Notes on the Mammals of Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties, Michigan Part 5

Shrub stage, 5.

Paper birch--aspen stage, 10.

Overflow swamp, 5.

Edificarian, 1.

Common at all camps. Many were taken in traps set for carnivores.

Well-marked trails at the edges of lakes and streams through the forests are evidently made mostly by these animals. It is detested by the inhabitants of the region, chiefly for the damage done to any woodwork which contains the least amount of salt.

Porcupines spend a considerable amount of time inside hollow linden, yellow birch, and hemlock trees, as shown by the large piles of droppings noted at the lower openings of numerous such hollow trees.

June 30, and again on July 2, young individuals were closely observed while feeding on the leaves of the yellow water lily. These individuals were on the logs in an overflow swamp, and they reached down with a fore foot into the water to secure the food, which was then presented to the mouth with the same foot. One of these porcupines seemed to be very disinclined to wet his feet, except the fore feet in reaching for food; the other individual waded out on a log which was submerged several inches, but he showed a ludicrous determination to hold the tail up out of the water.

A juvenile weighing only 914 grams was taken as late as July 21 at Fish-hawk Lake, but no embryos were found in the period between June 29 and September 3. It is often active throughout the day as well as in the night.

A young individual taken in a trap July 3 was found surrounded by a swarm of mosquitoes, which seemed to annoy him considerably, for he shook his skin frequently to dislodge them. One mosquito settled on a lower eyelid as we watched, and others kept alighting on his nose. When he raised his quills on our approach many mosquitoes attacked the skin exposed on the back.

_Marmota monax canadensis._ Canada Woodchuck.

Hemlock forest, 5.

Shrub stage, 9.

A few occur in the Cisco Lake Region, where they are most common in the shrubby clearings. Several adults fed commonly on the refuse from the camp. The stomach of a captured individual contained a considerable quant.i.ty of cooked corn, spaghetti, and boiled ham. Three woodchucks were noted at different times in hemlock forest along the lake sh.o.r.es.

A half-grown juvenile was seen to swim the Ontonagon River near its entrance to Cisco Lake. This was on July 10, near noon, with bright suns.h.i.+ne. The river here is at least 75 yards in width, but has no perceptible current.

Juveniles taken in traps were observed to extrude scent glands from the a.n.u.s when approached. These glands are three in number, one on each side of the a.n.u.s and one beneath. They are small, whitish, and cup-shaped. Normally they lie just inside the a.n.u.s, but on excitement they are everted and the fold of skin forming the edge of the a.n.u.s is rolled outward so that the glands lie outside. We detected a faint musky odor which might have come from these glands.

In the Little Girl's Point district several inhabited a woodpile in hemlock forest at the edge of a wide road. None were found near Gogebic Lake.

_Eutamias borealis neglectus._ Lake Superior Chipmunk.

Tall-sedge, 1.

Gra.s.sy-meadow, 3.

Black spruce--tamarack bog, 1.

Hemlock forest, 1.

Wet hardwood forest, 1.

Shrub stage, 20.

Paper birch--aspen stage, 2.

Common in shrubby clearings and burns in the Cisco Lake and Little Girl's Point regions. A few were taken in tall sedges and gra.s.s not far from shrubs; one was taken in a small black spruce bog, about five yards from the surrounding wet hardwood forest; one was taken in hemlock forest near the lake sh.o.r.e; and one was seen in wet hardwood forest near the lake sh.o.r.e. Not seen near Gogebic Lake.

These chipmunks were several times observed feeding on ripe raspberries. August 5, near Watersmeet, one was seen sitting on a rail fence beside a pasture, eating a gra.s.shopper, the remains of which have been identified by T. H. Hubbell as _Melanoplus_ sp. probably _bivittatus_.

_Tamias striatus griseus._ Gray Chipmunk.

Black ash swamp, 1.

Hemlock forest, 1.

Wet hardwood forest, 10.

Dry hardwood forest, 8.

Shrub stage, 2.

Five records were obtained in the Cisco Lake Region; 9 near Little Girl's Point, and 8 near Gogebic Lake. It is most numerous in hardwood forest.

An adult male taken July 5 had in its cheek-pouches numerous seeds of Carex and a fruit capsule of Viola, the identification being by E. A.

Bessey. Of eight adult or nearly adult females examined between July 5 and September 1, one taken July 15 in the Cisco Lake Region contained eight large embryos.

_Sciurus hudsonicus loquax._ Southeastern Red-squirrel.

Black ash swamp, 1.

Arbor-vitae swamp, 3.

Black spruce--tamarack bog, 2.

Hemlock forest, 1.

White pine forest, 1.

Wet hardwood forest, 9.

Dry hardwood forest, 7.

Shrub stage, 1.

Paper birch--aspen stage, 3.

Early hardwood forest stage, 1.

Edificarian, 1.

Seventeen records from the Cisco Lake Region; 6 from Little Girl's Point; and 7 from Gogebic Lake. None were noted more than a few yards from the protection of a forest.

In a grove of white pines near Little Girl's Point cut pine scales were numerous August 13 on the ground and on logs, and one red-squirrel taken had much pitch on the fur around the mouth. August 24, cut-open fir cones were numerous around the small fir trees in a paper birch--aspen growth near Gogebic Lake, and were certainly the work of this species. July 2 a young red-squirrel which had frequently been seen around the camp in the Cisco Lake Region was found ravenously feeding on the kidney of a recently skinned woodchuck. After feeding it showed no fear, and allowed itself to be picked up; it seemed very sleepy and slept for about a half-hour before running away. This individual was badly infested with fleas. Another juvenile taken July 1 in the same region was infested with small patches of red seed ticks around the a.n.u.s, anterior to the genital opening, on the belly, on the thigh, and at the base of one ear.

Six small embryos were found in an adult female taken in the Cisco Lake Region July 16.

_Sciurus carolinensis leucotis._ Gray-squirrel.

In 1911, J. E. Marshall reported that a few occurred near Gogebic Lake.

_Glaucomys sabrinus macrotis._ Mearns Flying-squirrel.

Black ash swamp, 1.

Hemlock forest, 1.

Wet hardwood forest, 2.

Dry hardwood forest, 1.

Two were taken in the Cisco Lake Region and three near Gogebic Lake in Ontonagon County. A female taken July 4 near Fish-hawk Lake was still suckling young, and contained no embryos, but a female taken July 6 in the same region contained five small embryos. An immature female taken August 27 near Gogebic Lake was without embryos.

_Castor canadensis michiganensis._ Woods Beaver.

Leather leaf bog, house.

Two houses were found in the Cisco Lake Region, both being in leather leaf bogs near deep water. Around the house studied there was an incomplete moat connected with a channel leading to deep water, and ca.n.a.ls and tunnels radiated out through the bog. No beavers were observed nor secured, but fresh cuttings were noted at the edges of some of the "forms" in the bog.

A few beaver are reported to occur near Little Girl's Point and near Gogebic Lake. E. E. Brewster in 1895 wrote Dr. Gibbs that it was not uncommon in Gogebic County and in probably all the counties of the Upper Peninsula where trapping and lumbering had been discontinued; he stated that beaver were appearing again even in localities where formerly most sought. In 1911, J. E. Marshall reported it scarce near Gogebic Lake.

_Lepus america.n.u.s phaeonotus._ Snowshoe Hare.

Forest--sh.o.r.e, 1.