C.OY'i 2..

THE MAMMALS, REPTILES, and AMPHIBIANS of MOUNT DESERT ISLAND, MAINE

by Dale Rex Coman.

musilrations by the author and W. W. Frazier THE MAMMALS, REPTILES, and AMPHIBIANS of MOUNT DESERT ISLAND, MAINE

by Dale Rex Coman

Illustrations by the author and W.W. Frazier TABLE of CONTENTS page Foreword ...... 1 MAMMALS ...... 3 SHREWS and MOLES ...... 3 Masked Shrew ...... 3 Northern Water Shrew ...... 3 Pygmy Shrew ...... 4 Short-Tailed Shrew ...... 4 Star-Nosed Mole ...... 4 Hairy-Tailed Mole ...... " ...... 5

BATS ...... 5 Copyright by Little Brown Myotis ...... 5 Dale Rex Coman Keen's Myotis ...... 5 1987 Small-Footed Myotis ...... 6 Silver-Haired Bat ...... 6 Big Brown Bat ...... 6 Red Bat ...... 6 Hoary Bat ...... 6

BEARS ...... 6 Black Bear ...... 7

RACCOON and COATI ...... 7 Raccoon ...... 7

Printed by WEASELS ...... 8 Island Wide Printing Domesticated Ferret ...... 8 61 Cottage Street Fisher ...... 9 Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 Short-Tailed Weasel or Ermine ...... 10 Long-Tailed Weasel ...... 10 Mink ...... 10 River Otter ...... 10 Striped Skunk ...... 11 .. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 87-71730 DOGS ...... 11 DEER ...... 26 Eastern Coyote ...... 12 White-Tailed Deer ...... 26 Red Fox ...... 13 WHALES and PORPOISES ...... 27 CATS ...... 14 Finback Whale ...... 27 Bobcat ...... 14 Minke Whale ...... 27 Humpback Whale ...... 27 SEALS ...... 15 Right Whale ...... 28 Harbor Seal ...... 15 Pothead or Pilot Whale ...... 28 Gray Seal ...... 15 Killer Whale ...... 28 Walrus ...... 16 Beluga ...... 28 RODENTS ...... 16 Sperm Whale ...... 28 Woodchuck ...... 17 Harbor Porpoise ...... 28 Eastern Chipmunk ...... ,...... 18 White-Sided Dolphin ...... 29 Gray Squirrel ...... 18 REPTILES ...... 29 Red Squirrel ...... 18 TURTLES ...... 29 Southern Flying Squirrel ...... 18 Snapping Turtle ...... 29 Northern Flying Squirrel ...... 19 Stinkpot. or Musk Turtle ...... 30 Beaver ...... 20 Eastern Painted Turtle ...... 31 Deer Mouse ...... 20 Central Painted Turtle ...... 31 White-Footed Mouse ...... 20 Southern Bog Lemming ...... 21 SNAKES ...... 31 Boreal Red Back Vole ...... 21 Red-Bellied Snake ...... 32 Meadow Vole ...... 22 Garter Snake ...... 32 Muskrat ...... 22 Ring-Necked Snake ...... 32 Meadow Jumping Mouse ...... 23 Smooth Green Snake ...... 33 Woodland Jumping Mouse ...... 23 Northern Milk Snake ...... :...... 33 House Mouse ...... 23 AMPHIBIANS ...... 34 Norway Rate ...... 24 TOADS and FROGS ...... 34 Porcupine ...... 24 American Toad ...... 34 RABBITS and HARES ...... 24 Spring Peeper ...... 35 Varying or Snowshoe Hare ...... 24 Gray Tree Frog ...... 35 Bullfrog ...... 36- APPENDIX III ...... 45 Green Frog ...... 36 Northern Leopard Frog ...... 36 Rare or Endangered Maine Reptiles & Amphibians . 45 Wood Frog ...... 36 Leatherback Sea Turtle ...... 45 SALAMANDERS ...... 37 Atlantic Ridley Sea Turtle ...... 45 Spotted Salamander ...... 37 Loggerhead Sea Turtle ...... 45 Red-Spotted Newt and Red Eft ...... 38· Timber Rattlesnake ...... 45 Dusky Salamander ...... 38 Box Turtle ...... 45 Red-Backed Salamander ...... 38 Black Racer ...... 45 Four-Toed Salamander ...... 38 Ribbon Snake ...... 46 Two-Lined Salamander ...... 39 APPENDIX IV ...... 47

APPENDIX I ...... 40 Reptiles & Amphibians of Uncertain Status ...... 47

Extinct Mammals of Maine ...... 40 Jefferson's Salamander ...... 47 Sea Mink ...... 40 Wood Turtle ...... 47 Wolverine ...... 40 Brown Snake ...... 47 Timber Wolf ...... 40 Mountain Lion ...... 40 Walrus ...... 41 Wapiti, or American Elk ...... 41 Woodland Caribou ...... 41

APPENDIX II ...... ;...... 43

Rare or Endangered Maine Mammals ...... 43

Smoky Shrew ...... 43 Yellow-Nosed, or Rock Vole ...... 43 Lynx ...... 43 Opossum ...... 43 Eastern Cottontail ...... 43 New England Cottontail ...... 43 Harp Seal ...... 44 Hooded Seal ...... 44 FOREWORD time and efforts in my behalf, and he advised me in the live-trapping of small The first edition of this booklet was published in 1972 and the second in mammals. He corrected errors of both omission and commission in the 1981. Since then, changes have taken place in the island's fauna which original manuscript. The errors that remain are mine alone. require this third edition. The purpose of this booklet is to provide Shirley Lou Davis surveyed the amphibians of Acadia National Park and information on those species of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians which reported her findings in her Master of Science thesis at Cornell University in are indigenous to Mount Desert Island, Maine, and to suggest where they 1957. This thesis and Dr. Manville's publications constituted the basis from may be found. In addition, where possible, an appraisal is made of the current which my own studies began. status of each species, thereby establishing at least a tentative basis for James Bond urged me to make assessments of the mammals, reptiles, and comparison with changes that are certain to occur in the future. amphibians of the island as he had done so well with the birds, and he was a It is illegal to collect or damage wildlife or plants within Acadia National source of encouragement as well as a help in gathering information. Park and thereby a measure of protection is afforded the fauna and flora of Stanley Grierson, a highly competent and versatile naturalist, was of great the island. Deer cannot legally be killed anywhere on Mount Desert Island, aid in locating heretofore unreported, or rarely reported, species, as will but other game animals and furbearers may be shot or trapped within become evident in the text in appropriate places. seasons designated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Game Warden Lee Grinnell assisted in gathering material concerning the 'on all lands outside of Park boundaries unless prohibited by the owners of fauna of the island and in obtaining species needed for identification. private property. The Reverend William Booth, good friend and dependable observer, This little book must not be construed as a guide for the identification of exhibited superb skills as a naturalist in obtaining the first irrefutable species. For that purpose, the following books, all of which are available at evidence I have received of the presence of a Fisher on the island. the Park Office, at the gift shops within the Park, or at local bookstores, are My earnest thanks go to my close friend and companion West Frazier who recommended: has cooperated with me in a great number and wide variety of ventures over a A Field Guide to the Mammals by Burt and Grossenheider long span of years. The Mammal Guide by Ralph S. Palmer The REPORTING of RARE or HERETOFORE UNRECORDED A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians by Roger Conant SPECIES and the CARE and DISPOSITION OF DEAD SPECIMES A Field Guide to the Whales and Seals of the Gulf of Maine Observations of rare or heretofore unrecorded species should be reported by Katona, Richardson, and Hazard. to one or the other of these people: Stanley Grierson, Bass Harbor, Maine, Tel. #244-3742, Game Warden Lee Informative books on the life histories, habits, breeding dates, and Grinnell, Jody's Acres, Southwest Harbor, Maine 04679, Tel. # 244-3500, habitats of the species discussed can be found in the following books: West Frazier, Hulls Cove, Maine 04644, Tel. #288-4260, or to Dale Coman, Wild Mammals of New England by Alfred J. Godin Sand Point Road, Bar Harbor, Maine, 04609, Tel. #288-5412. The Amphibians of New England by Anne Orth Epple Dead specimens should be refrigerated until delivered to, or collected by, Turtles of the Northeastern United States by Harold Babcock one of the people listed above. A phone call to the person selected will avoid Handbook of Salamanders by Sherman C. Bishop inconvenient interruptions and yet assure preservation of the specimen. The following people have participated in producing this booklet in various Domestic cats often bring in specimens of small mammals that are of value ways and to varying degrees and my sincere thanks go to all of them: to those of us studying the local fauna. It would be appreciated if these Paul Favour, former Park Naturalist, contributed valuable information and specimens, unless badly deteriorated, could be saved and turned over to one he also patiently reviewed the original manuscript. Permission to collect or the other of us. specimens needed for my studies has always been granted by the managers I cannot accept responsibility for omitting specimens unreported to me, of the Park's resources. nor can I accept unconfirmed reports from observers lacking first hand Marion Kirshenbaum, secretary to several of the Park's superintendents, familiarity with a species. Resemblance to a picture in a book has proven to was a cheerful and generous contributor of time and industry. be an unreliable basis for the identification of wildlife. Richard Manville, Director of the Bird and Mammal Laboratories of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., in 1942 published, in The Journal of Mammalogy, a survey of the mammals of Mount Desert Dale Rex Coman Island with a later note in 1960. He also published, in 1939, a note in Copeia on • 1987 the herpetology of the island. Dr. Manville was exceedingly generous of his

