gulo gulo: The Wolverine and Why Michigan is the Wolverine State

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Gulo gulo

Gulo gulo, photo by anikarenina.

Wikipedia’s wolverine entry says that the wolverine (Gulo gulo), also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, quickhatch, or gulon, is the largest land-dwelling species of the Mustelidae (weasel) family in the genus Gulo (Latin: “glutton”). It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids. The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times its size.

For more detailed information and photos, check out gulo gulo (wolverine) from the UM Animal Diversity Web. You can also see videos of the wolverine at ARKive.

Speaking of videos, recently Michigan lost its only known wild wolverine. Just days before, the Bay City Times put together this cool feature on Deckerville High School science teacher Jeff Ford’s longtime fascination with the wolverine that includes photos and video.

As to the question of why Michigan is called the Wolverine State, I couldn’t find anything definitive, but 50 States offers two theories:

Some people believe that Ohioans gave Michigan the nickname “The Wolverine State” around 1835 during a dispute over the Toledo strip, a piece of land along the border between Ohio and Michigan. Rumors in Ohio at the time described Michiganians as being as vicious and bloodthirsty as wolverines. This dispute became known as the Toledo War.

Another reason given for the nickname is a story that has Native Americans, during the 1830s, comparing Michigan settlers to wolverines. Some native people, according to this story, disliked the way settlers were taking the land because it made them think of how the gluttonous wolverine went after its food.

About this photo, Andrea writes:

Everett adopted a Detroit Zoo wolverine for me for Valentine’s Day last year. The zoo’s “Wildlife Preservers” adoption package came with a cute stuffed wolverine that we named Winchell.

Detroit’s wolverines produced 2 kits in 2005, who were fondly nicknamed Bucky and Sparty by the zookeepers. At the time, there were only 77 wolverines in captivity in North America, and Aggie’s litter was the only pair of surviving kits that year–and Detroit’s first surviving wolverine kits ever. Their official names are now Tamarack and Tilia.

See this photo bigger or in her Detroit Zoo set (slideshow).

More animals from Michigan in Pictures.

Deer at Ludington State Park

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Deer at Ludington State Park

Deer at Ludington State Park, photo by R.J.E..

Taken at Ludington State Park.

See this bigger or in the slideshow from the Lovely Ludington group.

Many more park photos from Michigan in Pictures.

Hooded Merganser Party

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Hooded Merganser Party

Hooded Merganser Party, photo by Adore707.

While these birds are partying*, you probably won’t have to shout at them to keep it down. The All About Birds entry for Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) says that they are silent except in courtship when male gives a deep rolling frog-like sound. Their wings do produce a loud whistling in flight which you can hear under “Sounds” at the link above.

This small fish-eating duck frequents wooded ponds and nests in holes in trees. More fun facts:

The Hooded Merganser is the second-smallest of the six living species of mergansers (only the Smew of Eurasia is smaller) and is the only one restricted to North America.

Although up to 44 Hooded Merganser eggs have been found in one nest, one female probably does not lay more than about 13. Larger clutches result when more than one female lays eggs in a nest.

The Hooded Merganser finds its prey underwater by sight. The merganser can actually change the refractive properties of its eyes to enhance its underwater vision. In addition, the nictitating membrane (third eyelid) is very transparent and probably acts to protect the eye during swimming, just like a pair of goggles.

For more, including photos, see the UM Animal Diversity Web entry for Lophodytes cucullatus (hooded merganser) and Wikipedia’s Hooded Merganser page. If you haven’t had your fill of ducks, there’s always the ever-growing Michigan in Pictures Duckie Gallery.

See this bigger in Eli’s Birds slideshow (view the set).

* Three boys and one girl? I’ve been to parties like that…

Northern Green Frog

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Northern Green Frog

Frog!, photo by StormchaserMike Photography.

I nearly misidentified this guy as an American Bullfrog, likely confusing a whole new generation of readers just as they were recovering from Turtlegate.

The Michigan Herps page on Michigan’s Frogs & Toads says that misidentification is common – the trick is the fold of skin running from their eardrum to their back. The UM Animal Diversity Web entry for Lithobates clamitans (green frog) says you can find them all over the eastern US and that:

Green frogs are found in a wide variety of habitats that surround most inland waters, such as: swamps, wooded swamps, ponds, lakes, marshes, bogs, banks of slow moving rivers and streams, oxbow lakes, sloughs, and impoundments. Juveniles may disperse into wooded areas or meadows during times of rain. Green frogs overwinter in the water usually buried in the substrate.

Green frogs produce as many as six different calls. Males attracting a mate give an advertisement call and a high-intensity advertisement call. Their advertisement call has been compared to the pluck of a loose banjo string. Male frogs defending a territory from an intruding male usually give aggressive calls and growls. The release call is given by non-receptive females and by males accidentally grabbed by another male. Finally, the alert call is given by males and females when startled or attacked by a predator.

Green frogs have an excellent sense of vision and use this to detect and capture prey.

You can hear one of their calls at the link above and also read about them at Wikipedia and the MIchigan DNR’s page on the Green Frog.

Check this out bigger and see it in context in Mike’s Cass Lake set (slideshow).

More about Michigan’s animals from Michigan in Pictures.

Rough-legged Hawk (Dark Morph)

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Rough-legged Hawk (Dark Morph)

Rough-legged Hawk (Dark Morph), photo by Michigan James.

Wikipedia says that the Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus) is called the Rough-legged Hawk in North America:

It is between 50 and 60 centimetres long with a 130 cm wingspan. Its breeding range is northernmost Europe, Asia, and North America, but it migrates further south in winter..

