Top Predators - Biodiversity for a Livable Climate

Featured Creature: Mexican Wolf

I prowl the woods, both fierce and lean,
With golden eyes and coat unseen.
Once a ghost upon the land,
Now brought back by careful hand.
Who am I, wild and free,
Yet bound by fate and history?

Many moons ago, for two years during college and one year after, I worked at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium in central Ohio (for those keeping score at home, that’s Jack Hanna’s zoo. Yes I met him.)

I spent thousands of hours over hundreds of days at that zoo. I got to know every path, every Dippin’ Dots stand, and every habitat under the zoo’s care.

The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium has an incredible collection of creatures (they’re one of the only institutions outside of Florida with manatees). While I was enamored with all of them, my favorite were the Mexican Wolves, a critically imperiled species.

In a place full of more diversity and creatures than I could ever count, the zoo’s Mexican wolves were different. As part of the (American) Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, a nationwide conservation effort. There were excellent educators of the impact one creature can have on an ecosystem, and what can happen when we don’t take care of them.

A Mexican Wolf at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
Credit: JCaputo via Flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

A Predator on the Brink

The Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is both the rarest and most genetically distinct subspecies of the more well known gray wolf. It is notably smaller than its northern relatives, with adults weighing standing about two feet tall at the top of the shoulder. Despite this (relatively) diminutive stature, the Mexican wolf is an apex predator in its environment, finely tuned by evolution for survival in the rugged, often unforgiving landscapes of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

Consider those landscapes for a moment. What does it take for a species already up against the ropes to survive there? What would it take for you to survive there?

You’d have to have exceptional endurance to hunt in vast, open environments. Long, slender legs and a streamlined body would allow you to cover these great distances while tracking prey, often over the course of 30 miles in a single day. You’d require an acute sense of smell and keen eyesight to pick up on the movements of smaller creatures from far away, even in the dim light of dawn or dusk when your prey is most active.

You’d be an expert of efficient thermoregulation, that is, keeping cool in the heat and warm in the cold. And you’d have to be, an expert, when your world ranges from scorching desert heat to bitter mountain cold, these wolves have developed a double-layered coat that provides insulation in winter while shedding excess warmth in summer. The coat’s coloration, a mixture of gray, rust, and buff, serves as excellent camouflage against the rocky and forested landscapes they inhabit.

A Wolf’s Role

It’s old news to you, I know, but it bears repeating. For ecosystems to function, predators must play their part. Like other wolves, the Mexican wolf is a keystone species, regulating prey populations and influencing plant communities. Without them, the system unravels.

The Mexican wolf primarily hunts elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, and occasionally livestock, but they will also take smaller mammals like rabbits and rodents when such larger prey is scarce. When they hunt, they do so together, as cooperative pack hunters. Their strong social structure is as essential a tool as their razor sharp incisors in felling prey much larger than themselves. Beyond the hunt, these [ack dynamics are critical to their survival—each member has a role, from rearing the pups learning the ropes to experienced hunters leading coordinated chases.

Both on the hunt and at home, communication is central to the wolves’ social structure. Howling serves as both a bonding ritual and a way to locate packmates over vast distances. Body language, like tail positioning and ear movement, helps maintain hierarchy within the group. You may even recognize a few of these traits in your own dog, barking or howling to communicate, using their tail and ears to express emotion, or learning through playful wrestling as a puppy.

Packs are tight-knit, usually number four to six members, though some may grow larger depending on prey availability. They establish territories spanning up to 200 square miles, marking them with scent and vocalizing to warn off intruding wolves and other creatures.

A Mexican wolf and her pup.
Image by Bob Haarmans, CC BY 2.0

In the absence of wolves, prey populations, especially elk and deer, explode, stripping vegetation and weakening forests. Overgrazed lands mean fewer young trees, degraded soil, less cover for smaller animals and heightened wildfire risk. This domino effect, known more scientifically as trophic cascade, ripples through the entire ecosystem. Beavers lose the young saplings they rely on for food and dams. Birds struggle to find nesting spots. Streams warm without tree cover, altering aquatic life.

But when wolves return, balance begins to restore itself. Just ask Yellowstone National Park. Wolves keep elk and deer moving, preventing over-grazing in sensitive areas. Carcasses left behind provide food for scavengers, including ravens, eagles, foxes, and even bears. Their presence reshapes the landscape, not just through their actions but through the fear they instill in prey. They don’t just hunt; they change the way the river of life flows.

A Fragile Comeback

Conservation and reintroduction of Mexican wolves has been an uphill, if slightly progressive, endeavor since the first captive-bred wolves were reintroduced into Arizona and New Mexico in 1998.

Ranchers in the area saw them as a renewed threat to livestock, and illegal killings were common practice. Some reintroduced wolves were shot before they had a chance to establish packs. Others were relocated after venturing too close to human settlements and industry.

Populations have grown slowly. From a low of just seven wolves in 1980, there are now about 250-300 Mexican wolves in the wild today. This precarious population is still critically small, vulnerable to disease, low genetic variation, and continued conflict with humans.

Climate change has also complicated things.