1 2 PYGMY SHREW mirco"orex /'011" This tiniest of the world's mammals, along with an African species of MAMMALS comparable dimensions and weight, (about as much a thin worn dime!) is exceedingly difficult to trap and is no doubt more common than the few More than 50 species of mammals have been recorded in and around records would suggest. The first Pygmy Shrew to be reported on Mount Mount Desert Island. Others that once lived here are now extinct, and still Desert Island was one obtained by Vernon Lunt in 1935. In 1972, I live­ others that have not yet been reported may extend their ranges into this trapped a specimen on the eastern side of Long Pond and another on the area. Doubtless a few species are present that have not yet been identified as shore of the lower Breakneck Pond. I received a third specimen that was members of our fauna. killed by a cat near West Tremont in 1978, and another in 1986 from DeGregroire Park. Because of the difficulty in identifying our three tiniest SHREWS and MOLES species, no doubt most of the ones trapped or found dead are not distinguished from one another, so their relative numbers are not known. We These small mammals are seldom seen despite their abundance. Their need more naturalists interested in our small mammals! small size and secretive habits render them inconspicuous, and some of them are almost exclusively nocturnal. Fluctuations occur in their numbers for SHORT-TAILED SHREW Blarina trevicauda • which no explanation is at hand. They do not hibernate, and during winters in This is a common species here and is not infrequently seen darting across a which there is insufficient snow-cover many die from exposure. The range of path or road. It also enters houses occasionally, and can be found from the the Smoky Shrew includes this island, but I have no confirmed records of its summits of our highest mountains down to the lowest wetlands in both presence here. coniferous and deciduous woodlands. The bite of Short-Tailed Shrews is poisonous and can kill mice and even young hares. It can cause a painful MASKED SHREW Sorex cinereu" wound in humans. Short-tailed shrews eat vegetal substances as well as flesh This species is common in all forested parts of the island. I have found it at and insects. One that I kept in captivity for a while ate bread and bird seeds as all elevations although most often in low wet woodlands. While live-trapping well as lean beef and fat. shrews, I have caught more of this species than any other, suggesting that it may be the most numerous shrew in our locality. It cannot be distinguished in STAR-NOSED MOLE Condylura cri"tata the field from either the Pygmy or the Smoky Shrew. This is a mole of damp places. The ridges formed by its tunnels can be seen in gardens and wet soil where it has been burrowing in quest of earth worms. NORTHERN WATER SHREW Sorex palu"tri" The remarkable nose of this mole is its most distinguishing feature, a Specimens of this large shrew have been taken near Jordan Pond and proboscis adorned with 22 fleshy tentacles which functions as a sensory along the eastern shore of Long Pond near Pond's End. I trapped a Water organ for this subterranean dweller. Specimens have been obtained from the Shrew close to Frenchman Bay near The Ovens, but usually these shrews south end of the Tarn, along the Crooked Road near Fresh Meadow where it live along cold brooks, ponds, or in bogs. It is present in appropriate habitats borders on Northeast Creek, and also along the shores of Somes Pond and all over the island. This shrew enters the water to feed on aquatic organisms, Little Round Pond. Obviously, it is distributed in suitable habitats all over the readily diving to the bottom in pursuit of them. When seen swimming, it island. I was amazed to discover the body of a Star-Nosed Mole wedged in appears silvery due to air trapped in its fur.

Pygmy Shrew Star·Nosed Mole

3 4 the receptacle of a Pitcher Plant growing in a New Jersey Pine Barren bog SMALL FOOTED MYOTIS m'Jotij years ago. Evidently the mole had been attracted by the odor of the insects Manville reported that a bat of this species was collected at Otter Point on being digested in the cup of the plant and had been unable to back out of the September 11, 14139, the first of its kind to be reported in Maine. I have no Pitcher Plant's ingenious trap, quite likely the most sumptuous banquet a additional records of this bat for the island even though its range has now Pitcher Plant was ever served. been confirmed as including the southern half of the state. HAIRY-TAILED MOLE Parajcalopj breweri SILVERED-HAIRED BAT ofajion'Jclerij noctilJaljanj I have live-trapped several specimens of this mole along the shore of Long Specimens of this bat have been collected far off shore at Mount Desert Pond and one in a grove of Red Spruces at Hadley Point. I have seen others Rock during their fall migration. My wife and I observed two of these bats here and there all over the island. It is often found in gardens, no doubt flying at close range at eye level as they passed back and forth beneath a attracted by angle worms and the loose soil. I once thought it uncommon, but Carriage Road bridge at the head of Eagle Lake early in autumn. On two now am convinced that it is present in relatively large numbers. occasions one of the bats alighted on the ground for a minute or two before taking wing again, a behavior that has been reported by others. BIG BROWN BAT Gptejiuj !UjCUj Second in size only to the Hoary Bat, the Big Brown may sometimes be seen flying at dusk in a straight, rather than erratic line, and with slow wing beats. They often chatter as they fly. They live in old buildings, barns, belfries, attics, or hollow trees, and they may hibernate in buildings, the only bat in New England to do so. I have seen them flying here as early as March and as late as November. Little Brown Bat RED BAT ofajiuruj boreaAj These are usually solitary bats, and may be seen abroad in the early BATS evening or on overcast days. Their flight is more erratic than that of the Big The status of our bats is difficult to determine with any hope for accuracy. Brown Bat. Although forest dwellers, Red Bats may be seen in the Their nocturnal habits and ability to hide themselves during the day make illumination of street lights or automobile headlights. Under such conditions them inconspicuous members of our wildlife community. Also, few people their rich red pelage is usually discernible. are familiar enough with the different species of bats to be able to identify HOARY BAT ofajiuruj cinereuj them. There are bats whose ranges include this region but without records of This is the handsomest of our eastern bats, a solitary forest dweller, late them having been obtained as yet. flyer, and therefore is seldom seen. I had an exceptionally good look at a LITTLE BROWN MYOTIS m'Jotij !ucij,-ljuj Hoary Bat at the edge of a coniferous woods on the eastern shore of Long This is a common bat on the island and the one most often seen. It Pond, August 11, 1968. I have seen two others since that date and a total of frequently flies while the light is still adequate for observation and is usually in only four in my lifetime to date. The Hoary is doubtless a regular spring and groups. It is a small bat. Look for it flitting about in the twilight over ponds and fall migrant and the August date suggests that the species breeds here as lakes. Numbers of them can often be seen at dusk near the pumping station well. at the southern end of Long Pond while they are catching night -flying insects. KEEN'S MYOTIS m'Jotij keeneii jeptentrionaAj BEARS This species is quite similar to the Little Brown Myotis. It was first reported Until relatively recently, bears were regarded as pests in Maine, vermin to here by Stanley Grierson on August 24, 1981, when he found a female of the be got rid of, because they occasionally killed a lamb or a calf, demolished a species in the Malvern-Belmont Senior Citizens Complex, and later, several bee hive, and upset the family dog. Then it was discovered that people from specimens in the Acadia Corporation building in Bar Harbor. In all, some 30 other states considered bears as game animals, to be driven by dogs and specimens have now been identified. There is every reason to suppose that shot, or to be baited into a selected site and then shot. Real sporting! So, the this bat has been living on the island for many years, but was mistaken for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife designated the former vermin as Little Brown Myotis. It is now known to occur throughout southern Maine. superb game animals and opened a long and ill-timed season on them. The

5 6 killed each year by automobiles. When the demand for their fur increases their numbers decline sharply; they are not difficult to trap. They range all over the island and often wander into villages, but during the daylight hours most of them remain in the seclusion of the wood.s. Raccoons are highly intelligent mammals, exceeding the domestic dog in their problem-solving capabilities. They are ingenious raiders of trash and garbage containers. They are easily tamed, but make somewhat unpredictable pets, especially as they mature. Raccoons are attractive mammals, with their black masks, ringed tails, and their clever paws which strongly resemble little hands.

Black Bear

•protection afforded this member of our fauna is altogether inadequate, and baiting and driving by dogs should be outlawed as it has been in some other states. BLACK BEAR Yrjuj americanuj This species was prevented from establishing itself on Mount Desert Island for many years. Whenever a bear came onto the island it was immediately hunted down. Several years ago, however, a pair of bears succeeded in raising three cubs here, and two more adults reached the island that fall. As Raccoon best I can now determine, their numbers have increased to between 12 and WEASELS 15 individuals. This has been a slow growth in their population, and I by no means feel assured that the species is securely established here. Surely, the This large family includes our two true Weasels, the Striped Skunk, Mink, only National Park in New England should make every effort to maintain such River Otter, Fisher, and the Pine Marten. The latter species, however, does a typical species as a member of its fauna. Bears are extremely shy and not occur in this part of Maine. The Sea Mink once lived along our coast but secretive animals, and they should be encouraged to remain so. was extripated near the end of the last century. An alleged mounted Troublesome bears are those which have lost their apprehensions by being specimen that I saw in Eastport was carefully studied by Manville who finally fed and encouraged to mingle with people. Wild Black Bears are not decided that it was either an exceptionally large Mink, or possibly a hybrid dangerous. Tamed and half-tamed ones are. Thus far, the Black Bears in between the Mink and the Sea Mink. (The Extinct Sea Mink, with Taxonomic Acadia National Park are still wild bears. You must count yourself fortunate Notes, by Richard Manville. Proc. U.S. Nat. Museum Vol. 122. No. 34584. to see one, and the chances are that you will have no more than a fleeting 1966.) glimpse at best. The Pine Marten, Martes americana, does not normally range as far as the coast from its western and northern precincts. Some Martens were liberated RACCOON and COATI by the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife near the village of Franklin in 1984 "to provide another furbearer for trappers" in Hancock County, Raccoons and Coatis, the latter an animal of the tropics, are the only presumably the first time that this species ever was present in this part of the members of their family in the United States. They are related to the bears, state. I have received no reports about the fate of these transplanted which the Raccoon superficially resembles in some ways. Martens.' RACCOON procyon Iolor Raccoons are numerous on the island, and they often frequent public and DOMESTICATED FERRET This is probably a hybrid between pufOl'iu:1 /oefiJi:1 and puforiu:1 puforiu:1, private camp-sites and picnic grounds in search of food. They may be seen at European species. It is sold in some Maine pet shops. A specimen was times roaming about in the early morning or evening. Numbers of them are 8 7 or uugnr ro me by Lee Grinnell that had been shot In the vIllage of Bar Harbor, SHORT-TAILED WEASEL or ERMINE mU:Jlefa erminea doubtless an escaped pet. The importation and sale of these weasels should This chipmunk-sized weasel is by no means scarce on Mount Desert be prohibited in Maine, and, indeed, in the United States. We have enough Island. I have examined a dozen specimens and have seen several others in wild weasels without adding this highly efficient predator to our fauna. ~arious places. I measured a captive male Ermine found by Stephen Moon FISHER marle:J I'ennanli near Bubble Pond. From nose-tip to the end of its tail it was seven and three I have received more erroneus reports of Fishers than of any other quarters inches long, of which the tail alone contributed two and three eights mammal on Mount Desert Island. Otters, Black Foxes, black poodles, black inches. The white of its underparts extended down the hind legs to the feet. It Labrador retrievers (both pups and adults), domestic cats, Woodchucks was later liberated. These beautiful little animals move swiftly, are secretive in (both melanistic mutants and those with normal pelage), Raccoons, and a their habits, and are well camouflaged in both summer and winter, only their Beaver have been reported to me as Fishers! black eyes and tail-tip being the least bit conspicuous. As a consequence, Most of these misidentifications have come from those who have never they are seldom seen despite their numbers. I know of one Ermine that lived seen a Fisher and have used pictures in mammal guidebooks as their means in a celler for a while and raised a litter there. of identification. The Fisher is a much larger animal than most people expect LONG-TAILED WEASEL mU:Jlela frenala to see. The tracks of the Fisher must be distinguished from those of the This larger Weasel ranges all over Mount Desert Island. It, too, is a swift Otter. Again, this a common mistake, I find, even among supposedly and elusive creature and largely nocturnal, so, again, it is not often reported. I 'knowledgeable local woodsmen. At this writing, I still do not have a verified sight record, nor a specimen, of a Fisher on Mount Desert Island. have seen only 8 or 10 Long-tailed Weasels during the last 10 years, but I know from their tracks that they are here in good numbers. I have seen them, The one positive record I do have was the discovery, by Bill Booth, on and have found their tracks usually in and around brush piles, or in the March 10, 1985, of a Fisher track in the snow, starting from the foot of a jumbled masses of boulders left by glaciers at the foot of terminal moraines. spruce tree, without any tracks leading to the tree. Fishers are The Long-tailed Weasel also turns white in winter here in the North, although excellent climbers and they can travel from tree to tree, making leaps as it remains brown throughout the year in the southern part of its range. long as 10 feet. Otters cannot climb trees. On March 15th, Bill found another Fisher track in snow and wet gravel from which he obtained superb MINK mU:Jlela vi:Jon photographs. Both sets of tracks were in the same area near Eagle Lake. Mink live along our many waterways ... brooks, ponds, lakes, and beaver Fortunately, an Otter had chosen to wander through the same patch of mud, flowages, tidal creeks, and bayshores. They are found on some of the smaller and a careful comparison of the two sets of prints leaves no doubt whatever coastal islands as well as on Mount Desert Island. Individuals may roam over as to the identity of either the Fisher or the Otter. So, although we know we a range of several miles, especially the males. Although said to be chiefly have, or at least have had, at least one Fisher on Mount Desert Island, we are nocturnal, these handsome mammals are seen every so often scampering still waiting for the first indisputable sight record or a specimen. Fishers are along a brook or pondshore, or darting among the rocks on a lake or not difficult to trap, but I know of none caught on Mount Desert Island even bayshore. Commonly solitary, a family group may sometimes be though several competent trappers have been active on the island. It must be encountered in spring or summer. On several occasions I have seen Mink concluded that, at present, this is an exceedingly rare mammal here. swimming in Northeast Creek, and I once found the bodies of a pair that had been killed by i:l. car while they were crossing the road where it passes over the creek. RIVER OTTER J:ulra canaJen:Ji:J In 1942, Manville expressed the possibility that Otters might be extinct on Mount Desert Island since no authentic records had been received since 1935. I was aware that they were rare and remained so until along in the 1960s, when I saw several and found evidence of their presence in a number of widely separated places. Since then, Otters have increased to numbers beyond what might be expected in a comparable acreage inland, and it soon became apparent to me that this relatively large population depended on the adaptation to a marine environment by our Otters on Mount Desert Island. Fisher The littoral zones of our own and neighboring islands greatly expand the food

