wander to show up under bird feeders anywhere in the state. Keep 
your eyes out for these flashy birds, especially near open fields and 
cropland.


EYES OUT FOR MOOSE AND DEER!

Motorists traveling north of Franconia Notch will see a new sign 
alerting them to the dangers of car-moose collisions. The portable sign posts 
a safety message warning drivers to use caution and reduce their speed 
because they are entering an area of high moose activity. That's a good 
warning for all of us. 

"There's no question that the best way to reduce personal injury and 
human fatalities in moose-vehicle collisions is to increase visibility so 
people can see the moose, and, above all, to get people to slow down," 
says Kristine Bontaites, Fish and Game's Moose Project Leader. "If you 
drive 55 mph or less, you're much more likely to walk away from a 
moose-vehicle collision." 

According to Bontaites, New Hampshire motorists kill close to 1,000 
deer and 250 moose on our roads every year. There is a very strong 
correlation between speed of the vehicle and severity of the accident, with 
speeds in excess of 55mph far more likely to result in serious injury or 
death of occupants. Collisions occur most frequently under conditions 
of poor visibility, at dawn, dusk and night; at speeds in excess of 50 
mph; and -- surprisingly -- on straight and relatively flat stretches of 
road. In New Hampshire, most moose-vehicle collisions happen between 
the months of April and November, and May, June and October are the 
months of greatest activity. Slow down and save wildlife! 


N.H.'S STRANGEST CREATURE?

A reader asked the Wildlife Report to help identify "the great gobs of 
gelatinous stuff" observed in Squam Lake this summer. Our Fisheries 
Biologist Don Miller helped solve the mystery: these gelatinous masses are 
likely to be bryozoans, also called "moss animals." These organisms are 
found in colonies, and several thousand may inhabit a small area. 

The individual bryozoan has tentacles that are extruded into the water 
and capture food (zooplankton and phytoplankton). The gelatinous mass 
is secreted by the bryozoans and may be of considerable size. Bryozoans 
have been around for millions of years. Several websites offer more 
insight into (and a look at) this mysterious part of New Hampshire's 
wildlife, dubbed "the strangest creature in the Connecticut River." One to 
try is http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/bryozoa.html.

--------------------

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-- 
Copyright 2005 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, 
Concord, NH 03301.  Comments or questions concerning this list should 
be directed to lpoinier@wildlife.state.nh.us.