Rising temperatures are altering the Mexican wolf’s habitat. More frequent and severe droughts in the American Southwest threaten prey availability, pushing elk and deer into different ranges. Increased wildfires, driven by hotter, drier, and more flammable conditions, destroy the forests that wolves depend on for cover and prey.

Mexican Wolf experimental population area map. Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Last Word

I know zoos can be complicated, controversial places at times. I’m not really here to weigh in on that. But I think like many things in life, there is great value in the best parts of them. As we all continue to advocate for a less-extractive relationship with the rivers of life beyond our front door, I think the ability to educate, connect, and inspire others to care about the world around them is critically important. I saw the Columbus Zoo do that well time and time again, and I think every time we share a featured creature, post a picture of our gardens, or take someone along for a Miyawaki planting, we do the same.

Brendan Kelly began his career teaching conservation education programs at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. He is interested in how the intersection of informal education, mass communications and marketing can be retooled to drive relatable, accessible climate action. While he loves all ecosystems equally, he is admittedly partial to those in the alpine.

Featured Creature: Red kite

What acrobatic raptor was so essential to medieval public health, killing it was a crime and it became the national bird of Wales?

The red kite (Milvus milvus)!

Nature really thinks of everything.

I was back on my run through Madrid’s Casa de Campo, the 4,257 acre public park and preserve where I found Feature Creature inspiration in the form of a sickly hare a few weeks ago. After spending several minutes observing the hare, I continued as my run opened into a large clearing. A cinematic scene rolled out before me, as a red kite (milvus milvus), one of the hare’s natural predators, dropped out of an umbrella pine and flew off before me.

Maybe it was just my own naivety, but it was a special moment for me. You see, I’d run the park many times before, but rarely looked any further than the trail in front of me. Instead, this time I tried to pay attention to the web of life around me, and how each strand of it, living or not, connected with the others around it.

Take that red kite. It is an animal that works in service of its environment with a body and design that, in turn, work in near perfect service of it.

Nature’s cleanup crew

The red kite’s nesting range stretches in a broad band from the southern corner of Portugal, up through the Iberian Peninsula, central France, and Germany, before reaching the Baltic states. Smaller populations are also found in Mediterranean islands, coastal Italy, and the British Isles, where reintroduction campaigns in the 1980’s successfully revived its numbers.

They prefer to nest at the edge of woodlands, enabling quick and easy access to the open sky and landscape, not unlike how I look for an apartment within walking distance to the metro, or how a commuter in the suburbs might prefer to live a short drive from a highway or major thoroughfare on ramp. But wherever the red kite calls home, it has an important job to do.

The red kite is, first and foremost, a scavenger. Its diet consists primarily of carrion—dead animals, often livestock and game. By feeding on these carcasses, the red kite acts as a natural janitor and ultimately helps recycle nutrients back into the soil and surrounding environment.

When a scavenger like the red kite feasts on a dead animal, it kickstarts nature’s process for removing a carcass from (or to!) the environment. In feeding, they speed up the process of decomposition by physically breaking down the body and handing off a more manageable scene to smaller organisms like insects, bacteria, and fungi.

These insects and microbes release nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon into the soil as they break down the red kite’s leftovers. These nutrients enrich the soil, promoting plant growth, supporting other forms of life in the ecosystem, and maintaining essential geosystems.

It’s humbling. What seems brutal or grotesque—feasting on dead animals—is really an elegant solution from nature to each life’s inevitable end.

Plasticity

While foraged carrion can make up the majority of the red kite’s diet (upwards of 75%), it is also an agile and capable hunter of hares, birds, rodents, and lizards, respectably quick prey in their own right. A deeply forked tail acts like a rudder, providing precision flight control when on the hunt.

Red kite displaying its distinctive forked tail
Stephen Noulta (CC via Pexels)

This remarkable agility serves another purpose: communication. The red kite pairs a variety of unique vocalizations with striking physical displays, especially during courtship. And man, on that front does it deliver. It’s as if, in a bid to outdo the more visually aesthetic displays of other birds like parrots and peacocks, the red kite said, “alright, I see your colorful feathers and raise you tandem, spiraling corkscrew dives.” It’s worth taking a few seconds to watch.

Red kites locked in a dive

This is all to say that the red kite is well-equipped to meet the demands of its environment, whether foraging or hunting. They have been observed changing their foraging behavior and diet based on food availability and changing environmental conditions. While this level of flexibility, or plasticity, is found among other raptors, what makes the red kite stand out in this regard is its success adapting to both rural and increasingly urbanized environments.

A connected, complicated story

It’s difficult to tell the story of the red kite without understanding the species’ relationship with us, with humans.

A natural & social scavenger, the red kite’s role in our story goes back almost as long as we’ve been hunting, practicing agriculture, and leaving waste in the streets. Our complex relationship spans centuries and reflects our evolving attitudes toward wildlife, shifting dynamics of human environments, and the species’ own plasticity. In the middle ages, the red kite was a common sight in European cities, and especially London, where it acted as a natural street cleaner, scavenging for scraps and waste in the then-squalid streets. In fact, it was protected by law, and harming one was a punishable offense, as its presence was crucial to maintaining urban sanitation.

