Category Archives: Wildlife

Interpretive Blogs about Wildlife and Plants

Brush Rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani)

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Have you ever seen a rabbit climb a tree? 
Somehow seeing a bunny in a tree just seems out of place.

Brush Rabbit (courtesy ODFW)

Identifying

Brush rabbits are one of the smaller rabbit species with short legs and gray tail, and long ears. They are dark brownish gray with a pale gray belly. Adults measure around a foot in length and weight up to two pounds.  

In some parts of Oregon, the Brush Rabbit and the introduced Eastern Cottontail have interbred. The resulting hybrid is small like the Brush Rabbit and has a white cottontail of the Eastern.  

Range

Brush Rabbits are found along the Pacific coast from Washington south through Baja California, Mexico. They are also found in the Willamette Valley and coastal stream valleys up to the Cascade Range.

Habitat

Typically, Brush Rabbits stay very close to home and make their home in extremely dense brush. They clear runways in the brush for feeding, quick escapes, and snacking in our gardens.

Food Sources

Normally, these animals are solitary but have been known to become gregarious when foraging. Probably when they are having fun eating my azaleas to the ground.

In summer, the rabbits love to eat green clover. They also eat grasses, flowers, weeds, blackberries, wild roses, tree saplings, and farm and garden crops.

In winter, their diet will shift to more twiggy materials and practically any green plant especially ground hugging shrubs. They will devour plants like Gumpo Satsuki azaleas and miniature blueberries almost overnight.

Not sure it was a rabbit? Rabbits make a 45 degree cut with their incisors; deer and elk just twist and rip.

Rabbits and hares will pass soft pellets of undigested vegetation (called coprophagy). They will later re-ingest these nutritional pellets to meet their nutritional requirements.

Nests

Nests created by the females are typically located in brushy areas such as fencerows, edge habitat, brush or rock piles, and other areas with suitable cover. The nest would resemble a shallow bowl-lined with grass, leaves, and her belly fur.   

Once the kits are born, the mother will avoid the nest for two weeks and return only at dusk and dawn to nurse and care for her young. This behavior helps hide the young from predators.

Predators

Brush Rabbits are always cautious around predators and will often use underground or brush tunnels rather than crossing open ground. They use a couple of different techniques to foil predators which include:

  • Sitting absolutely still for long periods of time.
  • Running in a wild zigzag pattern. They are able to run 15-20 miles an hour in one stretch.
  • Rabbits will emit a high-pitch sound similar to a cry when it feels threatened.

Predators include: Bobcats, cougars, domestic dogs/cats, coyotes, shunks, snakes, weasels, fox, mink, and a variety of raptors (particularly hawks and owls). They are also vulnerable around vehicles, mowers, weed-wackers, and habitat changes.

Population

Quick like a rabbit. These polygynous breeders can produce over 15 young each year with multiple litters. The average litter size in Oregon is 2.8.  

Brush Rabbit populations in Oregon are not threatened. Many species here are considered game animals. Check with the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife for harvest regulations.

Cute Stuff

Did you know that rabbits purr when they are content? The purr may sound like teeth lightly chattering, but just as sweet as a kitten.

They also have a way of expressing joy called ‘binky.’ They will run and jump, twisting their body, and flicking their feet. Something like a whirling leap for joy. Most likely brought on by eating small and expensive ornamental shrubs…well maybe…

Not so Cute stuff

Rabbits gnaw a number of things from bark on young trees to small diameter plastic irrigation lines. Plants and irrigation lines are difficult to protect from the rabbits once they get started. There are several ideas for living with rabbits (and discouraging them) on State Fish and Wildlife websites.

Disease

This spring biologists found a fatal hemorrhagic disease spreading through wild and domestic rabbit populations in California. The disease does not affect humans or other animals.  Be sure to report any dead or weird acting rabbits to your local Fish and Wildlife office.

Rabbits and several other related animals can be infected with a bacterial tularemia, rabbit fever, which can be passed to humans through undercooked meat or handling meat. Wear rubber gloves and wash hands well to avoid problems.

So, will a Brush Rabbit climb a tree? Yes, if they are hungry or need a predator escape, and if the trunk is sloped. Who knew?  

REFERENCES:
–Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Brush Rabbits (https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/species/pikas-rabbits-and-hares)
–Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Rabbits (https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/rabbits)
–Wildlife Organization, Deadly disease found in California rabbits for first time, May 2020   (https://wildlife.org/deadly-disease-found-in-california-rabbits-for-first-time)
–Wikipedia, Brush Rabbits (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush_rabbit)

Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii)

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Pacific harbor seals

Harbor seals are the most widely distributed pinniped. On the Oregon Coast, you will most likely encounter the Eastern Pacific harbor seal, a subspecies found between Alaska and Baja California, Mexico.