9 10 resources for local Otters. ;:juIce veell eXLellIIlllQLeU 110111 (lie ed5Lelii UIIILeu Olales, [lIe I ledI es[ remaining wolves being found in Quebec. The Gray Fox, YrocIJon I have watched, from our windows, Otters swim straight across cinereoarfjenteuj, is a resident of southern and southwestern Maine, but Frenchman Bay, a distance of more than 2 miles, and have seen them thus far it has not extended its range into our region. swimming well out to sea on their way to and from other islands. The home territory of every pair of Otters I have studied includes the shoreline of either islands or the mainland. Of course, our local Otters also use the brooks, ponds, lakes, and beaver flowages of the island. When, in 1978and 1979, I last made an effort to determine the number of Otters breeding on Mount Desert Island, I concluded that there were between 30 and 34 pairs, and these figures agreed with those obtained by Milton Leach, who, until his death, was an expert trapper who had studied our Otters over many years.

River Otter Coyote

An oblinging pair of Otters has entertained observers at the Tarn in recent EASTERN COYOTE Canij latranj years as they catch and feast on eels, usually on the ice in winter. Another Coyotes have been present in Maine since the 1930s, and they are now well pair can be seen from time to time in Hamilton Pond where I have watched established in all the other New England states except Rhode Island. They them eating pickerel and eels. Most Otters, however, avoid people. Careful probably arrived on Mount Desert Island during the winter of 1980. The first search in appropriate habitats will reveal their tracks in both summer and confirmed report was made by Gerard Haraden on February 7, 1981. He winter, as well as their scats, remains of their kills, their dens, (often along called me after having seen an animal he took to be a large Coyote (he knew brooks or pondshores) and occasionally their slides on steep clay banks, or both Coyotes and Wolves, having seen them in the west and in Alaska) as it on snow·covered hillsides in winter. trotted through a small woods behind his home. I examined and measured the tracks left in the snow and was convinced they were those of the Eastern STRIPED SKUNK rnep/'ilij mep/'ilij race of the type species of the Coyote. Game Warden Lee Grinnell and the This is one of our most common local mammals. They are usually seen Reverend William Booth followed the tracks of this animal for miles through along the roads at night, but sometimes wander about in the twilight of dawn woods, swamps, and beaver flowages. Later, Lee, having followed the tracks or evening. They often seek food around wayside stands and campsites, and high up on the slope of Cadillac Mountain, found where the animal had lain many are killed by cars every year. The young are born most commonly in down, leaving behind a single hair which Lee brought to me. It was the typical May, and sometimes may be seen traipsing along after their mother in single banded varicolored hair of a Coyote. file, a most attractive woodland sight. The first specimen of a Coyote collected on Mount Desert Island was a male of about 45 pounds shot on the Bass Harbor marsh on November 6, DOGS 1982. It had been accompanied by 3 others, no doubt a family group. On The Red Fox and the Eastern Coyote are the only members of the dog December 3, 1982, Lee Grinnell brought me the corpse of a young male family, Canidae, now living in our area. The Timber Wolf, C'anij lupuj, once Coyote. It had been shot with a small caliber rifle bullet through the thorax. included Maine and the other New England States in its range, but it has long Thereafter, it had evidently run until it dropped dead near McQuinn's quarry

11 12 at Hulls Cove. I removed a few hairs and suggested to Lee that he give the Roads, or along the many Trails in the Park, affording camera fans grand body, which was still in rigor mortis, to Stan Grierson at the College of the opportunities for obtaining unusual wildlife photos. Foxes do not have highly Atlantic for preservation as a skin or mounted specimen. I have since seen discriminating appetites, preying on many small species of mammals, and several Coyotes on the island and their "singing" has been heard by many. also on frogs, salamanders, snakes, birds and their eggs, as well as eating Coyotes are in Maine to stay and such brutal methods of "control" as the use berries, fruits, and any delectable piece of carrion they happen upon. They of poisonous baits, snares, and driving with dogs should not be permitted. are especially handsome in late fall and winter when their coats are thick and Unfortunately, the Timber Wolf was easy to exterminate in New England. richly colored. Fortunately, the Coyote is not. It has securely established a niche for itself in the ecosystem of Maine's fauna and there are indications that it has just CATS about reached its maximal numbers. It has won a place for itself in our wildlife Possibly the Lynx, and more certainly the Cougar, once inhabited eastern community. Despite the frantic wailing by deer hunters, Coyotes will not and northeastern Maine, as surely both species once roamed the northern decimate the deer herd that the hunters themselves, poachers, free·roaming and western parts of the state. The few Lynxes that still may survive are now . dogs, the lumber companies, and the real estate "developers" are striving so restricted to the last remnants of the original vast White Pine forest that, not hard to exterminate. so long ago, covered the greater part of northern Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and on westward. Periodically, reports of cougars, mountain lions, panthers, pumas (no cat ever had so many names!) appear in local newspapers, but since neither confirmed sight records, photographs, nor specimens have been forthcoming, mammalogists will assume this species is extinct in Maine until it is proven to the contrary. BOBtAT of';fnx rujuJ The status of this animal is uncertain locally. There have been only a few reliable records in recent years, most often in winter. I had a fleeting glimpse of one in summer near Wonderland, and a somewhat longer nighttime observation of a Bobcat in the vicinity of Lopaus Point. An adult with kittens was reported by Thomas McIntire years ago, but I have obtained no reports

RED FOX 1/ulpeJ ju!va Although the Red Fox is generally common on Mount Desert Island, its numbers fluctuate widely, sometimes seeming to rise or fall with similar fluctuations in the Varying Hare population which occur every 9 or 11 years for reasons not wholly clear. (See under Snowshoe Hare). Foxes may be seen along the roads at night or sometimes while they are hunting Meadow Voles in open fields or on salt marshes during the daylight hours. The black color phase of the Red Fox is r~gularly reported. I have seen 5 such foxes in recent years. I have never identified, nor have I received any reports of the Cross or Samson color phases of the Red Fox on the island. Occasionally, a Silver Fox is reported; that is, a Black Fox with white· tipped guard hairs. Dens of the Red Fox are sometimes found by those who walk on the Carriage Bobcat

13 14 of either dens or kittens since then. I found the tracks of a pair of Bobcats on Western Mountain in January, 1978, and received reports of squawling at night from the same area, suggesting the presence of a breeding pair, but a diligent search of that area in early spring when snow was still on the ground failed to confirm that possibility. Currently, it can be said only that a few Bobcats visit the island from time to time, but that there is no proof of their presence here as an established species.