Red kites depicted circling above London
Bredfield Wildlife Friendly Village

Attitudes began to shift however as human settlements expanded and agricultural practices intensified. The birds came to be seen as vermin, threatening livestock and hunting game populations. This, combined with a broader adoption of poison to control other animals like foxes, led to a dramatic decline in red kite populations. By the turn of the 20th century, the red kite had been pushed to near extinction in many parts of Europe. As few as a handful of pairs were believed to have survived in remote parts of Wales.

But as part of larger, global conservation trends, red kite reintroduction programs took off in the 1980’s, particularly in the UK. These efforts were successful, with Royal Society for the Protection of Birds operations director Jeff Knott declaring that it “might be the biggest species success story in UK conservation history.”

As I’ve come to understand it, this recovery is not so much the end of a story, but the beginning of a new, equally complicated chapter in Europe’s story with the red kite. Bird populations have rebounded, and are now learning how to live in a densely populated, 21st century world. Ever the survivors, red kites are adapting to modern urban and semi-urban environments. In southern England, they’ve once again become a common sight, soaring over towns and cities as they did hundreds of years ago, and foraging for food in suburban gardens.

Red kites soar above Barton-le-clay, UK
bitsandbugs (CC via iNaturalist)

Raised on a steady diet of Planet Earth, Animal Planet, and Nat Geo, I think it was easy to see “nature” as a separate thing we’re siloed off from in our built environments, something wonderful and to be safeguarded in a separate place, something we can enter and exit at our leisure. It’s evident even in the way we collectively discuss it. We talk about “being out in nature,” “escaping to the outdoors,” “getting away from it all.”

And sometimes it takes a bird like the red kite to remind you that nature doesn’t exist separately from us. The red kite doesn’t necessarily see the Iberian savannah as any more or less wild than a British village. Where there is any life, there is an ecosystem.

Running to catch the next creature,
Brendan

Brendan Kelly began his career teaching conservation education programs at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. He is interested in how the intersection of informal education, mass communications and marketing can be retooled to drive relatable, accessible climate action. While he loves all ecosystems equally, he is admittedly partial to those in the alpine.

Sources and Further Reading:

Featured Creature: Moon Snail

What seemingly cute, small creature is, in fact, a terrifying killer that drills a hole into their prey, liquifies it, and then sucks it out like a smoothie?

The moon snail (Naticidae)!

Lewis’s Moon Snail, *Neverita lewisii* (Image Credit: Siobhan O’Neill via iNaturalist)

Have you ever noticed those shells at the beach with perfectly round holes in them? I’ve always wondered how they end up like that. I thought, “surely it is not a coincidence that jewelry-ready shells are left in the sand for a craft-lover like me.” Amazingly, the neat holes are the work of the moon snail.

Take a look at holes made by the moon snail; maybe you’ve seen them before too.

The Small Snowplows of the Ocean

The moon snail is a predatory sea snail from the Naticidae family, named for the half-moon shaped opening on the underside of its globular shell. They are smooth and shiny and come in a variety of colors and patterns depending on the species: white, gray, brown, blue, or orange, with different spiral bands or waves. The size of moon snails also varies by species, ranging from as small as a marble to as large as a baseball. To traverse the ocean floor, moon snails use a big, fleshy foot to burrow through the sand. They pump water into the foot’s hollow sinuses to expand it in front of and over the shell, making it easier to travel along the ocean floor, like a snowplow. (Or should we call it a sand plow?)

Northern Moonsnail, *Euspira heros* (Image Credit: Cassidy Best via iNaturalist)

Moon snails live in various saltwater habitats along the coast of North America. A diversity of species can be found along both the Atlantic Coast between Canada down to North Carolina, and the Pacific Coast from British Columbia down to Baja California, Mexico. They live on silty, sandy substrates at a variety of depths depending on the species, from the intertidal zone and shallow waters below the tidemark to muddy bottoms off the coast 500 meters deep (about 1640 feet, which is greater than the height of the Empire State Building!). You might find a moon snail during a full moon, when the tide is higher and more seashells wash up on shore, plowing through the sand looking for its next meal.

Northern Moonsnail, *Euspira heros* (Image Credit: Ian Manning via iNaturalist)

When a moon snail fills its muscular foot with water, it can almost cover its entire shell!

Lewis’s Moon Snail, *Neverita lewisii* (Image Credit: Ed Bierman via Wikimedia Commons)

The moon snail is part of a taxonomic class called Gastropoda, which describes a group of animals that includes snails, slugs, and nudibranchs. The word gastropod comes from Greek and translates to “stomach foot.” The moon snail is a part of this belly-crawler club because it has a foot that runs along the underside of its belly that it uses to get around!

What’s on the menu? Clam chowder!

What does the moon snail eat? These ocean invertebrates prey primarily on other mollusks that share their habitat, like clams and mussels. They use chemoreception (a process by which organisms respond to chemical stimuli in their environment) to locate a mollusk and envelop it in their inflated foot, dragging it farther into the sand.

