gallery of game B y J A S O N A BRAHAM For some kids, walking in the woods isn’t much diff erent from wandering through a park— talking loudly, kicking at sticks, and rolling stones downhill. Sometimes, it’s fun to be loud. But when you’re quiet and look closely, you’ll notice that lots of animals make their home in the woods. Wild animals leave signs you can learn to read. Like a detective, you can search for these clues and fi gure out which critters live nearby. To know what signs to look for, you fi rst need to know a little about animals that are common in Minnesota. Many are game animals that are hunted in the fall. Successful hunters are masters of reading signs of their quarry. For example, a hunter who sees a pile of nutshells on a stump knows that eastern gray squirrels have been there. Green leaves nibbled off in neat clippings are telltale signs that rabbits abound. Learning about the habits, senses, and behaviors of your quarry can help you succeed in your search. Th is story off ers clues to help you discover CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: GRAY SQUIRREL BY STEPHEN B. ANTUS JR., MALLARD BY BILL MARCHEL, EASTERN COTTONTAIL BY STEPHEN BY COTTONTAIL ANTUS JR., MALLARD BY BILL MARCHEL, EASTERN STEPHEN B. SQUIRREL BY GRAY TOP: CLOCKWISE FROM DEER BUCK BY BILL MARCHEL WHITE-TAILED BY BILL MARCHEL, ANTUS JR., RING-NECKED PHEASANT B. some of Minnesota’s most popular game animals. 34 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer September–Octobereptember–October 2004 35 white-tailed deer d o e Home: Deer live throughout Bucks shed antlers in winter. Look for Minnesota, from forests on the sheds in spring aft er snow melts. Canadian border, to small woods in big cities, to farmlands in the south. Danger detector: A deer’s sense of smell is its fi rst defense. b u c k r u b Food: Whitetails eat more than Whitetails prefer to face the wind 600 kinds of plants. Th eir favorites because it carries scents from a are willow, sumac, white pine, jack distance, just as a river carries leaves pine, apples, acorns, clover, alfalfa, downstream. If the breeze is right, a corn, and soybeans. Because deer deer can smell human scent a third have no upper front teeth, their of a mile away, or about three blocks. bites are ragged. Look for leaves and Walk into the wind so deer in front branches with ragged nibble marks. of you have less chance to catch your scent. To fool the deer, some hunters b u c k s c r a p e Active time: Deer feed during sprinkle their clothes with products the day. When people are around, that smell like deer or other animals. whitetails become nocturnal. Th ey A deer also has an acute sense of are most active during mating season, hearing. Its big ears twitch incessantly, known as the rut, in November. tuning into snapping twigs, squeaky boots, and high-pitched sounds. It also Sign: Deer routinely travel the has an extraordinary ability to detect d r o p p i n g s same routes between feeding and motion. When spooked, a deer lift s its bedding areas. A circle of fl attened bright white tail and bounds away. grass or snow shows where deer rest. Well-used trails have their hard, How to search: Find a deer marble-size droppings and heart- trail and sit and wait quietly for deer shaped tracks. Th e hoof prints show to pass. Or look as you walk very B E W I S E which way the deer was facing. Tuft s slowly (100 yards in 30 minutes). If you want to see but not hunt wildlife, stay away from places where of coarse, light brown or gray deer Sometimes deer snort or whinny. To others are hunting so you don’t disturb them or risk an accident. State hair sometimes stick to barbed-wire attract bucks, some hunters rattle and county parks that don’t allow hunting are great places for simply watching wildlife. fences and low tree branches. shed antlers to mimic fi ghting bucks. Anyone in the woods or countryside during hunting seasons would be Long, shiny scars on saplings and wise to wear blaze orange to be visible to hunters. bushes show where a buck has rubbed Hunting season: November his antlers and scraped away bark. to December. ANTUS JR. STEPHEN B. AND DOE BY SCRAPE AND DROPPINGS BY BILL MARCHEL, BUCK BUCK RUB 36 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer September–October 2004 37 eastern cottontail Home: Except in the far north, leave 4-inch-long oblong prints. rabbits abound in Minnesota. Front feet leave small, round prints. Search for them in brush piles, Sometimes you can fi nd soft brown along weedy fences and hedges, and or gray fur around a rabbit hole. near abandoned buildings. Danger detector: Keen Food: In warm months rabbits senses of hearing, sight, and