Wildlife Babies 2013: Twin Critters

I've gotten twins of several species numerous times in the past.  In fact, last year I had a mother with five baby Raccoons at two of my study sites (see here).  Furthermore, at one of these sites, the baby raccoons were a constant fixture in front of my camera traps.

This year, however, there have been very few Raccoon babies to speak of.  One of the sites with the momma and five offspring is now devoid of Raccoons....so I wonder if she got hit by a car, or met some other untimely demise.

Regardless, it was not until a little over a week ago, that a camera at a completely new study location yielded some baby raccoons.  Not quintuplets this time, but twins....

White-Tailed Deer offspring also seem to come in "multiples" frequently.  I had twins at two sites last year (here)....and have even had triplets at a site in North Carolina (here).

This year, however, I have gotten relatively little in the way of fawns (in general) at the site where they were very common last year.  In fact, at a site where I not only had twins last year, but several other fawns, I've only got pictures of a momma with a single baby once (here).

Once again, the completely different sites (with the twin Raccoons) is where I've gotten pics of twin fawns this year.

 

On a different subject, it appears that a large buck who was at one of my study sites last year survived the hunting season and is back.  This could be the third year in a row that he's been around (see 2011 shots here, and 2012 examples here).....

 

 

You may remember that there were two at this site last year, but one was taken down by an automobile in late fall (here).



Your Weekly Fawn AND MORE Wildlife Babies!

Wildlife babies still abound.  But now they are getting bigger and venturing out on their own a bit.

In addition to the quadruplet Raccoons (Procyon lotor) that I've posted about recently, I've also gotten clips of some other little ones out and about.

The fawns, in particular, are showing up alot.

So, in an effort to keep up with what I started, here's your weekly fawn (or fawns)!

Here's another, slightly bigger fawn from a different site....

This little fella is part of a two-for-one special!

There's is boldness in numbers, and I ended up with about 20 video clips of these two....until something spooks them (check out that leap!).

Yet ANOTHER set of twins at a different site! 

The females must have had alot of resources available to them in the area this year to produce so many twins!  It's been very hot and dry out there lately, so we'll see how long these babies last....

But for now they look happy.

Plus, there are MORE!

This baby Whistlepig (Marmota monax).

A baby Stiped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis).  This little fella comes back repeatedly and I have many video clips of him (or another one that's the same age).  In every clip he is snuffling about in circles, apparently fascinated by something in front of the camera.  I never see him eating anything, so I am not sure why he keeps returning.  Whatever the reason, he always seems very serious and determined!

There's something I find incredibly endearing about skunks.  Can't place my finger on it....but whatever....the videos of this little critter always give me a chuckle.  He actually could be the ornery little stinker, I've gotten clips of in the past.....

 And finally....a first for me....a Coyote pup!  Don't see many of the pups (even though I knew the adults were on-site).  The parents must keep them well-hidden.

Your Weekly Fawn Part II

There has been plenty of fawn activity in front of my camera sets over the past few weeks.

Here some most recent pictures.

I've got two separate sets of twins at completely different sites.

Here's the first pair.  Momma's looking a wee bit skinny. 

Trying to consume enough calories to feed twins, while also meeting her own metabolic needs must be a herculean task (especially with the brutal heat we've had lately).  Research investigating the energetic demands on female Black-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) that are lactating to feed juveniles illustrates what I'm talking about.  According to Sadlier (1982), female Black-tailed Deer that are lactating and feeding a single fawn consume 135% of the food/energy intake of non-lactating females.  Females lactating to feed twins consumed 170% of the intake of non-lactating does!

Here's the twins from the other site.

This momma looks a bit more heathly.

A couple of does with only one mouth to feed are also hanging around...

I think this is the same fawn as in the picture above.  This fawn and momma pass by this camera at fairly regular intervals.

More fawns in the future, I hope!

Literature Cited:

Sadleir, R.M.F.S. 1982. Energy consumption and subsequent partitioning in lactating black-tailed deer.  Canadian Journal of Zoology 60:382-386.