Nearly all gastropods have a radula (think of a tongue with a lot of tiny, sharp teeth) that they use to consume smaller pieces of food or scrape algae off rocks. Moon snails are different. After their prey is captured, moon snails use their radula to grind away at a spot on their prey’s shell. With the help of enzymes and acids secreted from glands on the bottom of their foot, they drill completely through the shell of their victim at a rate of half a millimeter per day. Once the drilling is complete, moon snails inject digestive fluids into the mollusk, liquefying its innards, and slurp up the chowder inside with their tubular proboscis. The entire process takes about four to five days. Vicious, right? And what is even more brutal is that sometimes, moon snails are cannibalistic!

What role does the moon snail play in its environment?

Phytoplankton and algae form the foundation of the marine food web, providing food and energy to the entire ecosystem of sea creatures. Organisms that fall prey to moon snails, like clams and mussels, consume this microscopic algae, as well as other bacteria and plant detritus. The moon snail is a vital link in this interconnected food chain because not only is it important prey for predators like crabs, lobsters, and shorebirds, but it also provides these organisms with energy and key nutrients. Through decomposition, moon snails’ feces, dead bodies, and shells become nutrients for producers like phytoplankton and algae.

Unfortunately, many things can harm moon snails and their habitats. Meteorological events like hurricanes can cause fluctuations in the species’ abundance. During heatwaves, when record high temperatures combine with extreme low tides like the one in the Pacific Northwest in 2021, moon snails can become extended from their shells, leading to desiccation and death.

The Earth’s temperature has risen at a rate of approximately 0.2°C per decade since 1982, making 2023 the warmest year since global records began in 1850. If yearly greenhouse gas emissions continue to rapidly increase, the global temperature will be at least 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer and possibly as much as 10.2 degrees warmer by 2100. This continuous increase in temperature puts not just moon snails but humans and the Earth’s biodiversity at large at risk, not only because of more frequent heat waves, but because oceans are becoming more acidic as the water absorbs excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As reporter Hari Sreenivasan explained in the PBS NewsHour report, Acidifying Waters Corrode Northwest Shellfish, ocean acidification affects shellfish a lot like how osteoporosis causes bones to become brittle in humans. The increasing acidity in the ocean reduces the amount of carbonate in the seawater, making it more difficult for moon snails and other shellfish to build and maintain strong calcium carbonate shells.

Colorful Moon Snail, *Naticarius canrena* (Image Credit: Joe Tomoleoni via iNaturalist)

Human activities also threaten marine creatures like moon snails. Shoreline hardening, aquaculture operations, and water management disturbs the food web and drives species towards extinction. Building structures on the shore to protect against erosion, storm surge, and sea level rise; projects such as geoduck farming; and creating dams and other water diversions disrupts animal communities and results in considerable habitat change. Fortunately, there are environmentally friendly alternatives, like living shorelines. These use plants and other natural features like rocks and shells to stabilize sediments, absorb wave energy, and protect against erosion.

What can you do to protect these clam-chowing sand plows and the biodiversity of the marine sediment?

One thing you can do to help moon snails is protect their egg casings. In the summer, more moon snails emerge in the shallow, intertidal habitats because it’s time for them to breed. To lay eggs, the female moon snail covers her entire foot in a thick layer of sand that she cements together with mucus. After laying tiny eggs on top, she sandwiches them between another layer of sand and detaches herself from the firm, gelatinous egg mass and leaves them to hatch in a few weeks. These collar-shaped egg casings can sometimes look like pieces of plastic or trash, so make sure you don’t pick them up and throw them away!

Moon snails can be found washed up on dry parts of the beach as well as in submerged parts of sand flats during low tide. If you pick up a moon snail, remember to put it back in the water so it doesn’t dry out in the sun.

The biodiversity in the marine sediment rivals even coral reefs and tropical rainforests. The organisms that live in this part of the ocean and the services they provide are essential for life on Earth. They cycle nutrients, break down pollutants, filter water, and feed commercial species like cod and scallop that humans eat all the time. Historical fishing activities, bottom trawling, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, food web modification, and invasive species threaten biodiversity, functions, and services of marine sedimentary habitats. While there are many unknowns and ongoing threats to ocean life, that also means there are more opportunities for research and discovery that can inform effective ocean conservation policies. Supporting these policies that protect oceans and marine life is a way to protect moon snails too.

In ecology, there is a principle that suggests that each ecological niche is occupied by a distinct organism uniquely suited to it. This means organisms exist everywhere, and they have evolved to exist in these places in specific ways. The moon snail’s unique characteristics – notably the way it uses its radula to drill into its prey – shows us that in almost any niche, the organism which occupies it has similarly adapted to optimize its place in that habitat. I’m curious to learn what other unique traits organisms have evolved to adapt to their unique niche.

Off to shell-ebrate the beauty of our oceans and their creatures,

Abigail

Abigail Gipson is an environmental advocate with a bachelor’s degree in humanitarian studies from Fordham University. Working to protect the natural world and its inhabitants, Abigail is specifically interested in environmental protection, ecosystem-based adaptation, and the intersection of climate change with human rights and animal welfare. She loves autumn, reading, and gardening.