SEALS Until 1969, the Harbor Seal was the only species of seal to have been reported from our waters, but now the larger Gray Seal can be included in our fauna, at least as a summer visitor. The Harp Seal, Pagopt!Uj qroenlanJica, rarely enters the Gulf of Maine, and the Hooded Seal, • C,!:1top/'ora cri:1tala, has also been reported in Maine waters, but they must Grey Seal be considered as only occasional strays from more northern waters. A group of 4 was seen in June, 1971, on the Greenings, and 2 adults with HARBOR SEAL p/'oca viluAna young were found on Black Island by William Townsend. Since then, this seal Groups of these marine mammals can be seen during their whelping has steadily incresed its numbers as a summertime resident. It is common season in spring and early summer on the ledges off the Indian Point shore, along the shores of Nova Scotia, Quebec, and New Brunswick. A colony of when both adults and recently born young are present. Some of these Gray Seals lives on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. Three major individuals remain there until autumn. Seals can be found all along the Maine population centers of Gray Seals have been described. One is in the Gulf of coast and in all the bays. They haul out on reefs and ledges to bask in the sun St. Lawrence, another in the British Isles, the Faroes, Iceland, Norway, and at low tide, and on the rising tide pursue herring, mackerel, harbor pollack, the third is in the Baltic. In the waters around Mount Desert Island, as many sculpins, and other fishes of the North Atlantic. In winter, most of the seals as a hundred Gray Seals now gather in summer. A few have been known to move offshore to the outer islands, and spend the greater part of their time in stray as far south as New Jersey in summer, and skeletal remains have been the water, where the temperature remains well above that of the air. The found on Block Island, indicating a much wider distribution of the species in adults, of two or more years old,gather in selected coves to mate in mid­ the past, and no doubt far greater numbers. Gray Seals are reported to live as summer, usually August in Frenchman Bay, but gestation is delayed until long as 40 years compared to less than half that for Harbor Seals. October and lasts for seven and a half months, the pups usually being born, in WALRUS OJobenu" ro"maru" ro"maru" our waters, in May and June; later farther north, and earlier south of here. This huge animal, the males reaching 10 feet in length and weighing up to a The young can swim when only a day old, but must climb out onto a rock or ton, the females somewhat less, frequented our waters until the close of the ledge to nurse. I once watched a adult, presumably a mother, nudge a Pleistocene, and there have been occasional records of southward stillborn young one off a ledge, and when it sank she dove in and tried to keep wandering individuals reaching New England waters in modern times. I it afloat by swimming beneath it and pushing it to the surface. She persisted in examined the fossilized skull of a walrus brought up in a scallop drag, this effort until darkness put an end to my observations an hour later. A between Sheep Porcupine and Burnt Porcupine Islands, by Ronald Mac similar performance was reported to me by a young lady who came to the Gregor of West Gouldsboro late in December, 1979. This specimen was island one summer to study the seals. Fortunately, Seals are protected in carbon dated at 12,320 +/- 130 years ago. Maine waters, but some are shot by irate fishermen when the seals damage their nets or weirs. Adults reach lengths of over 5 feet and weights of more. than 200 pounds. RODENTS GRAY SEAL .J.jaAc/'oeru:1 ljr'Jpu" Our indigenous Rodents include the Woodchuck, several Squirrels, the This seal was first reported in our waters by John Good in the summer of Chipmunk, various Mice, the Norway Rat, two Voles, the Southern Bog 1969 at Bunker's Ledge, and another was seen by Paul Favour in July, 1970. Lemming, Beaver, Muskrat, and Porcupine. One or the other among these species is apt to be the commonest mammal in any habitat you enter.

15 16 Rodents outnumber by far all other kinds of mammals on the island. Many of EASTERN CHIPMUNK :lamia:J :J1,.ialu:J these are seldom seen because of their small size and their nocturnal habits. This is one of the commonest and most widely distributed mammals on the Others, however, like the ubiquitous Chipmunk, can be found scampering island. It can be found from the mountaintops to sea level in coniferous or about in daytime and are less shy than the majority of other mammals. deciduous woodlands, in brush pastures, in and around lawns and gardens, or along the shores of ponds, lakes, or bays. Indeed, it would be difficult to WOODCHUCK ma,.mola monax drive around on island roads on a sunny day in spring, summer, or fall without Woodchucks were unknown on Mount Desert Island before 1925 even seeing one or more chipmunks. These are beautiful little mammals with though, according to Bailey, they were present in fair numbers on the nearby unusual markings. Many are killed by cars every year and there are mainland. Even in the '40s and '50s, however, Woodchucks were rare here­ fluctuations in their population from time to time, perhaps due to those abouts, and I found that many of the older residents were not familiar with the winters in which there are prolonged thaws with flooding due to meltwater. It species. I was brought specimens for identification by people who had been is during and after such winters that I find the corpses of chipmunkswhich I born here and had lived here for many years. I was once called on the phone assume have been flooded out of their retreats. A period of such to come see a Fisher that a resident had shot, only to find that he had slain a unseasonable warmth, followed immediately by intense cold, also poses Woodchuck! A Pine Marten was reported in the Park so I hastened to check great difficulties for the shrews by exposing them to the low temperatures. on this astonishing record, only to discover that the animal was a . Woodchuck. Woodchucks are becoming common on the island now, even GRAY SQUIRREL Sciu,.u:J ca,.o!en:Ji:J though ideal Woodchuck terrain consists of lush meadows and grassy Gray Squirrels are rapidly increasing on the island at this time. It is said that hillsides of which we have but a small acreage. Our local Woodchucks are there were no Gray Squirrels here until some were released by George B. often found in deciduous woodlands, along brushgrown hillsides, or on steep Dorr at Sieur de Monts Spring in 1922. I rated the species as uncommon in banks by the roads. This is one of our few true hibernators. Look for its the '40s. In contrast to the Red Squirrel, this is an inhabitant of deciduous, burrows, always with more than one entrance, one of which is conspicuous rather than of coniferous forests. As is its custom, it has now moved into the because of the mound of earth in front of it; the other, more difficult to find, villages. Gray Squirrels become quite tame with but little encouragement. may be 25 feet or more distant. Search the slopes of Cadillac and other Despite reports to the contrary, I find that the larger Gray asserts dominance mountains, especially where there are patches of grass, and scan, also, the over the Red Squirrel in contests over food or territory. With five or six of meadows and brushlands on both sides of the island. Surely you will discover each species competing at our feeders and in the adjacent woods, the Grays a Woodchuck before long. chase the Reds away whenever the two approach each other too closely. Nevertheless, it is not unusual to see both kinds of squirrels and several chipmunks all feeding together on the seeds provided for them. I have not yet seen Gray Squirrels at the higher elevations in the Park, but I am not aware of any reason why they should not ascend to the mountaintops if they were to find food there. RED SQUIRREL :lamia:Jcu,.iu:J /'uJ:Jonicu:J This is the squirrel of the coniferous forests where its scolding chatter greets the hiker along Park trails. Its nests, constructed of twigs, cedar bark, or Usnea lichen can sometimes be found well up in trees. Red Squirrels occur at all elevations and they are common enough that one need not roam far before coming upon one. They are attractive mammals and their perky manners win them many admirers among visitors to the Park. SOUTHERN FLYiNG SQUIRREL q/aucom'J:J l/o/an:J Those Flying Squirrels that I have identified as of the Southern species have been in villages or predominantly deciduous woodlands. Some of these specimens were brought in by cats or were found dead on lawns, in gardens, or in woodland clearings. I have now seen several others that I decided were of this species feeding at bird trays after dark, and at such close range in Woodchuck

17 18 BEAVER CaJtor canadenJiJ The early settlers on Mount Desert Island lost no time in trapping all the Beavers. The flourishing population of today is said to have descended from only two pairs released in 1920 by George B. Dorr in the brook that flows from Bubble Pond to Eagle Lake. Beavers are now present in just about every suitable habitat on the island. Several colonies, with their dams and lodges, can be seen from those Park roads that skirt dammed brooks. Older flowages can be found at New Mill Meadow, or across the road from the foot of the Precipice. Another fine flowage can be observed from the Carriage Road that runs from the parking lot near the north end of Eagle Lake to the Breakneck Ponds and Witch Hole Pond. To watch the beavers at work, visit these flowages at dusk, or on clear, or preferably moonlit nights. The kits of the year can be distinguished from the adults by their much smaller size. The loud slaps you may hear are made by the beavers when they whack the water with their broad tails as a warning signal to other beavers that you, or someone, or something has aroused their suspicions of possible danger. By arising before dawn you may have another good chance to watch the beavers. You should obtain more information about beavers from books in Flying Squirrel the Library or bookstores if you have a genuine interest in the wildlife of bright artificial light that I could examine them in detail. These are small America. squirrels with soft, velvety, gray fur and large dark eyes suited to their DEER MOUSE perom'lJcuJ maniculutuJ nocturnal habits. They mate twice yearly, first in late winter or early spring, and then again in June and July. They are more abundant than might be WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE perom'lJcuJ IeUCOpUJ supposed because of their extreme shyness and almost exclusively nighttime These two mice are indistinguishable in the field, and the problem of activities. identifying them is a difficult one, the slightly longer and more sharply bicolored tail, somewhat longer pinnae, and pure white belly fur of P. NORTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL r;laucom'lJ JatrinuJ macrotij maniculatuj not being apparent unless the specimen is in the hand for This squirrel is somewhat larger, darker, and browner than the Southern careful examination, and preferably with one or more verified specimens of Flying Squirrel and the basal part of its belly fur is not white but gray. Also, all p. !eUCOPUj with which to compare it. those I have identified have been in the coniferous forests where they are Evidently the distinction can be done certainly by chemical analysis. In much more abundant than would be judged by the reported observations. I 1975, Robert Packie, former Research Associate in Zoology at the University have found the tails of Flying Squirrels beneath the feeding perches of both of Maine in Orono, and Dr. Joseph Nadeau, Jackson Laboratory, using Barred and Great-horned Owls, along with the regurgitated pellets of these starch-gel electropheresis, found that the enzyme lactic dehydrogenase birds. Since the tails of Flying Squirrels consist of little more than fur and showed a distinctly different zymogram banding pattern. They expressed the vertebrae, I suppose the owls have learned to dispense with these opinion that the most reliable physical criterion for identification was the appendages when devouring the rest of the squirrel. I have found 6 or 8 of broader rostrum in P !eUCOPUj. They also described a behavioral difference these tails now, all of which I have had reason to believe came from the between the two species in that, upon release after capture,p. manicu/atuj Northern species. This would suggest that these squirrels are numerous invariably climbed· the nearest tree to a height of 30 feet or more whereas p. denizens of our coniferous woodlands on Mount Desert Island, a supposition !eUCOPUj always scurried away on the ground. This behavior was confirmed that is borne out of the number of tracks I find in the snow, some of them by Wolff, J.O. and Durr, D. (J. of Mammalogy 67(2):4099,412,1986) who also demonstrating where the squirrels have landed at the end of one of their described a difference in the choice of nesting sites between these two soaring journeys. I have had the opportunity to examine, at hand, only a few species, p. maniculatuj almost always selecting arboreal sites and p. specimens of the Northern Flying Squirrel, but I have seen a dozen or more feUCOpUj usually terrestrial ones. For the amateur naturalist it is best, under individuals and a great many tracks deep in our coniferous forests which I most circumstances, not to struggle with this problem of distinguishing assume bears testimony to the presence of the species in gratifying numbers. between the two species of perom'!jcuj. Either submit specimens to

