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  #61  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 2:28 AM
Northern Light Northern Light is offline
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Originally Posted by MolsonExport View Post
Yes. And I found one in my friend's backyard. No doubt.
Did you report the sighting?

The local Conservation Authority says there are no Massassauaga's in the area.

https://thamesriver.on.ca/watershed-...g-nosed-snake/

"The Massasauga rattlesnake is also a large, heavy-bodied snake, but it has vertical pupils, a rounded snout and usually a rattle at the end of its tail. In addition, the Massasauga rattlesnake does not occur in the UTRCA watershed.

The fact is there are no snake species in the Upper Thames River watershed that can harm people, although a few do look and act similar to venomous species from around the world. The Milksnake and Northern Watersnake are both non-venomous species that have blotched body patterns, similar to a rattlesnake, and will rapidly vibrate their tails to sound like a rattlesnake. The Eastern Hog-nosed Snake garners the most attention, though, for its ability to mimic a cobra."
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  #62  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 2:37 AM
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Portland has lots of stuff. Lesse, rats, peregrine falcons, red tailed hawks, bald eagles, all the normal woodland creatures plus deer, coyotes, mountain lions, beaver, nutria and even the occasional sea lion.
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  #63  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 3:01 AM
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Originally Posted by MolsonExport View Post
Yes. And I found one in my friend's backyard. No doubt.
I've seen two Massasauga Rattlers in my life, both in the Niagara region.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasauga

First time was in the late 90s, biking on Merritt Island, sandwiched between the old Welland Canal and Welland River. My best friend and I at the time saw the snake, heard the rattle and got the hell out of there. That warning sound is terrifying when you're a 20 minute bike ride from "civilization"

2nd time was about 5 years ago, hiking w/my ex GF at the top of the Niagara escarpment near Grimsby peak ("highest" point in Niagara). We were on a viewpoint overlooking Grimsby/ Lake Ontario and I just happened to notice what appeared to be a juvenile about 10 feet away on the ground. We backed away slowly and took another trail.
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  #64  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 3:08 AM
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Originally Posted by MolsonExport View Post
^I don't think there are any established populations yet. but transients, yes.

The coyote is now very well (Re) established.
Coyotes and Coywolves are very established in southern Ontario. Parts of St. Catharines have a terrible time with them.

As for cougars/mountain lions/pumas, they can travel something like 60-80km in a day, so it's not shocking that ones from "out West" or The Dakotas/Plains travel here in the Great Lakes region and points further East.

I've read about confirmed cougar scat at a natural area preserve like 4km from where I currently am sitting. I think that was from 2014.
Also another anecdotal one in the West Lincoln area of Niagara (rural) where a woman claims she almost hit one about 5 years ago as the sun was setting.

When I lived in Alberta I was irrationally afraid about both cougars and grizzly bears when hiking in the mountains

Cougars/mountain lions are probably one of my favourite animals

Last edited by Wigs; Jun 18, 2022 at 5:33 PM.
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  #65  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 3:46 AM
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In the piney woods of east Texas, where many of my family members were from (and some still live there), there were black bears many decades ago. I guess they were hunted. There have been more sightings in recent years than in a long time, but still not many. It would be wonderful if they could be reestablished.

When I would spend part of my childhood summers at my grandparents' home in the piney woods, nighttime presented a chorus of wolves, foxes, and frogs. A couple of times, we were awakened by the terrifying screech of what my grandparents said were cougars. Whether there is or was a breeding population of cougars in the region seems to be controversial from what I"ve read.

I forgot to mention earlier that here in my Austin neighborhood, we have a lot of owls, including the Great Horned Owl. I sometimes hear Great Horned Owls late at night after I've gone to bed. It's a real treat.
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  #66  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 6:09 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wigs View Post
Coyotes and Coywolves are very established in southern Ontario. Parts of St. Catharines have a terrible time with them.

As for cougars/mountain lions/pumas, they can travel something like 60-100km in a day, so it's not shocking that ones from "out West" or The Dakotas/Plains travel here in the Great Lakes region and points further East.

I've read about confirmed cougar scat at a natural area preserve like 4km from where I currently am sitting. I think that was from 2014.
Also another anecdotal one in the West Lincoln area of Niagara (rural) where a woman claims she almost hit one about 5 years ago as the sun was setting.

