Thursday Night

We headed out to Cook's lake for our final trap collection. Kim and I did not have much luck. I guess the rodents decided they did not like our traps. The overall capture rate was not too good for all the teams. It started to rain just as we were finishing up.

We cleaned up camp and headed back to the house for lunch. Dr. Newman did a lecture on about How the world was formed and how that impacted Nova Scotia. He also talked about all the mammals that are native to Nova Scotia. Can you find Wally? He was a very good student.

We had time for a quick walk to the beach before dinner. On the path to the beach we saw dozens of sea urchin exoskeletons. We think that some animal was eating them and just leaving the shell.





Here is some information about the small mammals we have been catching. Red back voles are the smallest mammals and beavers are the largest in Nova Scotia.

The Rock vole is bigger than the Red Back vole. Their average 20-35 gram average weight. They have the bigger eyes, purple feet and 8 teats. They are very active because they live in exposed habitats. When faced with a predator they run away. Their average life span is 6-12 weeks. They average litter is 4-6 pups.

The Red Back vole has bigger ears and has a reddish coat. Their average weight is 12-25 grams and they have 8 teats. They are not as active as the Rock vole because they live in the thick undergrowth and vegetation. They tend to freeze when faced with a predator. The average litter is 6 pups.

The Common Deer Mouse average weight is 22-40 grams. They have big ears, big eyes, long tail and a good sense of sight and smell. They are an omnivore which means they eat insects, eggs, berries, plants, and seeds. There average litter is 10-12 pups. They live in trees and can jump 3-4 feet off the ground. They use their tail for steering the direction of the jump. When faced with a predator they run away.

The short tail shrew has bad eyesight, short tail, long and mobile nose and tiny ears. Their nose can move in all directions and the have a good sense of smell. They have poor hearing but they can hear some ultrasounds. They are insectivores. The average weight is 25-40 grams. The shrew has hollow teeth which have poisonous bacteria. It causes them to taste bad when eaten by the predators. When a predators approaches the shrew will twitter to let them know that they taste bad. The poison in their saliva can be used to kill some insects.

That is all for tonight... see you all tomorrow with some new info.