19 20 professional mammalogists or call them all peromlj:Jcu:J species? and let it go and I never have any difficulty live-trapping them in any suitable environment at that! from sea level to the mountaintops. There are two color phases, red and Packie and Nadeau caught several mice on Mount Desert Island that fell gray, and in my experience, the red is much the commoner here. Many of within their criteria for p. !eucopu:J. Thus far, I have caught only two that I these Voles serve as food for predatory mammals, birds, and snakes. I have thought were of this species and a great many that I unhesitatingly classified found their skulls and other bones in the regurgitated pellets of Saw Whet as p. manuculatu:J, but that was before I had been made aware of the Owls. They feed chiefly on seeds, bark, and grasses. Clarence Cook Little, chemical and behavioral differences described by Packie and Nadeau. who later became the first Director of the Jackson Laboratory, and through SOUTHERN BOG LEMMING S'Inaptomlj:J cooperi whose efforts the Laboratory was conceived and brought into existence, A specimen of this species was brought to me by Stanley Grierson in trapped the same areas that I did many years later. His records, made January, 1985, only the second of its kind reported to have been found on available to me through the efforts of Dr. Charity Waymouth, Senior Staff Mount Desert Island. This was a male in good condition that had been Scientist Emeritus at the Jackson Laboratory, revealed that Dr. Little had brought in by a neighbor's cat in Northeast Harbor. The first specimen, a found this Vole as abundant as had 1. lactating female, was collected in August, 1959, by Joseph Felsenstein near MEADOW VOLE microtu:J penn:J'Ilvanicu:J what was then the Hamilton Station of the Jackson Laboratory in Salisbury Abroad day and night, the Meadow Vole prefers to live in grassy fields and • Cove. That specimen (No. 288024) is in the National Museum of Natural salt marshes where its trails and grass clippings can be found. Occasionally, History, Washington, D.C. This is a species that I have not yet been able to one is seen scurrying across a road. House cats, Red Foxes, Milk Snakes, collect on the island, but I intend to go on trying. I caught 2 Bog Lemmings in Kestrels, and Broad-winged Hawks are among the many predators that prey 1975 in a sphagnum bog in Washington County. These little Lemmings may on Meadow Voles. Fortunately, they are prolific, having several litters a year. be widely distributed in a region, but with extensive intervening areas in They do not hibernate, but manage to survive the harsh northland winters which none can be found. They often select sphagnum bogs, but may also living beneath the snow-cover, as do those mice and shrews which are active inhabit open dry fields. It is said that they may be found in association with the year around. Meadow Voles at times. I think this species must be considered rare in this locality. Other than the one reported by Grierson, I have not learned of any MUSKRAT OnJatra zitet/'ica being brought in by cats. Nevertheless, despite the discouraging prospects, I Muskrats frequent both fresh and brackish water, choosing cattail go on hoping a Bog Lemming will enter one of my live-traps. swamps, tidal creeks, salt marshes, as well as the banks of brooks, ponds, lakes, and beaver flowages where they build their lodges of aquatic plants, or dig burrows in the banks. They are not often seen except by those who spend a lot of time in their favored habitats, being essentially crepuscular or nocturnal. They are prolific, having more than one litter even this far north, but trapping for the glossy fur, and predation by Mink, Red Foxes, owls, and hawks keep their numbers far below optimal in their habitats. There are days in early spring when muskrats spend hours in the sunlight, grooming, basking, and feeding.

Southern Bog Lemming

BOREAL REDBACK VOLE C!et/'rionom'l:J Cjapperi Boreal Redback Voles are present in large numbers on the island, but their rufous coats make them almost invisible against a background of fallen spruce, fir, and pine needles, even though they are abroad in the daytime. These may well be the most numerous mammals in the coniferous forests, Woodland Jumping Mouse

21 22 MEADOW JUMPING MOUSE Zapu:j /'uc/,oniu:j .A query to the Park revealed that some or all of these specimens were later This seems to be an uncommon mouse even though it is widely distributed sent to the University of Maine at Orono, but my telephone calls and letters on the island in marshes and meadows. The few specimens I have examined have as yet yielded no results. So, the trails of the 9 mice end here for me; I have come from both sides of the island, and from well separated sites. have this booklet to finish and submit for publication. Manville did not find this mouse above 300 feet elevation. I found it difficult to trap, but finally caught enough to convince me that the species is in no danger NORWAY RAT ~attu:j norveljicu:j of extinction. All I have caught have been in low grassy fields. It is chiefly These worldwide rodents can be found in land-fill dumps, in some stables nocturnal, but I have seen several leaping through the grass in the daytime. and barns, or around fishing shacks where bait is stored, as well as in the villages. I have seen one occasionally around public campsites, picnic WOODLAND JUMPING MOUSE napaeozapu:j in:jiljni:j grounds, and in the vicinity of the trash bins set out by the towns in There are but few reliable records of the Woodland Jumping Mouse on appropriate places. Norway Rats are among our least-loved wild mammals, Mount Desert Island. One was collected on August 24, 1934 by M.L. Branin, and they survive and thrive despite relentless persecution with poisons, and another by Maurice Sullivan on May 9,1936, at Sieur de Monts Spring. I traps, and guns. failed to live-trap any of these mice until July, 1972, when I caught 2 of them, one each in two traps set withint 10 feet of each other in a mixed woodland PORCUPINE bet/'izon Jor:jatum , near Hadley's Beach. I have caught only 2 Woodland Jumping Mice since When the first edition of this booklet was published, Porcupines were rare those first two; however, I have done but little trapping on the island in recent on the island. They have increased since then, and have extended their local years. The two species of Jumping Mice are among the few hibernating range until they are now widespread and occupying most of the habitats on mammals in Maine. the island that are suitable for their support. I am now seeing more young Porcupines than in past years. Porcupines also wander onto the roads where some are killed by cars every year. Search for them in any of the well-forested areas on the island. You may also find an occasional tree stripped of some of its bark; but foresters tell me that the damage done by Porcupines is usually insignificant. They seem to prefer stands of Hemlock, Beech, and Sugar Maple. Porcupines are essentially solitary, but occasionally are known to den in groups in winter. Their dens are usually either in caverns, crevices, brush piles, beneath fallen trees, or under boulders. They have an extended breeding season, lasting in some instances from November to as late as March or early April. Porcupines waddle along slowly. I have watched them swim on several occasions, which they do riding rather high in the water and progressing at a modest pace. This is a mammal of unusual characteristics. Its protecting quills, herbivorous diet, slow and cumbersome movements, make it an interesting member of our fauna. I hope that it continues to thrive House Mice on the island. HOUSE MOUSE mU:j mU:jculu:j These must be exceedingly rare mammals on Mount Desert Island, if RABBITS and HARES indeed, they are present here at this time. During all the years I have lived and trapped small mammals on the island I have never seen a House Mouse, dead The only member of this group of mammals now inhabitating the island is or alive, nor do I know any other naturalist who has done so within recent the Varyin~ or Shows hoe Hare. The New England Cottontail, Silvi~ years. However, in 1898, C.F. Batchelder collected a House Mouse in the IraMilionali", is reported to have extended its range northward and eastward town of Mount Desert. That specimen is in the Harvard Museum of in recent years, but it still has a long way to go before reaching our island. Comparative Zoology. Then, in 1942, Richard Manville, while a Naturalist at VARYING HARE or SNOWSHOE HARE J:epu:j americanu:j Acadia NaJional Park, reported that he had examined 9 sl='ecimens of House This interesting mammal is present in all suitable habitats on the island. Mice that had been collected on the island (J. of Mammaiogy, Vol. 23, No.4, The number of Varying Hares goes through cyclic changes, reaching peaks Nov., 1942). every 9 to 11 years. Various reasons have been proposed as the cause of

23 24 these fluctuations in population, among which is a peculiar affliction called "shock disease", characterized by a degeneration of the liver coupled with hypoglycemia (an inadequate amount of sugar in the blood). This causes the hares to go suddenly into either a coma or a series of convulsions soon followed by death. Great numbers may be so affected. The cause of this malady is unknown. The name "snowshoe hare" derives from the hu'ge heavily furred hind feet, the toes of which splay apart forming a pair of serviceable snow·shoes. The term "varying hare" refers to the annual change in color from brown in summer to white in winter, resembling the Ermine in this respect. Snowshoe Hares are preyed upon by man, Foxes, Bobcats, Fishers, Snowy and Great·Horned Owls, and the larger hawks. You may sometimes see Varying Hares feeding in the grass-grown edges of the Park roads, or along the Carriage Paths.

Whitetailed Deer DEER The White-tailed Deer and the Moose are ihe only members of the deer family we need consider here, and the latter only to regret its absence from the island, especially in view of its considerable numbers elsewhere in the state. Here, again, is a typical member of the state's fauna, indeed, the official mammal of Maine, and it most certainly should be present in Acadia National Park where suitable habitat is available. An occasional Moose wanders onto the island, and they were said to be indigenous here years ago. I think it wbuld not be difficult to establish an appropriate number of moose here again if an effort were made to do so. The Caribou will be discussed when considering the extinct mammals of Maine. WHITE-T AI'LED DEER oJocodeuJ lIirginianuJ At this time, Deer are numerous on the island, despite the large number illegally killed by poachers, many of whom are night-hunters who cripple as many or more deer than they kill. An indeterminable number of these illegally slain deer are sold to visiting "sportsmen", breaking still another law. Too many other deer are killed by unleashed, free-roaming dogs, and by automobiles driven through deer country too fast or too carelessly. Look for deer feeding in open fields or clearings, especially in the twilight of dawn or evening, and please keep them uppermost in your mind while driving Snowshoe Hare along our roads within or outside of the Park boundaries. Fawns are usually born in May and June here, and this is, therefore, an especially critical time in