When I lived in Alberta I was irrationally afraid about both cougars and grizzly bears when hiking in the mountains

Cougars/mountain lions are probably one of my favourite animals
We need to boost the mountain lion population to keep Wile E. and his buddies under control.
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  #67  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 7:49 AM
montréaliste montréaliste is offline
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Originally Posted by JManc View Post
We need to boost the mountain lion population to keep Wile E. and his buddies under control.
Mountain lions might be able to do what that "Acme" anvil never could: stamp out Wile E. once and for all.
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  #68  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 9:34 AM
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Like everyone in the northern climates more or less highlighted.

Raccoons
Bunnies
fox
Too many squirrels to mention
Coyotes.(in the burbs)
Deer

The odd time, a moose strolls into the city, and they like pools apparently.

I heard a decade ago that cougars were indeed making a comeback in Ontario.
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  #69  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 11:50 AM
Northern Light Northern Light is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wigs View Post
I've seen two Massasauga Rattlers in my life, both in the Niagara region.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasauga

First time was in the late 90s, biking on Merritt Island, sandwiched between the old Welland Canal and Welland River. My best friend and I at the time saw the snake, heard the rattle and got the hell out of there. That warning sound is terrifying when you're a 20 minute bike ride from "civilization"

2nd time was about 5 years ago, hiking w/my ex GF at the top of the Niagara escarpment near Grimsby peak ("highest" point in Niagara). We were on a viewpoint overlooking Grimsby/ Lake Ontario and I just happened to notice what appeared to be a juvenile about 10 feet away on the ground. We backed away slowly and took another trail.
Again...did you report the sighting? Take a pic? There are no recorded sightings that I can discern of a Massassauga on the St. Kitts side of Niagara.

There is a population of them over by Wainfleet. You can see the distribution on inaturalist:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observat...axon_id=520469

Hognose snakes look and can sound similar and many people mistake Northern Water Snake for Massassaugas as well.

I'm not saying you didn't see one, but it would actually be scientifically important if they are breeding over on that side of the Canal.
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  #70  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 5:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Light View Post
Again...did you report the sighting? Take a pic? There are no recorded sightings that I can discern of a Massassauga on the St. Kitts side of Niagara.

There is a population of them over by Wainfleet. You can see the distribution on inaturalist:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observat...axon_id=520469

Hognose snakes look and can sound similar and many people mistake Northern Water Snake for Massassaugas as well.

I'm not saying you didn't see one, but it would actually be scientifically important if they are breeding over on that side of the Canal.
Growing up I was told they're native to the Niagara region and survive due to the plentiful natural areas of the escarpment and all the waterways that connect all parts of Niagara

Did not seem important to report a native species
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  #71  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 5:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc View Post
We need to boost the mountain lion population to keep Wile E. and his buddies under control.
Quote:
Originally Posted by montréaliste View Post
Mountain lions might be able to do what that "Acme" anvil never could: stamp out Wile E. once and for all.
indeed

In the local paper there was just an article about idiots in Fort Erie (the border city with Buffalo, NY) that are feeding a coyote that lives near the Niagara River frontage.
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  #72  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 5:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Light View Post
Again...did you report the sighting? Take a pic? There are no recorded sightings that I can discern of a Massassauga on the St. Kitts side of Niagara.

There is a population of them over by Wainfleet. You can see the distribution on inaturalist:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observat...axon_id=520469
...
Your own link shows 4 documented sightings in Niagara, one near Hwy 140 which is East of the Welland Canal bypass that was built in the early 1970s.

If I see a cougar I'll report it, but not an indigenous snake.
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  #73  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 5:37 PM
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I saw a fox and a rabbit two weeks ago and a raccoon last week.
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  #74  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 6:12 PM
Northern Light Northern Light is offline
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Originally Posted by Wigs View Post
Your own link shows 4 documented sightings in Niagara, one near Hwy 140 which is East of the Welland Canal bypass that was built in the early 1970s.

If I see a cougar I'll report it, but not an indigenous snake.
Sigh. Do as you wish. Its not a big effort on your part though and it would be helpful.

Please note the description from the official study of Massasaugas from 2013.

