Microtus pennsylvanicus

Today’s Wishlist Wednesday species is . . . the Meadow Vole! I’m sure you are wondering why I would wish to see such a small, unassuming animal. Well, they live all around my parent’s house and neighborhood. There is evidence of them everywhere and I have never seen one! They can be active in the day and they don’t hibernate, I just haven’t been lucky enough to see them. I mean, look at that face! Who wouldn’t want to see one?
 
Meadow Voles, also called field mice, are rodents that are five to seven inches long, counting the tail. They are heavier-bodied than mice and have a shorter tail. Meadow Voles live across most of North America and inhabit grassy fields and eat grains, seeds, roots and fruits, as well as insects and slugs.

Because they tear up the ground, I hear people talking about what a nuisance they are, but they actually provide quite a few benefits! They aerate the soil with their tunnels, which improves soil quality. All those insects and slugs they eat are garden pests, and they provide food for larger predators such as birds of prey and coyotes.

If you really can’t have Meadow Voles in your garden, you have a few options.

1. Exclusion
Put fencing around areas you are trying to protect and bury the fencing at least a couple of feet deep. This also works for Rabbits, Moles, and Gophers.

2. Habitat modification
While giving the Voles an opportunity to escape, destroy their tunnel system. Repeat until they get the picture and stop building their tunnels in that location.

3. Deterrents
Put things in the tunnels that the Voles don’t like, such as castor oil or capsaicin (the compound that makes hot peppers hot).

Do not, DO NOT use rodenticide poisons! This will not be the last time I harp on this. Rodenticides do not kill their intended victims right away. What it does do is make them easier prey for predators such as owls, hawks, bobcats, coyotes, or even your dog. The victim still carries the toxin in their system which then poisons the animal that eats them. This can make the predator sick, impair their immune system which can lead to other infections, or kill them slowly and painfully. Rodenticides aren’t fast, they aren’t humane, and they aren’t safe. Please, please PLEASE don’t use rodenticides. There are always better alternatives.
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Climbing off my soap box, I am going to keep checking the Vole tunnels in the hopes that I see one. If anyone has seen one, please share in the comments. This will give me hope!

Mephitis mephitis

Have you been noticing more Skunk funk lately and it isn’t your downstairs neighbors waking and baking for a change? That is because it is Skunk breeding season! You’ll probably also see more Skunks along the side of the road, likely because male Skunks are so focused on finding a mate they are paying less attention to potential dangers such as cars.

Contrary to popular belief, Skunks would rather not spray you. They usually give you lots of warnings. Skunks will charge and do handstands and only spray as a last resort. It takes a while for their scent glands to “recharge,” so they would rather not use their caustic musk. The most noticeable warning they provide is their black and white coloration. These warning colors, or aposematism in animals, are nature’s danger signs. You see these contrasting colors in many unpalatable or potentially dangerous animals such as bees, poison dart frogs, and coral snakes.

Skunks get a bad wrap that is undeserved. They may be stinky, but they are mostly sweet. When I was a child, a mother Skunk had her babies in our garage. Every evening, she would either lead kits through the gap under our garage door, or wander into the connected laundry room if my mom was there and wait for her to open the door leading outside.

Skunks can be kept as pets in some states once their scent glands are removed. We had an education Skunk at Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary. Her name was Minkers and she was the sweetest thing ever! That being said, you should never attempt to pick up or handle a wild skunk, even babies, not only because of their spray, but they are also rabies vectors, meaning they can carry the rabies virus, which is fatal to humans.

Skunks can sometimes be considered a nuisance animal because they can live in suburban areas. I had a friend recently contact me about a Skunk under her deck. Skunks cannot be relocated due to potential disease transmission, so any pest control agency that tells you they are doing that is either lying to you or they are breaking the law. Your best bet is always exclusion, sealing off any areas an animal might enter. If they are already there, try some gentle hazing with lights and noise. They are looking for somewhere dark and quiet, so if you make it uninviting, they should leave and you can seal up the entrance.

People also don’t like them around because they may tear up part of your garden. They have long claws for digging, but they are using them to find grubs, rodents, and other garden pests to eat, so Skunks are actually quite beneficial to have around!

I’ve always liked Skunks, but I really fell in love with them the season at California Wildlife Center when I was tasked with feeding all the orphaned babies. I was one of the few staff members with the rabies pre-exposure vaccine, so I got the job. I had to wear two sets of gloves because even as babies, Skunks have very sharp teeth. Had I been bitten, we would have had to euthanize the baby to test them for rabies, and we didn’t want that.

I learned quickly that if you tuck their tail under, they can’t spray. It didn’t mean they didn’t still lunge and threaten me, which was more adorable than scary. It was bittersweet to return them to the wild, but that was where they needed to be.
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Next time you see a Skunk, give them a second look because they are adorable, but from a safe distance!

Trichechus manatus

Today’s Wishlist Wednesday species is the West Indian Manatee. I have never seen one in the wild or in-person anywhere, so they are on my wish list.

My first memory of having any awareness of manatees was in elementary school. In second or third grade, we all brought in our coins and symbolically adopted a Manatee called Sweet Gums. We learned all about manatees and would periodically get updates on her. Sadly, she passed a year or two later when she was hit by a boat propeller. It was pretty scaring as a little kid. That’s really what I remember most was seeing photos of propeller scars on the Manatees’ backs and not understanding why people didn’t just not hit them with boats. That was the very beginning of my realizing the ongoing conflict between animals and humans.

Manatees are ridiculous and I love them. They are underwater grazers, which is why they are also called sea cows. They do sometimes ingest small animals in their diet of sea grass. They are chubby, slow, and spend most of their time eating. They might be my spirit animals. Apart from the other species of sirenians, such as Dugongs, they are most closely related to Elephants. If you look at the nails on Manatees’ front flippers, they look like Elephant toe nails.

Manatees are members of the Order Sirenia, which comes from the Latin word siren or mermaid. Apparently, early European sailors mistook Manatees for mermaids and, I know what you are thinking, “Manatees look nothing like mermaids!” If you were to think about it, if mermaids existed and were warm-blooded, they would need to have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm. Hair wouldn’t serve any useful purpose underwater, so they would probably be bald. They would want to blend into the color of the ocean to avoid predators, so they would likely be grayish-blue. Put those traits together and what do you get? Manatees!
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I am hoping I will get to cross Manatees off my wish list at some point. I’ll need to plan a trip to the coastal waters and rivers of Florida and the Caribbean. If you have been lucky enough to encounter a Manatee, please share in the comments!