25 26 the year because the youngsters are then vulnerable to attack by dogs ... and RIGHT WHALE Gutalaena ljlaciali:J by automobiles. Adult deer are subject to slaughter in any season and at any This is not a kind of whale one might expect to see in Frenchman Bay. time by the unscrupulous poachers. Nevertheless, a Right Whale of 30 or 40 feet in length was found swimming slowly about not far from shore near the Blue Nose Ferry Terminal on WHALES and PORPOISES November 26, 1985, where it was seen by many. This individual had evidently visited several bays along the coast including Mason Bay, near Jonesport, As might be expected, whales are not often seen from shore, but a few of Dyer Bay at Steuben, and Blue Hill Bay. Once common, and the "right" certain species do enter our bays from time to time. However, to those whale to kill for oil in the whaling days of years ago, it is now uncommon. The visitors to the island who are eager to observe whales, it is recommended that migration routes and destinations of the Right Whale are poorly understood. they obtain information from the National Park Office at Hulls Cove about the availability of whale watching trips offshore. This can be a most rewarding POTHEAD, or PILOT WHALE r;loticep/'ala melaena experience for those interested not only in whales, but also in the other This small whale is not uncommon in the Gulf of Maine, and is usually seen pelagic mammals and sea-birds. in groups. It does not seem to favor our local bays. This is the species that sometimes becomes stranded on shore to die in large numbers, not FINBACK WHALE rRalaenopiera p/',/Mlu:J uncommonly on the Massachusetts coast. This is the only species of large whale that enters our bays with some regularity. Finbacks may be 70 feet long and weigh more than 50 tons. I have KILLER WHALE Orcinu:J orca seen, not infrequently, from one to several Finbacks late in summer while I A Killer Whale visited the waters around Mount Desert Island in mid~June have been clamming, lobstering, sailing, or otherwise occupied on the waters of 1982 and remained for several days, a most unusual event since these of Frenchman Bay, on the shore of which my wife and I live and whose whales characteristically travel and hunt in groups rather than singly, and surface we scan innumerable times every day. . they do not often enter the Gulf of Maine. MINKE WHALE rRalaenopiera acuioro:Jiraia BELUGA :J)eIpI,inapieru:J leuca:J This is the smallest of our baleen whales, usually reaching a length of less A few Belugas, or White Whales stray southward once in a while from their than 30 feet. Although it pursues fish into bays and estuaries along the coast, I home in the St. Lawrence River, and occasionally one or more may swim into have not yet received reports of its occurrence in either Frenchman or Blue Frenchman Bay or some other bay between here and Cape Cod or Long Hill Bay. Island Sound, or they may run up the Penobscot River for a way, or some other river along the coast. These are small whales, seldom longer than 12 HUMPBACK WHALE meljapiera novaeanljlica feet, and are entirely white when reaching maturity at about 10 years old, A whale of this species was reported by Arthur Stupka on August 10, 1934, having been brown at birth, then changing to gray, gradually becoming more and for 13 days thereafter, near the Porcupine Islands. Although, as Katona and more pale as they approach maturity. et al report, this is a relatively common whale in the Gulf of Maine, it rarely enters the coastal bays, and I have no other reports of it presence here. SPERM WHALE pI, ,/:Jeier caioJon These whales, known to all from Moby Dick, are only rarely seen in the Gulf of Maine, but an adult female became stranded on Mount Desert Island in the autumn of 1968. The chief food of these whales are the giant squid of the oceanic deeps so they spend the greater part of their lives far at sea ranging throughout the oceans of the planet. HARBOR PORPOISE p/'ocena p/'ocoena This is the commonest porpoise in Maine waters and the one most frequently seen because it enters the bays a~d estuaries along the coast, often close to shore. It is about 6 feet long and can swim at a good speed while chasing the herring and mackerel which enter our bays and river mouths in summer. The porpoises move offshore in winter and return to the coastal waters in June. I have never seen a Harbor Porpoise leap clear of the water, Finback Whale but have watched a group of them surround a school of menhaden

27 28 or mackerel, and producing great splashes and swirls as they attacked the Eastern Painted Turtle, C/'r'l:Jem'l:J piela piela, has increased at an panic-striken fish. extraordinary rate and has extended its range over the entire island where it is now to be found in all suitable habitats. The Snapping Turtle is still present in WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN ofagenor/'ync/'u:J acutu:J large numbers and can be found in salt marshes and tidal creeks as well as in This is the one dolphin we need consider because it is the only one that has ponds, lakes, streams, and bogs. It is largely aquatic, but may sometimes be entered our local waters in recent years. Even it must be considered as rare in found sunning itself on a rock in midstream, or on a sunny bank. It can also be the Gulf of Maine. In September, 1974, a huge school, numbering hundreds seen in spring when it comes ashore to lay its eggs. This is Maine's largest of White-Sided Dolphins, were seen feeding on herring in Longley Cove near reptile, attaining weights of up to 30 or more pounds. It is a capable predator, Dennysville, 75 miles or so east of Mount Desert Island. Many of these preying on all sorts of aquatic life, including an occasional duck or small dolphins became stranded at low tide and died. All other dolphins are even mammal. It also feeds on dead fish, crustaceans, and other carrion, as well as more rarely seen in our region. on vegetal material. STINKPOT sternot/'eru:J odoratu:J REPTILES This is a member of the musk turtles. It is seldom seen, but is probably more numerous than the few observations would indicate. It is the most Maine is too far north to offer a suitable climate for the support of many exclusively aquatic of all our turtles, seldom leaving the water except to lay its kinds of reptiles. Mount Desert Island has only 5 species of snakes and 4 eggs, usually in a rotting tree-stump close to the shoreline. Also, it is a small species of turtles that I can list as indigenous here at this time. A few turtle with a smooth dark shell of oval shape which is easily mistaken for a additional species are possible in the future according to their known ranges. stone in the shallows, an impression augmented by green algae growing on its Currently, a concerted effort is being made to learn more about Maine's carapace. It moves slowly, and unless this slight motion is detected by reptiles and amphibians. The project was organized, and is being conducted chance, the turtle is overlooked. It is considered to be a rare turtle in the by, the Nature Conservancy, the Maine Audubon Society, the University of state, only 7 having been reported in 1985, and 4 in 1984. I have not seen one Maine, and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. A during the past 5 years on Mount Desert Island. considerable number of us who are interested in these members of our fauna are participating in this project.

TURTLES The range of the Spotted Turtle, C/emm'l:J guttala, includes our region, but I have no records of its presence here. The same may be said of the Wood Turtle, C/emm'l:J in:Jculpla, a specimen of which was found near ~ar ~~rbor in the summer of 1958 and identified by Paul Favour, who also IdentIfIed a Blanding's Turtle, &n~itka tlanJingi, in the same area, also in the late 1950s. Both of these specimens almost certainly represented escaped pets, even though the range of the Wood Turtle includes this region. The Spotted Turtle and Blanding's Turtle are rare over the entire state at this time. A Box Turtle, 'Jerrapene carolina, found in Hulls Cove in 1961 wa~ probably.also an escaped pet since this is the only record of its presence m our regIon. Among the sea turtles, the Atlantic Loggerhead, Caretta caretta, the Atlantic Ridley, ofepidoc/'el'l:J kempi, and the Atlantic Leatherback, :J::,ermoc/'e/'p coriacea, occasionally stray this far north, but they are usually well out to sea and therefore not likely to be seen by the landbound observer. SNAPPING TURTLE c/,elydra :Jerpenlina . Until recently, this species was unquestionably the most common kmd of Eastern Painted Turtle (front), Central Painted Turtle (back) turtle on Mount Desert Island. However, within the last few years, the

29 30 EAS I ERN PAIN I ED lOR I LE O,r'lJem'lJ plcta plcta of the state. However, these reptiles do occur nearby in Vermont and New CENTRAL PAINTED TURTLE c!,r'lJem'lJ piela marginala Hampshire. It is to be hoped that if or when this species is found in Maine it My notes present me with a dilemma concerning these two turtles on will not fall victim to the hysterical reactions that so often follow upon such Mount Desert Island, and I have to confess that I must have made a grievous announcements among people who have been prejudiced by wild tales, and error concerning them. In Manville's survey of the reptiles of the island in unfamiliarity with, or ignorance about, the species concerned. 1939, he does not even mention Painted Turtles, and I found none here in RED-BELLIED SNAKE Sloreria ocdpilomacu/ala 1947. Indeed, it was not until the 1970s that I became aware of their presence This is a common snake on the island, but it is secretive and here, and it was at that time I must have inadvertently made the mistake, inconspicuous. Specimens are usually found on roads where the snakes have misidentifying the Central or Midlands species for the Eastern, and reporting been killed by automobiles. This snake seeks the woodlands, but may also be the Easterns as rare and the Centrals as common, whereas it was almost found in sphagnum bogs, such as the Big Heath along Northeast Creek, and certainly the other way about. Meanwhile, there has been a truly tremendous also along Park trails. Manville reported it from near sea level to the crest of growth in the population of these turtles on the island. This year, for instance, Cadillac Mountain. It often forms burrows in the ground. This snake is one of I have seen a great many, (up to 27 at one time from one point of our vIvIparous species. observation). By far the greater number of these have been of the Eastern species in all parts of the island. Only 2, both in the small pond on the GARTER SNAKE 'J/'amnop/'iJ Jirlatj 'opposite side of the road from Hamilton Pond in Salisbury Cove, were These are the most frequently seen snakes on the island and they can be certainly of the Central species. The two Painted Turtles are easily found at all elevations in both wooded and open country. They appear to be distinguished, but I notice that often the wrong criteria are given for making bolder than our other snakes and there should be no trouble finding them in the identifications. Although it is true that a large dark splotch is usually such appropriate places as brush piles, grassy fields, and in deciduous present on the Central Painted Turtle, the Eastern species may also woodlands. There is great variation in the color of Garter Snakes, some of have dark splotches on its plastron, usually smaller, but sometimes them being so dark as to obscure the characteristic markings. This is another confusing. Furthermore, this identifying mark requires that the turtle be in snake that gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs. Inmy experience, it the hand to make use of it. The easily seen, and absolutely dependable, emerges earlier in spring than do our other species, and is found abroad later identification marks are the staggered scutes on the carapace of the in the fall. Evidently it has a greater tolerance for cold weather than do our Central species, contrasted with the parallel rows of scutes on the other snakes. Eastern (the only turtle to have such markings) and also the conspicuous pale margins on the anterior edges of these scutes. These pale margins can be seen with the naked eye at 50 feet or more and at much greater distances with binoculars or telescopes. I know now that we have both species of the Painted Turtle on the island at this time, and that the Eastern is by far the commoner. The Central Painted Turtle seems to me to be more wary than the Eastern, often diving from the log on which it is sunning while the Eastern species remains perched until approached more closely.

SNAKES Ring-necked Snake The ranges of the Water Snake, 'naf,·ix ji,PeJon, the Ribbon Snake, 'J/' amnoph ij jaurilw, and the Black Racer Co/uber ;onjlriclor, include this RING-NECKED SNAKE :.JJiaJop/'iJ punelaluJ eJwarJJii region, but I can find no reliable reports of their presence on the island. Only 5 This is an extremely shy, pretty, little woodland snake. I find it along stream species of snakes can be considered as indigenous here at this time. banks and on rocky hillsides, but have also discovered it on our lawn which is There are no venomous snakes on Mount Desert Island, nor, so far as can bordered by a mixed deciduous-coniferous woods. Although they are be determined at this time, in the state of Maine. The last record of a reported less frequently than are other snakes, I believe this is because of Rattlesnake in Maine was over 100 years ago, near the southwestern border their secretive habits, rather than low numbers. When you find one, be sure to turn it over so that you can see its bright yellow underparts.

