Opossums have a minimal ability to store fat and, as a consequence, in winter will often forego their nocturnal nature and forage during daylight hours.
Opossums
Secret Identity-The Carnivore Chipmunk
Secret identities. Our popular culture is full of them. Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent takes off his glasses, dons a cape and then, faster than…
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels
“That’s not a chipmunk.” The astute visitor, wise beyond his 4 1/2 years, stubbornly stood by his resolution, while his companions (people who, I’m guessing,…
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Working as the park safety supervisor for the St. Charles Park District, patrolling our public lands late into the night, Tim Timberlake has had plenty…
Long-tailed Weasels
Here at Good Natured World Headquarters, we get a fair amount of correspondence asking for assistance in “getting rid of ____________.” Over the years that…
Black Squirrels – Part 2
Last week we embarked on a story of Kane County squirrels-specifically black squirrels, which are a dark form of our common gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis-and…
Black Squirrels – Part 1
They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice. But I wonder, is the same true of cars? And what about squirrels? These questions…
Muskrat Rites
We consider it a human rite of passage: Grow to a certain age, acquire important life skills, then leave home to take on the big…
Shrews
Think your lawn or garden doesn’t have a resident population of insectivores? Have we got shrews for you! Shrews aren’t the sort of wildlife that…
Opossums
Remarkable in many respects yet poorly adapted to winter, the Virginia opossum will often forego its nocturnal nature to forage at birdfeeders and other free food sources on all but the coldest of days. Opossums February 16, 2018 Let’s take a moment, shall we, to add up the many fine qualities of Didelphis virginiana, the