Sources and Further Reading:

Conservation Organizations

Articles & Papers

Featured Creature: Cat

What mammal makes a mysterious sound that scientists can’t figure out, can jump straight up to a height eight times their body length, and loves us when we love them?

Felis catus, the mostly tame, sometimes feral, house cat!

Oly (aka Olyneuropathy) the Tabby
Photo by Maya Dutta

Cats domesticated us humans around 7500 BCE, once we began growing grain – and we needed someone to control the annoying mice that ate it. Cats found this to be a pretty good deal and the feeling was mutual. The relationship worked so well that Felis catus became one of the top ten most populous mammals on Earth, with approximately 700 million of them today.

By the way, if you want to sound cool when there’s a group of them around, you may refer to the numerous felines as a clowder or glaring of cats (as in, “Look, everyone – there’s a clowder of cats!”).

A cat eating a fish under a chair, a mural in an Egyptian tomb
dating to the 15th century BC
(Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Not all is rosy in mondo catus, sadly. They are so adaptable, brought to all continents except Antarctica (mostly by humans in boats), that cats are among the most invasive of species. They sometimes wind up in places free of natural predators, and their proliferation is fed by eating billions of birds, mammals, and reptiles, even causing an occasional extinction. (Then again, who are we Homo sapiens to pass judgment on other “invasive” species?)

Yet, undeterred by dark sides, people around the world are crazy about their cats. We will go to great lengths to make them happy. See, for example, this Kickstarter Shru Cat Companion crowdfunding campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1046165765/egg-the-intelligent-cat-companion (scroll down, watch the video, and try to contain your excitement).

The cat-toy inventor asked for a $15,000 investment, but cat lovers showed their love by sending Shru $170,779 for an exotic cat toy that does . . . well, I’ll let you figure that one out. In the meanwhile thousands of non-profits run crowdfunders to conduct activities like feeding children and turning deserts green again, among many other urgent things – and their average take is only $9,237. Such oddly-placed power of cat fervor is depressingly impressive (though it’s not the cats’ fault).

But I digress.

Cats are indeed remarkable animals. They can jump to heights over eight times their own body length (that would be almost five stories high for a six-foot human), always land on their feet, and display properties of both solids and liquids. That’s right, given a definition of a liquid as a substance that conforms to the shape of a container, cats fill that bill to a T (or a Q or a Z).

Cats have more vertebrae than most mammals, and their intervertebral discs are elastic and springy. So cats can contort into an amazing variety of liquid-esque positions. And even more importantly, those spinal discs alternately expand and compress as the animal runs, which conserves energy and provides extra propulsion for speeds of up to 30 miles per hour (or 48 km/h).

Although cat behavioral and psychological scientists are a few years behind their canine counterparts, it is lately becoming scientifically apparent how intelligent and emotionally responsive cats are (of course, cat owners have known this forever). They just show it differently from dogs or other animals:

Yes! Cats do love their humans, even if sometimes they have a funny way of showing it. In fact, they form strong attachments to their owners and display their emotions very similar to humans.

Just like people, cats can show their love through understanding and concern for others. In some instances, they have been known to risk their lives for their owners, protecting them from dangers like poisonous snakes or other hazards. Cats can also detect when their owner is upset and will often console them or, in some cases, even lick away their tears! Some cases exist where an owner left or passed away, and the cat exhibited signs of distress like sitting and meowing at the owner’s bedroom door, going into hiding, even refusing to eat. But perhaps some of the most incredible evidence that cats do get attached to their owners is in the cases where cats have traveled hundreds upon hundreds of miles to places they’ve never been in order to find their person.
https://www.azpetvet.com/cat-owner-love/

How they find their distant people, nobody knows. You may enjoy some more long-distance cat-travel stories at https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/10-amazing-cats-that-travelled-vast-distances-to-be-with-their-owners.html.

Finally, there’s purring, a sound that science still can’t quite figure out. It turns out that cats purr for all kinds of reasons other than that they’re happy to be on our laps. This video tells the story:

Intriguing cat facts and tales could go on forever, but for now let’s travel onward together on the road to purr-fect purr-ful bliss,

Adam

P.S. If you have access to Netflix, there’s a fascinating video entitled “Inside the Mind of a Cat.” You can train cats to do all kinds of amazing tricks when you know how. Note that they’re training you as much as you’re training them!

Adam Sacks is a Co-Founder and former Executive Director of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (Bio4Climate). He has had careers in education, holistic medicine, computer technology, politics, and advocacy. A climate activist for the past 25 years, he has been studying and writing about Holistic Management since 2007. His primary goal is the regeneration of biodiversity and a livable planet.

Sources and Further Reading:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/domestic-cat
https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/10-amazing-cats-that-travelled-vast-distances-to-be-with-their-owners.html
https://www.cantonrep.com/news/20191121/missing-cat-travels-1200-miles-to-be-reunited-with-its-owner-after-5-years
https://www.azpetvet.com/cat-owner-love/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat
https://www.dailypaws.com/cats-kittens/health-care/how-high-can-cats-jump

Featured Creature: Canada Lynx

What furry feline has stealthy skills, built-in snow gear, and a surprising screech?