touch eat a variety of plants, including help rabbits avoid danger. Cottontails crops such as corn and soybeans. pick up ground vibrations before Rabbits have sharp teeth, so look they hear or see danger. for leaves that have been neatly Rabbits thump a hind foot when clipped. Th eir winter diet includes they sense danger. A rabbit’s fi rst twigs and bark. Look for trees and defense is to hide by “freezing” shrubs, especially sumac, oaks, and in place; its fur blends into the dogwood, with a low ring where background. If you keep your rabbits have chewed away bark. distance and stay still, you might see a rabbit “freeze.” If a predator Active time: Look for them gets too close, the rabbit bolts and between late aft ernoon and dusk, zigzags, leaping up to 15 feet at early morning before sunup, and speeds up to 20 miles an hour. on cloudy days. Th ey stay in their holes when it’s cold, wet, or snowy. How to search: Walk grassy Aft er bad weather breaks, they start cover to scare up a rabbit. Some b a r k d a m a g e moving around again. hunters use beagles or other hounds to sniff out and chase rabbits, which Sign: Th eir droppings are hard, circle back to where they started. pea-size pellets. Th eir tracks are MORE MINNESOTA GAME ANIMALS (partial listing) easy to see in the snow. Hind feet Hunting season: September Big game: moose, deer, elk, bear. through February. Mammals: cottontail rabbit, jackrabbit, snowshoe hare, gray and fox squirrels. Jason Abraham, staff writer for DNR Furbearers (wanted mainly for fur): raccoon, red and gray fox, Fish and Wildlife and Ecological Ser- badger, opossum, bobcat, pine marten, fisher, mink, muskrat, beaver, vices, enjoys hunting for wildlife. ANTUS JR. STEPHEN B. BY COTTONTAIL BY BILL MARCHEL; EASTERN BARK DAMAGE WINDIGO IMAGES; BY MIKE BARLOW, BEAGLE otter. 38 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer September–October 2004 39 gray squirrel w a l n u t s Home: Eastern gray squirrels or walnut shells. Look high in the are most common in central trees for leafy nests. Watch for hardwood forests. Th ey favor thick fl ickers of movement or smooth- woods where they can easily travel looking bulges on trees. Keep your through the treetops. Look for dens ears open for chattering or clucking, in tree cavities or ball-shaped nests which sounds like two rocks being of leaves, twigs, and bark high in quickly tapped together. ANDERSSON GORDON P. branches. Hunting season: September Food: Th ey eat nuts of hickory, through February. beech, black walnut, and oak trees. Th ey also eat corn and other farm crops. With long, sharp front teeth, they gnaw through nut husks and shells. Active time: Squirrels are busy on and off all day. Th ey stay inside when it’s windy, stormy, or extremely cold. BILL MARCHEL Sign: You can easily spot squirrel nests in trees and ragged holes in the LEARN TO HUNT earth where they have stashed or dug The DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota Waterfowl Association, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, and other groups up nuts. sponsor programs to teach kids to hunt. A few examples: Firearms Safety Training teaches basics of safety; 888-646-6367. Danger detector: Squirrels Woodie Camp, Prairie Wetlands Learning Center in Fergus Falls, is have exquisite eyesight and hearing. a weeklong residential summer camp with lessons in duck biology, When frightened, they retreat to calling, shooting, and cooking; 763-553-2977. nests or dens, or hide by hugging a The Young Waterfowlers Program, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, gives youth ages 12–16 a chance to tree branch. learn from and hunt with experts; 952-858-0705. Forkhorn Camps, various locations, are weeklong sessions for How to search: First scout youth ages 11–17 to learn about firearms safety, archery hunting, or for a place with lots of empty acorns WINDIGO IMAGES DENVER BRYAN, advanced topics; 800-450-3337. 40 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer September–October 2004 4 BILL MARCHEL mallard DAVID J. SAMS, WINDIGO IMAGES Home: Minnesota’s most com- mon duck lives on shallow lakes, ponds, sloughs, and streams. Food: In summer, these dabbling ducks dine on protein-rich mosqui- toes, tadpoles, frogs, and other small aquatic animals. Th e rest of the year, mallards eat aquatic plants such as bulrush, duckweed, pondweed, and wild celery. Th ey also eat corn, wheat, soybeans, and other crops. BILL MARCHEL Active time: Like many ducks, detect slight movements or changes mallards fl y on cloudy and overcast in light, such as the glint of sun on days to lessen the chance of being eyeglasses or skin or a gun barrel.