31 32 Ringnecks are oviparous, their eggs measuring about an inch long when AMPHIBIANS first laid and then expanding to an inch and a half before hatching. I have caught young Ring-Necked Snakes less than 4 inches long, such dainty To appraise accurately the numbers of frogs, toads, and salmanders of an pretty wee things that I have been tempted to keep them captive in a area is impossible, and even to arrive at some rough, but probably terrarium as pets, but my better judgment has thus far prevailed and I have reasonable, assessment requires a great deal of intensive field work under released them to live their lives as Ringed-Necked Snakes should be allowed the most propitious circumstances, preferably by a group of competent to do. herpetologists. Some species are small, silent, secretive, and hence easily missed, while others are so large, conspicuous, noisy, and therefore easily SMOOTH GREEN SNAKE Op/'eoJr'Jj vernalij located and identified, that their -numbers may be over-estimated. Some This brightly colored snake occurs all over the island. I have found it from species are strictly localized, others widely dispersed. With such a variety of within a few feet of salt water, on the shore of Frenchman Bay, to high up on terrains, so many forests, swamps, bogs, brooks, ponds, lakes and beaver the slopes of Cadillac and other Mountains. Look for it in grassy flowages as there on Mount Desert Island, the determination of the status of surroundings, lurking beneath logs or stones, or even up in trees or shrubs, our amphibians poses a laborious and time-consuming task, and there has where its color serves as an excellent camouflage. Despite its relative been a dearth of local naturalists interested enough in our toads, frogs, and abundance, this snake is easily overlooked in its preferred surroundings, so salamanders to make effective cooperative efforts. With the recent increase 'sharp eyes are needed to discover it even during an intensive search. These of interest in the herpetology of the entire state, it is to be hoped that a better prove to be gentle little reptiles that allow you to handle them with little or no appraisal of the reptiles and amphibians on Mount Desert Island will soon be protest. This is an oviparous, or egg-laying species. available. We are working on it. NORTHERN MILK SNAKE oi:amprope/t;j JoAata This is the largest and most strikingly handsome of our indigenous snakes. TOADS and FROGS Unfortunately it is often killed by those who mistakenly think it is a poisonous Only one toad, the American Toad, and seven species of frogs are now species, perhaps because of its superficial resemblance to a Copperhead, known to live on Mount Desert Island. It is one of those intriguing mysteries even though the latter is not present in Maine. I have had local farmers tell me concerning our wildlife that whereas Manville reported the Leopard Frog, that a snake they had just killed was a Rattlesnake whereas it was a t?ana pipienj, as present and widespread in his survey of 1938, Shirley Lou Milksnake which bears no resemblance to a Rattlesnake; another example of Davis was not able to find it in 1957, and, despite intensive searches ignorance coupled with unfamiliarity with a species. The Milk Snake is widely islandwide, and during spring after spring when the unmistakable voice of distributed over the island and is found in both wooded and open terrains, this frog should have announced its presence were it indeed here during those from near sea level to the tops of the mountains. It is a wary reptile, often 24 years, I could not find it. Nor had I been able to find this frog as far back as seeking the seclusion of dense tangles of vegetation or hiding beneath the 1947,34 years ago! It is here now, but as yet it seems to be restricted to only duff of the forest floor. Examine the belly of any specimen you can catch two, or possibly three locations. I can offer no explanation for the absence of without harming it; you will find an impressive checkerboard pattern of black this frog from the island for so long a time, nor for the reason of its and white scales, a startling difference from the dorsal pattern with its reddish disappearance at least as long ago as 1947. That was the year of the Bar browns, grays, and black. These snakes prey on mice and rats, and therefore Harbor Fire, which event certainly could not have had any casual may be found around barns at times, a circumstance that led to the ridiculous relationship with the dearth of Leopard Frogs. I doubt that the mystery of the assumption that these snakes milked the farmer's cows! an anatomical absent Leopard Frogs will ever be solved. impossibility, and a highly unlikely performance since no cow would stand AMERICAN TOAD americanuj still while a prickly-toothed snake hung onto one ot its teats to ,take a drink of BU/o milk. A fine big specimen of the Milk Snake, measuring a little more than 3 The American Toad is by no means as common here as it is on the feet, lived for 8 years in my cellar, where it caught invading Deer Mice. mainland where I often here it singing on spring evenings. There is not a great Occasionally it went outdoors for a few days, but always returned through acreage of cultivated land on the island, even though small gardens are some small opening known only to it, the mice, and a Short-tailed Shrew numerous, and Toads are not truly woodland creatures. Davis reported only which also preyed on the mice. The Milk Snake is an oviparous reptile, the two individuals in 1957, both of which were along Canoe Brook Trail. During young being about 7 inches long when the eggs hatch. the past 15 years of year round residence here, I have examined no more than a dozen specimens, and these I have usually found in tilled ground or in

33 34 II open fields, and more of them on the western than on the eastern side of the this frog singing in the woods close by our home, and I have searched hard to I! island. In June, 1970, I discovered a pair at the edge of Hamilton Pond in find it, but without success to date. These are my only records over the years, Salisbury Cove and on several occasions in recent years I have heard Toads but surely there must be more of these frogs around than these few records II singing in the fields near the Stone Barn on the Crooked Road and in other suggest. They are hard to see when clinging to the trunk of a tree, maybe I' II I' fields in that general locality. Probably many Toads were killed in the Bar especially an apple tree, as I once found out when I finally found the frog II I' Harbor Fire, but that conflagration did not affect the greater part of the within 10 inches of my nose! Also, few people are familiar with the call of this island's encompass, nor any of the western areas where Toads had been species, so I suppose a lot of them go unrecognized. most numerous, in my experience, before the fire. Manville reported the BULLFROG fhibernation much later than do our them. other frogs; not until June does its sonorous "warronk!" come booming out SPRING PEEPER jj'lla crucler of the dusk to rumble up and down the ponds or beaver flowages, and to echo These little tree frogs are abundant and widely distributed on the island. from the hillsides. Then, one after the other, the members of the local Their shrill piping issues from every suitable swale, bog, or pond in April and Bullfrog community take up the refrain as the magical darkness of a June May, one of the warmly welcomed assurance that spring has officially come night settles gently into the valley. These big frogs prefer the still waters of to the northland, and that the long winter is over. .. {although anything truly lakes, ponds, and beaver flowages to the swift currents of brooks and rivers. deserving the name of spring may still be at least a month away!) I have heard The tadpoles of Bullfrogs take at least two season, and sometimes three to Spring Peepers sing in June and also in September and October. The tiny mature into frogs. This is the largest of American frogs. In some regions it is newly hatched young peepers can often be found in great numbers in the becoming rare because of the commercial value of its legs as a gastronomic bogs and swales where the eggs were laid during the noisy mating season delicacy. when the vernal chorus was at its height. Paul Favour found a Spring Peeper GREEN FROG f

35 36 Spotte a aman ers In amp ce ars. ey a so urrow 0 consl era e frog is to be found in grassy clearings or damp deciduous woodlands, depths in soft ground and therefore may be unearthed by the gardener, or by commonly in localized colonies which are widely distributed on the island in the farmer's plow. This salamander lays its eggs in early spring in woodland appropriate habitats. One colony of long standing is along Ripple Brook, ponds. It is one of the kinds you expect to see on rainy nights when they are which runs from Long Pond to Somes Pond. In this site, grassy clearings are crossing roads. found in a mixed deciduous woods. I have also found Wood Frogs along Lurvey Brook, near Lurvey Spring, and in the Sieur de Monts Spring area, as RED·SPOTTED NEWT :JJiemicf,Jluil vil'iJeilcenil well as along Breakneck Brook. This is an attractive frog, well worth the The Red Eft, the immature land·dwelling phase of theRed·Spotted Newt, is search required to find one. The voice of the Wood Frog is a flat, toneless, seen far more often than is the mature newt. Red Efts can be found scurrying quack, somewhat resembling the call of a female Black Duck or Mallard, through the woods, especially during or after a rain, or in generally damp although with little carrying power. It is one of the earliest frogs to mate in places. The Red-Spotted Newt, on the other hand, is aquatic, living in many spring, most often in shallow woodland pools. of our ponds and lakes. I have also found it in woodland pools and springs, and sometimes in the fire-ponds maintained along country roads by the Fire Departments of the island's Towns. I have caught these newts in winter in minnow traps set under the ice. The larval form of this species is also aquatic, and I have seen groups of them in an overflow pool at the edge of Echo Lake near Ike's Landing, and also in the shallow cove at the head of Somes Pond. No doubt they occur in many other places. DUSKY SALAMANDER :JJeilmofjnathuil !UilCUil These salamanders seem to prefer slow streams with muddy bottoms and are sometimes also found in wet places on land. They are reported from Bubble Pond Brook, Cromwell Brook, the inlet of the Tarn, and the inlet brook of the upper Breakneck Pond, and I have found several in stagnant pools in ditches. The Dusky is reported to be active throughout the winter and may even metamorphose from the gilled larval to the adult phase during the winter months. RED-BACKED SALAMANDER pletholon cinel'eUil My observations would suggest that this is the commonest salamander on the island, but that may be only because it is easier to find than most of the Northern Leopard Frog others. When wandering through the woods this is the salamander I most often see, especially when I overturn boulders and probe into the rotted wood of old tree stumps, which are among the many peculiar habits I have SALAMANDERS adopted over the years. The Red-Backed is so widely distributed that it would Six species of salamanders have been recorded on Mount Desert Island. serve no purpose to list sites for this species. Any damp woodland will have its Three others that might be expected to be present here bec~}fse of their quota, and nearly every woodland you enter will have its damp areas. The known ranges are: the Jefferson Salamander, Amt"iltoma ie!fel':Jonianum, Red-Backed occurs in a Gray-Backed form as well. I have encountered more the closely related Blue-Spotted Salamander, Amt,,:Jtomalalel'a/e, and the of the red than of the gray color pattern on Mount Desert Island. Spring Salamander, 9"rinop/'ifU:J porp/'rilicu:J. I have been unable to find FOUR-TOED SALAMANDER ..JJemiJact'JAum ilcutatum any of these on the island. Perhaps, with the recent surge of interest in Based on available records, this seems to have been an exceedingly rare Maine's amphibians, an influx of more herpetologists will bring to light these species on the island in the past. Recently, however, more Four-toed species. Salamanders have been reported, especially by those who make a practice of SPOTTED SALAMANDER Amt'Jiltoma macula tum roaming the roads on wet nights in spring. I was brought a specimen that was Spotted Salamanders have been found at many sites on the island, usually found on such a night in late July, 1986. This was on the Indian Point Road in moist places and often beneath stones or logs. I receive many reports of

38 37 near a small pond on the south side of the road. I was told of two others that had been found on the road past the sphagnum bog near Sea Wall. These salamanders do not exceed 3 inches in length. They are inconspicuous objects in a peat bog. I doubt that they are as rare as might be judged from the APPENDIX I scarcity of records. TWO-LINED SALAMANDER f:ur'Jcea bi:JAneala EXTINCT MAMMALS of MAINE This is a common and widely dispersed species here. It prefers brooks. Presented here are those species of mammals which were eradicated from Look for it in Cromwell Brook, Stanley Brook, Hadlock Brook, Bubble Pond Maine's fauna, by man, following the arrival of the colonists on New Brook, Hunter's Brook, and the inlets to Seal Cove Pond and Witch Hole England's shores: Pond. Doubtless, it occurs elsewhere. This is usually an aquatic species, but may be found on land after rains. It is active in winter, when I have found it SEA MINK mU:Jlela vi:Jon macroJon feeding on nymphs of Mayflies on the bottoms brooks. This large mink is reported to have become extinct sometime after 1860. It had once roamed the north Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to Connecticut. Its remains have been found in Indian shell heaps from New Brunswick to Connecticut. This mink was trapped heavily during the early 19th century and was soon extirpated. (See additional comments in text under Mink.)