The Canada lynx!

The Canada lynx, also known as Lynx canadensis or the Inuktut name of ᐱᖅᑐᖅᓯᕋᖅ (‘piqtuqsiraq’), is a charismatic mammal of the Northernmost parts of North America. This furry, fierce cousin of the bobcat can be found in Canada, of course, as well as Alaska and in some parts of Northern Maine.

This forest feline may resemble a larger version of a housecat, but its predatory prowess is nothing short of formidable. With a heavy coat of fur, including distinctive tufts at its ears and a short, black-tipped tail, large paws that help navigate snowy terrain, and excellent vision and hearing, the Canada lynx is extremely well adapted to its environment.

Photo by Laura Lorman from National Wildlife Federation

Prime Predator

In terms of physical attributes and behavior, the Canada lynx possesses exceptional senses, including large eyes and acute hearing, making it an adept nocturnal hunter. In fact, they are able to detect prey in the darkness from as far as 250 feet (76 m) away.

Although not known for speed, these stealthy predators rely on their knack for stealth. They often lie in wait, concealed in strategic hiding spots, before making a calculated pounce on unsuspecting prey. Patiently biding their time for hours on end is not uncommon in their pursuit of sustenance.

Exhibiting a very specific carnivorous diet, these lynxes primarily subsist on snowshoe hares, and fluctuations in hare populations directly correlate with the rise and fall of lynx numbers. When it is available, a single lynx might consume an entire hare for a meal, storing remnants for later consumption. In the absence of hares, they resort to hunting small mammals, birds, and occasionally larger prey such as caribou.

Suited to the snow

Characterized by a compact body, diminutive tail, and elongated legs, the Canada lynx sports a dense, lengthy, and gray fur coat during winter, while transitioning to a shorter, lighter brown coat in summer. Their facial appearance appears broad due to elongated fur patches extending from their cheeks that can give the appearance of a two-pronged beard. They also sport distinctive black-tipped, bobbed tails and elongated tufts on their triangular ears.

Closely resembling the southern-dwelling bobcat, the key difference lies in their tails— the Canada lynx boasts completely black-tipped tails compared to the bobcat’s tail that features a white ring below the black tip. Moreover, the lynx’s sizable, heavily furred paws act as natural snowshoes, with a high surface area to support their movement over deep snow, aiding their mobility during winter hunts.

Residing across forested regions spanning Canada, Alaska, and certain parts of the contiguous United States, Canada lynxes prefer making dens under fallen trees, tree stumps, rock formations, or dense vegetation. These territorial animals are mostly solitary, particularly with male lynxes leading an almost entirely solitary existence.

However, young lynxes stay in the care of their mothers for about a year, and some females have been observed living and hunting in pairs, raising questions for scientists about the social behavior of these big cats. Recently, a team of researchers has begun delving into the social lives of lynxes by tracking their vocalizations. And whether or not you are engaged in studying lynx populations, it’s well worth checking out the haunting sounds of the lynx call:

Big Cats of the Boreal

The Canada lynx, a native denizen of the expansive Boreal Forest, relies heavily on this vast and biodiverse habitat for survival. The boreal ecosystem, characterized by its dense forests of coniferous trees, provides the ideal cover and sustenance for these elusive predators. The lynx thrives amidst the rich tapestry of dense vegetation, fallen trees, and rocky outcrops, creating a mosaic of hiding spots and denning sites crucial for their survival. However, threats to the Boreal Forest, including deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate change, pose significant risks to the Canada lynx population.

Deforestation for logging, mining, and human settlement disrupts the lynx’s habitat, diminishing their hunting grounds and safe havens. Fragmentation of the forest reduces connectivity between lynx populations, affecting genetic diversity and hindering their ability to roam and find suitable mates. Climate change exacerbates these issues, altering the boreal ecosystem and impacting prey availability, which is pivotal for the lynx’s sustenance. The cumulative effect of these threats imperils the Canada lynx, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts to safeguard both the lynx and its vital habitat in the Boreal Forest, which in turn plays an essential role regulating the carbon and water cycles and overall stability of our climate.

The Canada lynx is more than just an example of might and physical prowess in nature. A true embodiment of the northern forests, these elusive creatures and their unique lifestyle are treasures of the wild. Let us work for ecological integrity in all forests and ecosystems, Boreal and beyond.

For my fellow cat lovers,

Maya

Maya Dutta is an environmental advocate and ecosystem restorer working to spread understanding on the key role of biodiversity in shaping the climate and the water, carbon, nutrient and energy cycles we rely on. She is passionate about climate change adaptation and mitigation and the ways that community-led ecosystem restoration can fight global climate change while improving the livelihood and equity of human communities. Having grown up in New York City and lived in cities all her life, Maya is interested in creating more natural infrastructure, biodiversity, and access to nature and ecological connection in urban areas.

