This week we continued mesomammal trapping at the farm. The recent wet weather has made it difficult for us to put leghold traps in the ground. However, we were able to put out a few box traps this week. Box traps are placed adjacent to game trails much like leghold traps and work similarly to Sherman traps but on a larger scale. On the second night of trapping this week, I caught a striped skunk. Due to the nature of dealing with skunks, we aren’t planning to do much handling with this species. In order to release the skunk without getting sprayed, I slowly approached the trap and remained watchful of any warning signs that the skunk was preparing to spray such as stomping or raising its tail. Once I was next to the trap, I covered it with a tarp and slowly opened the door to release the skunk as shown below in the video. This week I also constructed grazing excluders to put out in the LIP project area. Each excluder fences off a 1-meter area and is constructed of cattle panel and t-posts. By excluding cattle from grazing in these areas, we will be able to accurately monitor grass and forb growth throughout the duration of the project.
Wildlife Inter AnMari Ulery