WOLVERINE (jalo IU:Jcu:J IU:Jcu:J This, the largest of the weasels, is seldom thought of as a New England mammal, but it once did live in the three northern New England states, although it was never common. It was last reported as extremely rare in remote areas of Vermont in 1853, but 2 young wolverines were reported taken in New Hampshire in 1918. The species has not been reported since, and it can certainly be regarded now as extinct in New England.

EASTERN TIMBER WOLF Cani:J lupu:J Wolves were numerous in New England in colonial days, but dwindled rapidly into extinction under relentless persecution. The species was common in Maine until the 1850's. Wolves had almost vanished from Spotted Salamander southern New England by the end of the 1800's while still remaining numerous in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Records of the last wolves in New England are scarce and by no means precise, but by the mid 1900s they were essentially extinct in New England.

MOUNTAIN LION 5eli:J concolor A Mountain Lion, Cougar, Puma, Panther, or however you choose to call this large tawny cat, was trapped in Somerset County, Maine in 1938. Reports continue to be published in local newspapers telling of sightings of Mountain Lions. In recent years, several such reports have come from the heavily wooded region of eastern Maine between Dedham, Orland, and Branch Pond, but as yet, no photographs nor specimens have been forthcoming. This cat is now generally considered to be extinct in New England because no specimens have been taken for many years in a region that is heavily populated by hunters during the open seasons on all game.

39 40 WALRUS OJobenuj rOjmarUj meningeal worm of the White-Tailed Deer is present in what little suitable Years ago, these huge seal-like mammals sometimes wandered southward habitat remains, it seems highly unlikely that this effort will succeed. This from the proper precincts at the edge of the circumpolar ice packs in Arctic combination of an inadequate habitat, coupled with the probability of and sub-Arctic waters, and some of these Walruses entered the Gulf of infestation with the meningeal worm, and in addition, the likelihood of Maine. Fossil Walrus bones from Pleistocene times have been found here poaching by local and other outlaws, poses formidable obstacles to the and there along the coast, four of them from Maine. The last such find was success of such an undertaking. the skull brought to me for identification by Ronald MacGregor of West (Much of this material on extinct species of Maine mammals was drawn Gouldsboro in 1979. The specimen was hauled up in a scallop drag between from Wild Mammals Of New England, by Alfred J. Godin.) Burnt and Sheep Porcupine Islands in Frenchman Bay. This specimen was carbon dated by the Smithsonian Institute at a little over 12,000 years ago, at which time the receding ice packs would still have been present along this part of the Maine coast. No live Walruses have been reported in the Gulf of Maine for many years and it is unlikely that they will be, so it must be included in our state-extinct species. However, I have still included the Walrus in this third edition of my booklet... just in hopes!

WAPITI or AMERICAN ELK Cervuj e/ap/'uj This beautiful big deer, second in size only to the Moose, once ranged over most of the North American continent from Canada to Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It has now been reduced to extinction except in the far West, and for the most part in the Rocky Mountains. Elk bones have been found in Indian shell heaps right here on Mount Desert Island, and others in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as elsewhere in Maine, and in Vermont and New Hampshire. Attempts were made in New Hampshire, between 1891 and 1903, to re-establish this species, and the project met with considerable early success. However, damages to crops by the Wapiti finally became too costly for the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game to meet, so permission was granted to relocate, or to kill, any Elk causing damage to crops. By 1955, only 20 or 30 Elk were believed to still live in the state, and the species is now rated as extinct in New England. - --- WOODLAND CARIBOU Ranlj/er taranJuj caritou The Woodland Caribou was so abundant in Maine in 1886 that it was difficult to appraise their numbers. Only four years later, in 1890, it was reported that the species had shown no increase in its numbers. In 1896, an official report by the Maine Commissioner of Game stated that "The caribou is fast disappearing and will very soon be practically extinct." Six years later, in 1904, the report from the Commissioner gloomily stated: "There are no indications of any caribou in the state." An attempt to re-establish the Woodland Caribou in Maine was made by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game in 1963 when 24 adult caribou from New Foundland were released near Mount Katahdin, but within 4 years it was concluded that the caribou was no longer present in the state. Currently, another attempt to introduce caribou in Maine is being made. However, since the habitat has steadily deteriorated, and since the

41 42 HARP SEAL Pafjopl,ilu" fjroenfanJica HOODED SEAL C,!"top/'ora cri"tata APPENDIX II These two seals only rarely enter the Gulf of Maine. Such individuals are best considered as accidential strays from their northern home territories. RARE, ENDANGERED, or THREATENED MAMMALS IN MAINE SMOKY SHREW Sorex !umeu" Although the Smoky Shrew includes this part of Maine within its range I have not as yet obtained either local records or specimens. YELLOW·NOSED, or ROCK VOLE microtu" c/'rotorr/'inu" Whether this vole is actually rare, or only seldom reported, is not clear. Its range does not include our island, so I mention it only in passing as a Maine -mammal believed to be uncommon enough in the state to deserve investigation. LYNX .J!'Jnx canaJen"i" This beautiful spotted cat has now become so rare that it is found only in the most remote and rapidly vanishing remnants of the big timberlands of the northwestern part of the state. It is also extremely rare in both the other northern New England states. The future looks grim for the Lynx. A combination of avarice and ostentation have doomed it. VIRGINIA OPOSSUM :J:;iJe!p/'i" virfjiniana Thus far, only a few Opossums have been reported in the southernmost part of Maine. A continued warming trend might well encourage these mammals to extend their range northward. EASTERN COTTONTAIL S'J/vdafju" !!oriJanu" NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL S'J/vdafju; tran"Uiona/;" These two species are much alike. The New England species is generally darker and larger, and there are subtle differences in the markings. Positive identification is best made by examining the skulls, in which reliable differences in shape and suture lines are present. I have come upon no reports of the Eastern species in Maine, but since it is present in adjacent coastal regions of New Hampshire, it may well enter Maine at some time. The New England Cottontail is said to be found, thus far, only in Maine's southern counties, although rumors persist that it also has been found north of Augusta, and I had one report, from a hunter, of Cottontails west of Bangor. While neither of these species has reached Mount Desert Island as yet, it is quite possible that at least the New England Cottontail may do so in the future.

43 44 RIBBON SNAKE :;hamnophi:j :jaurilu:j There are two species of Ribbon Snake in Maine, an eastern one, :J. APPENDIX III :jauril"", and a northern one, 2]:j, :jeptentri~naA:j, but it is necessary to have the snake in hand t() make the distinction. These are unusually shy and wary RARE,ENDANGERED,orTHREATENED snakes so their apparent rarity may be misleading, but they are by no means REPTILES and AMPHIBIANS in MAINE c<~mmon in any case. I have been unable to find a Ribbon Snake on Mount Desert Island, although I have searched diligently for the species over a good Much of the following material about our rare, endangered, or threatened number of years. species of reptiles and amphibians has been extracted from publications of the Maine Division of the Nature Conservancy, The Maine Audubon Society, the University of Maine, and the Wildlife Division of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, by the group now studying the reptiles and amphibians of the state. LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE ::bermoc/,el'J:j coriacea ,ATLANTIC RIDLEY SEA TURTLE ofepiJoche'JIt':j tempi LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE Caretta caretta These three reptiles are deemed by the Federal Government to be endangered or threatened with extinction. Because they are sometimes caught by fishermen off the Maine coast, they must be included among our state's endangered or threatened species. TIMBER RATTLESNAKE crotalu:j /'orriJu:j This snake, in the 1800s, included southern Maine within its range, and since it is known to be present close to the Maine border in adjacent rocky regions of New Hampshire, it might possibly also be present in Maine, although as yet undiscovered. If it is not here now, the Rattlesnake might well be expected to be found here in Maine again in the future. If so, it will require the enactment of special legislation to provide it with the protection that it will most assuredly direly need. BOX TURTLE 'Jerrapene carolina BLACK RACER Coluter con:jtriclor This turtle and snake have both been declared to be endangered in the state. There have been no verified reports of Box Turtles in Maine within the last 15 years, even though these are easily caught and identified turtles. If, by any chance, it is present, the Box Turtle must be exceedingly rare in Maine. (See my comments in the text on this species on Mount Desert Island.) The Black Racer is known to be here, but only in a restricted range, probably mostly because of real estate developments. The ominous change in the status of this once common and widely dispersed species has come about swiftly. It is a question whether publicity about this gloomy fact will redound to the reptile's best or worst interests. That is the nature of the culture in which we live.

45 46 '" """ ''''''P''''""""",,''''',,'''''''' '11

II APPENDIX IV SPECIES of UNDETERMINED STATUS JEFFERSON'S SALAMANDER .AmbY:1toma ie//er:1onianum This salamander is so frequently confused with the Blue-Spotted Salamander,.Amtll:1toma lakrale, that it is not possible to determine the true status of either until this problem is solved_ WOOD TURTLE, elemmY:1 in:1cu!pta This turtle once had a large range and was present in fair numbers in many localities. Its range has decreased markedly and its numbers are low, but just how low and whether the species is in danger or not has yet to be discovered. BROWN SNAKE Storeria delayi Evidently the range of the Brown Snake has decreased along with its numbers. It is a difficult snake to find, and the number of them reported annually statewide is extremely low.

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