Sources and Further Reading:
https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/animal-facts-canada-lynx/
https://racinezoo.org/canada-lynx-fact-sheet
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Canada-Lynx
https://www.nrcm.org/nrcm-creature-feature/canada-lynx/
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/animals/2020/07/lynx-take-epic-2000-mile-treks-but-why-is-a-mystery
https://defenders.org/blog/2020/09/link-between-lynx-and-national-forests
https://theconversation.com/we-eavesdropped-on-some-canadian-lynx-what-we-heard-was-surprising-161539

Featured Creature: Fishing Cat

What fascinating feline with unique adaptations roams the aquatic ecosystems of Southeast Asia?

The fishing cat, otherwise known as Prionailurus viverrinus!

One Clever Cat

Venturing into the world of fishing cats unveils a marvel of feline prowess and adaptability. These incredible creatures, found across 11 countries in Southeast Asia, possess a unique combination of features that defy conventional feline stereotypes.

Their distinct traits include a squat, stocky build, equipped with short, webbed feet, and an olive-gray coat adorned with black spots and stripes. Contrary to the belief that cats avoid water at all costs, fishing cats exhibit an unparalleled affinity for aquatic habitats. Indeed, these exceptional swimmers and adept hunters inhabit wetlands, marshes, and mangrove forests.

One of the most striking features aiding the waterborne adventures of the fishing cat is the webbing between their toes, facilitating seamless navigation through muddy wetlands without sinking. Additionally, their fur boasts a dual-layered composition: a short, dense undercoat shields their skin from the elements while swimming, while longer guard hairs contribute to their distinctive coloration, providing ideal camouflage for hunting in varied terrains.

Hunting primarily near water bodies, fishing cats display remarkable adaptability in their diet, feasting not only on fish but also on crustaceans, amphibians, and various aquatic creatures. These agile predators employ ingenious techniques, using their paws to scoop fish from shallow waters or even diving headfirst into deeper areas to secure a meal with their teeth. Their versatile diets extend to snakes, rodents, and even larger prey like young deer and wild pigs, but fish comprise about three quarters of their food.

Watch a juvenile try to learn the process:

Fishing cats navigate diverse ecosystems with ease, forging their existence in habitats ranging from freshwater landscapes to coastal regions. While much of their behavior in the wild has eluded observation, fishing cats, which are nocturnal animals, are thought to have no natural predators besides humans. They tend to roam wetlands and areas that larger cats and predators aren’t well suited to inhabit. However, humans provide plenty of issues to contend with, and due to the pressures of habitat encroachment, development, and poaching, fishing cats are classified as a vulnerable species.

Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Jessie Cohen

Human and Habitat Pressures

In India, conservationists and researchers have embarked on a pivotal journey to safeguard these elusive creatures. The country’s many wetland ecosystems, integral to the fishing cat’s survival, face mounting threats from human encroachment, urbanization, and environmental degradation. Increasing development comes with issues of draining wetlands, polluting them, or altering their composition and natural salinity of the soil due to aquaculture operations.

Many organizations, like the Wildlife Institute of India and the Eastern Ghats Wildlife Society, have sprung up to champion the cause of fishing cats and understand more about these creatures. Studies conducted in sanctuaries and wildlife reserves have shed light on the behavior, habitat preferences, and dietary patterns of fishing cats in captivity. Initiatives to map their territories and understand their population dynamics have proven more challenging, yet vital for conservation strategies. Camera trap surveys in regions like the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary and the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary have uncovered pockets of fishing cat populations, offering valuable insights into their distribution across diverse landscapes.

Juvenile Fishing Cat on a Branch (Photo by Michael Bentley from Wikipedia, CC 2.0)

The evolving understanding of fishing cats has inspired conservation campaigns aimed at raising awareness among local communities. Educational programs, including the “Children for Fishing Cats” initiative, have empowered younger generations to become advocates for wildlife conservation, fostering harmony between human activities and the preservation of vital ecosystems.

Amidst the growing threats posed by habitat loss, human-wildlife conflicts, and climate change, conservationists advocate for stronger legislation and reinforced protection measures for wetlands and associated habitats. Efforts to mitigate conflict situations, prevent retaliatory killings, and promote sustainable practices among fishing communities stand as cornerstones in safeguarding these resilient creatures and their fragile environments.

As researchers navigate the delicate balance between human activities and wildlife conservation, the overarching goal remains clear: preserving the wetlands that sustain the extraordinary fishing cats is indispensable for safeguarding biodiversity, ensuring ecological resilience, and fostering coexistence between humans and these remarkable felines. More people and organizations are also coming to appreciate the benefits of healthy wetland ecosystems for buffering against storm surges, protecting water quality, contributing to the water cycle, and helping fight climate change.

As we protect and restore our wetlands, we can safeguard the future for fishing cats, the ecosystems they regulate, and the web of life that connects us.

For my fellow water lovers everywhere,

Maya

Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210416-the-fight-to-save-indias-most-elusive-cat
https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/fishing-cat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_cat
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/fishing-cat

Featured Creature: Asian Giant Hornet

Photo from wikipedia.org

What creature comes from Southeast Asia, is the biggest of its kind, eats animals we need, and has been tried and convicted of murder in the court of public opinion?