It breeds on cliffs, slopes or in trees, laying about four eggs, but more in good lemming years. It hunts over open land, eating small mammals and carrion. This species, along with the Osprey, is one of the few large birds of prey to hover regularly.

There’s more information and pictures on All About Birds.

James took this photo in Carsonville in Sanilac County. Check it out bigger and in his hawk slideshow.

Seeing Red: Rose Hips

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Seeing Red

Seeing Red, photo by Kiley_Evanne.

One of my favorite books as a kid was My Side of the Mountain. In it, the teenaged hero Sam Gribley learns how to feed himself and survive in the woods. Inspired by Sam’s example, I got as far as being able to identify rose hips, the red-orange fruit of the rose plant.

When snowshoeing or skiing in the winter, I like to snack on these when I find them. This article about gathering rose hips begins:

Known mostly for beauty in the garden and as a floral declaration of love, roses don’t usually come to mind when we think of either food or nutrition. Yet, all parts of the rose, and especially the hips, are storehouses of Vitamin C and other important nutrients.

Compare the nutritional content of oranges to rose hips and you will find that rose hips contain 25 percent more iron, 20 to 40 percent more Vitamin C (depending upon variety), 25 times the Vitamin A, and 28 percent more calcium.

They’re also a great source of bioflavanoids, pectin, Vitamin E, selenium, manganese, and the B-complex vitamins. Read on for suggestions about gathering and drying them. The BBC has an article about Rose-hips as a possible remedy for arthritis that you might enjoy as well. One tip: you have to leave the blossoms on the rose bush for hips to fully develop.

Check it out bigger or in Kiley’s slideshow.

Michigan Big Tree Hunt and the White Ash

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

White ash canopy

White ash canopy, photo by vaprwere.

A couple of weeks ago mLive featured an article on the 2008-09 Michigan Big Tree Hunt.

The contest, run by Global ReLeaf of Michigan, tries to find the biggest tree in each county every two years, as well as the largest white pine (the state tree), and the largest overall tree in the state — which this year is a 306-inch weeping willow in Van Buren County.

A forester who verified Nelson’s tree said that going by only circumference (206″), it is the largest white ash in a five-county (Grand Rapids) area. But it’s not the largest in the state. The Michigan Botanical Club, a partner in the contest, lists a 247-inch white ash in Leelanau County.

Learn more about the contest (and neighborhood tree planting) from Global ReLeaf of Michigan and more about the White ash at Wikipedia.

Check this photo out bigger and in Joseph’s Tree Images set (slideshow).

Interestingly enough, Joseph is a plant pathologist and writes that this large white ash was photographed in northern lower Michigan, and that like its brethren, it’s threatened by the emerald ash borer, a pretty but destructive insect. The article says that this tree was judged free of the pest.

There’s more about the Emerald Ash Borer and also more tree photos on Michigan in Pictures.

(back) Into the Woods

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Into the Woods

Into the Woods, photo by jimflix (busy).

With deer hunting season over, that’s where I’ll be going this afternoon.

Jim took this photo on the trail at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s Ransom Lake Natural Area.

Be sure to check this out background bigtastic and in Jim’s Fall Colors set (slideshow).

More fall wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures

The Fantastic Mr. Fox … Michigan Red Fox that is

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The Sly look

The Sly look, photo by taterfalls.

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
~Roald Dahl

Wes Anderson’s film Fantastic Mr. Fox (based on the book by Roald Dahl / view trailer) opens tomorrow, so I thought it a good time to take a look at the red fox. The Michigan DNR’s Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes fulva) page says:

Red foxes can be found in every county in Michigan but are especially common in areas with fallow and cultivated fields, meadows, bushy fence lines, woody stream borders, and low shrub cover along woods and beaches. They can also be found in suburban and, less commonly, urban areas where food is readily available. Foxes are highly mobile, which means they can use a large area to find food and shelter.

Red foxes resemble slender, small dogs, with the head and body typically around two feet long. Red fox tail is long and bushy, usually around 15 inches. The size and weight of foxes are commonly overestimated, because their long fur masks a bone structure that is slighter than that of most domestic dogs. Red foxes have a characteristic red coloration (hence their name), with the face, top of head, and neck having yellow or orange coloration. The tail is reddish mixed with black, and always has a white tip. The outer sides of the ears, lower parts of the legs, and feet are dark or black, while the insides of the ears, and the lips, chest, and belly are creamy white.

Much more about red foxes at Wikipedia and at Vulpes vulpes (red fox) on the UM Animal Diversity Web.

Be sure and check this out bigger also have a look at Tate’s slideshow of this brave fox in action.

Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Great Egret ( No. 2 ) Sepia

Great Egret ( No. 2 ) Sepia, photo by Paul Degi Photography.

The All About Birds entry for the Great Egret says:

A large white heron, the Great Egret is found across much of the world, from southern Canada southward to Argentina, and in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It’s the largest egret in the Old World, and thus has garnered the name Great White Egret. In the New World, however, the white form of the Great Blue Heron is larger. In the United States, the Great Egret used to be called the American Egret but that was hardly appropriate, since its range extends beyond the Americas and indeed farther than other herons.

The Great Egret (Ardea alba) entry on the UM Zoology Animal Diversity Web adds that the ideal location for great egrets is near any form of water. Streams, lakes, ponds, marshes and wooded swamps and wetlands are the preferred location for great egrets and other heron species. There is (of course) more on Wikipedia and here’s a sweet video of a great egret nesting site along Lake Huron.

Be sure and check this out bigger or in Paul’s B&W set (slideshow).

Check out many more Michigan Birds on Michigan in Pictures!