This Designatable Unit (DU) exists in two restricted locations in the Carolinian region of southwestern Ontario; at Ojibway Prairie in Windsor/LaSalle and at Wainfleet Bog nearPort Colborne. At least 17 subpopulations of Massasauga are recognized from the Carolinian DU. These have been recorded along the north shore of Lake Erie and as far north as Sarnia and Hamilton. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, Massasaugas were already scarce in the Carolinian DU (Garnier 1881; Nash 1905; Miner 1928), and by the 1970s the species is presumed to have been extirpated from its entire historical Carolinian range except for the Windsor/LaSalle and Wainfleet areas (Weller and Parsons 1991). An estimated 85 - 90% decline in the area of occupancy of this DU has
occurred since European settlement (COSEWIC 2012). For more than 40 years, all verified records have been only from Ojibway Prairie or Wainfleet Bog. A further decline is projected in this DU with the likely imminent extinction of the Ojibway population
(COSEWIC 2012).

http://cossaroagency.ca/wp-content/u...5_GFM-F....pdf
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  #75  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2022, 11:25 PM
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MolsonExport MolsonExport is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Light View Post
Did you report the sighting?

The local Conservation Authority says there are no Massassauaga's in the area.

https://thamesriver.on.ca/watershed-...g-nosed-snake/

"The Massasauga rattlesnake is also a large, heavy-bodied snake, but it has vertical pupils, a rounded snout and usually a rattle at the end of its tail. In addition, the Massasauga rattlesnake does not occur in the UTRCA watershed.

The fact is there are no snake species in the Upper Thames River watershed that can harm people, although a few do look and act similar to venomous species from around the world. The Milksnake and Northern Watersnake are both non-venomous species that have blotched body patterns, similar to a rattlesnake, and will rapidly vibrate their tails to sound like a rattlesnake. The Eastern Hog-nosed Snake garners the most attention, though, for its ability to mimic a cobra."

No, I didn't. Perhaps I should have. I had my phone on me and looked up the markings of the Massasauga Rattler. No doubt. Could see the ratter too. We picked it up with a stick and brought it to the woods at the perimeter of his property.
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  #76  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2022, 12:02 AM
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As with NJ, in Northampton County PA, Deer are the most common animals. That's why its good to get the provision in the car insurance policy for deer impacts because these deer be wildin' on that female Deer coochie and run across the streets blind, during the rut season. No self control with these Deer. Even outside the rut season, every other day some red guts are splattered along the highway like an Italian mother throwing the Marinara at the wall after her husband comes home at 3 am.

Speaking of invertebrates, the Spotted Lantern Fly is all over the place.
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  #77  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2022, 12:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Wigs View Post
indeed

In the local paper there was just an article about idiots in Fort Erie (the border city with Buffalo, NY) that are feeding a coyote that lives near the Niagara River frontage.
My older brother had (has) coyotes living in a bunch of downed trees on end of his property up in NY and he tosses fireworks in their den to scare them off but they come back every year.
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  #78  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2022, 1:29 AM
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it isnt all just the unholy trinity of rats, pidgeons and roaches — ive seen dolphins and whales around nyc too. along with lots of hawks and some peregrine falcons. oh and here on staten island we have lots of wild turkeys. i guess they originally escaped from the small (but nice) zoo we have here in the 1990s and now they are a nusiance.
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  #79  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2022, 2:37 AM
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Oh goodness, we have possums, raccoons, skunks, roaming packs of evil wild turkeys, red foxes, and recently coyotes. Once is a blue moon we'll hear of a mountain lion sighting. We still have deer too. My cousin in San Jose says they have a lots of wild pigs who tear up their yards.
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  #80  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2022, 3:31 AM
montréaliste montréaliste is offline
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it isnt all just the unholy trinity of rats, pidgeons and roaches — ive seen dolphins and whales around nyc too. along with lots of hawks and some peregrine falcons. oh and here on staten island we have lots of wild turkeys. i guess they originally escaped from the small (but nice) zoo we have here in the 1990s and now they are a nusiance.


At least NYC is very near the ocean, in Montreal’s case, the city is hundreds of kilometres from the gulf of St Lawrence. In the past couple of years, there were two sightings of a Humpback whale in march 2020 and of a Minke whale last may.
These seem to be the first ever sightings of whales near here.
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