Meet the Asian Giant Hornet!

Warning: This is not your warm and cuddly Featured Creature.

It was a warm and pleasant day last summer, and some of us Bio4Climate folks were entertaining out-of-town guests at our Miyawaki Forest in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During lunch, a biologist from central Europe expressed horror at the appearance of a “new” insect. She described it as the largest wasp she had ever seen (the differences between wasps and hornets are primarily coloring and size).

What do you think?

Photo: Gary Alpert
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vespa_mandarinia.jpg

Indeed, it was a new insect in the Western Hemisphere – it landed in France in 2004. Before then, its home had been limited to Southeast Asia and Japan for 16 million years as a forest dweller that mostly lives in subterranean nests. Those in the know suspect that it somehow hitched a ride in pottery imported from China. Perhaps it’s a bit surprising that the hornet’s international travels took so long, given that globalization has been going on for many centuries.

Asian Hornet Size Comparison — Relative sizes for comparison, from vespawatch.be CC BY 4.0 license

In many places where this creature newly appeared, authorities put out the alarm and asked citizens to take a photo of it with their cell phones but do not touch it or disturb it in any way! It has a quarter-inch stinger and plenty of venom for repeated attacks. It’s rarely lethal to humans, but the sting has been described as driving a hot nail into your flesh. “Just tell us where you saw it and we’ll send in experts to try to find its nest” – no simple task with nests that are usually underground.

As it happens, people mostly mis-identified other black-and-yellow wasps as Asian Giant Hornets so the alarm was somewhat false – but the threat was real. And the spread could happen quickly, as it did in Belgium:

Asian hornets in Belgium: *August* ***2018***, ©Vespa-Watch

Asian hornets in Belgium: *August* ***2020***, ©Vespa-Watch

Asian hornets in Belgium: *July* ***2022***, ©Vespa-Watch

If these maps resemble our recent and devastating infectious global invasive-species explosion, Covid-19, it’s not a coincidence. Zoonotic diseases – illnesses that jump from nonhuman animal hosts, including insects, to humans – present in patterns that resemble the spread of hornets. The threat of another potential pandemic, albeit non-microbial, should ring alarm bells everywhere.

But that’s a story for another day. The current question is, “Why are we so worried about the Asian Giant Hornet?” True, it’s a painful sting, but is there something else?

Yes, indeed.

This hornet’s favorite food is honey bees. The bees don’t stand a chance against these aggressive and much larger adversaries. A small crew of invaders can decimate a nest of thousands of bees in a few hours. Their powerful jaws quickly decapitate their victims; they proceed to chew up the body into “meatballs” and deliver the meals to their own offspring. Hence the nickname “murder hornets,” although that is rather overly dramatic – all carnivores eat other creatures. After all, it’s an essential job in almost all ecosystems to keep a habitat’s checks and balances are working.

Bees in the hornet’s native South Asian habitat do have a defense, at least against only one or two invaders. A team of bees surrounds the hornet, beats their wings, and raises the temperature beyond hornet tolerance – and to victory!

Photo: Takahashi
A defensive ball of Japanese honey bees (*Apis cerana japonica*) in which two Japanese hornets are engulfed, incapacitated, heated, and eventually killed. This defense is also used against the Asian giant hornet.

Unfortunately, non-Asian bees haven’t had millions of years to figure out how to smother hornets.

Since honey bees are essential pollinators for many crops in addition to producers of honey, the appearance of Asian Giant Hornets in North America in 2019 mobilized beekeepers and agriculture big time. In 2020 officials warned that if the hornets become established, they “could decimate bee populations in the United States and establish such a deep presence that all hope for eradication could be lost.” As with many invasive species, when they establish themselves in a new place their natural predators usually don’t come along, and that disrupts the ecosystem’s function.

In the hornet’s defense from a homo sapiens perspective, it has some redeeming qualities. It’s only fair to say that it also attacks what we would call agricultural pests, and its larval silk proteins “have a wide variety of potential applications due to their [many] morphologies, including the native fiber form, but also sponge, film, and gel.”

Finally, given that every animal eats and gets eaten eventually,

In some Japanese mountain villages, the nests are excavated and the larvae are considered a delicacy when fried. In the central Chūbu region, these hornets are sometimes eaten as snacks or an ingredient in drinks. The grubs are often preserved in jars, pan-fried or steamed with rice to make a savory dish called hebo-gohan. The adults are fried on skewers, stinger and all, until the body becomes crunchy.

In gastronomy, there is hope!

P.S. “Vespa,” by the way, is the genus of wasps and hornets. So the next time you’re riding your bike and you hear an ever louder buzzing behind you, be grateful when it’s a gas-guzzling scooter and not its eponymous insect.

Extra featured-creature feature, red in tooth and claw:

By Adam Sacks

Sources:
https://www.discoveringbelgium.com/asian-hornets/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_giant_hornet
Alfred Lord Tennyson In Memoriam A. H. H., 1850:
Who trusted God was love indeed
And love Creation’s final law
Tho’ Nature, red in tooth and claw
With ravine, shriek’d against his creed

Creature: Top Predators