These seals have spotted coats in a variety of shades from white or silver-gray to black or dark brown. They favor near-shore coastal waters and use rocks, reefs, beaches, and drifting glacial ice as haul out and pupping sites.

Pacific harbor seals spend about half their time on land and half in the water. They can even sleep with their bodies nearly submerged in water, exposing only the tip of their nose to the air – a posture called “bottling.”

Ocean threats

Despite being skilled swimmers, harbor seals face a number of threats in the ocean. There is currently no commercial hunting of harbor seals, but some native subsistence hunting of seals still occurs.

Because they compete for many of the same species of fish, harbor seals are sometimes killed by commercial fishermen. Seals can also become entangled and drown in fishing nets and gear.

In addition, the species is preyed upon by killer whales, sharks, and Steller’s sea lions. El Niño events can decrease the animal’s food availability, which includes a variety of fish, shellfish, and crustaceans.  

Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

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Make like a raccoon

Raccoon, courtesy of ODFW.

Wash your hands. Wear your mask.
Be a bit mischievous and very curious.
Try to avoid being a nuisance and trickster, and
Culture a woeful “I really am cute” look.

You may have had one of these critters in your back deck, looking for treats. We had a family of five. Cute, but not cute enough to feed.

Raccoons can be large with a length up to 28-inches and weigh nearly 60 lbs. The most distinctive features are the ringed tail, facial mask, and front paws.

A dense underfur protects the raccoon against cold weather. The hind legs are longer than the front, giving the animal a high rump walking gait.

Habitat

Raccoons look for permanent water resources and large trees and can live almost anywhere in Oregon where those two elements are found. Some of your neighbors may claim that there are more Raccoons in the neighborhood than human residents.

They will often den in a hollowed-out tree. But they will also den in storage buildings, basements, attics, chimneys, and more.

Needless to say, they have adapted well to human settlements and are known for creating a fair amount of damage. Around 1,500 raccoons were imported as pets each year in Japan after the wild success of “Rascal the Raccoon” in 1977. It is estimated that these ‘pets’ caused over 30 million yen of agricultural damage on Hokkaido alone.

Raccoon in bird feeder (royalty free Unsplash)

Foraging

Raccoons have extremely dexterous front paws and long fingers that help them unscrew jars, uncork bottles, open door latches and knobs, and even complex locks.

These furry mammals forage night—it makes it easier to get into a garbage can unseen. They will also raid bird feeders, eat seemingly abandoned pet food, downed fruit and veggies, and more.

Aquatic foods are, however, their favorite. They prefer to eat invertebrates, but will eat plants, vertebrates, and stale dog food any day.

When foraging in streams, they will pick up a potential food item, examine it, and rub off unwanted parts in the water. It looks like they are washing their food (they are not).

But they are cute

Raccoons are generally not pets. With good reason. They can and frequently will create a great deal of problems if one starts feeding or housing them.

They are moody, carry a grudge, and remember details. Their emotional outbursts can lead to aggressive behavior towards pets and human owners (even if they were not involved). Their mischievous behavior often results in extensive property damage.  

Raccoon under dog bowl sleeping (royalty free Unsplash)

Pet or Pest?

It is legal in some states to keep a raccoon as a pet. This practice is not recommended by most for a number of reasons. Human-created foods, such as canned pet food, can be very harmful to a raccoon (obesity and gout), and cow’s milk will harm the kits.

As adults, raccoons can show aggressive behavior when their mobility is impaired, when they feel threatened, or when they are moody. They are unpredictable and resist learning commands used with more common pets.

There are exceptions however. US President Calvin Coolidge had a pet raccoon named ‘Rebecca.’ Rebecca had been sent to the White House from Mississippi for their 1926 Thanksgiving dinner. Instead she became the “White House Raccoon” that was known to unscrew lightbulbs, open cabinets, unpot houseplants, and walk outside on a leash.

Rabies

There are other reasons to not keep raccoons as pets. Raccoons make up nearly 30 percent of all rabies cases in the United States and can carry zoonic parasites and infectious diseases that can spread to humans and pets.

Did I mention that they bite?

These guys are smart and their bites seem to be targeted to cause the greatest pain over the longest time. One scuffle with our pet dog resulted in over 40 bites to her front leg and paw joints. Brutal and never forgotten by the dog or my pocket book.  

REFERENCES:
–Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife, Common raccoon (https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/species/common-raccoon) and Living With Raccoons  (https://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/raccoon.asp)
–Critter Control, Why raccoons are considered pets and not pets.com Racoons (https://www.crittercontrol.com/wildlife/raccoons/why-raccoons-are-considered-pests-and-not-pets-c
–Wikipedia, Raccoons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon) and Rebecca (raccoon) (…wiki/Rebecca_(raccoon)).