Into the Woods with Curio: Things that go BUMP in the night!
Doug Smith
“HOW MANY ARE YOUR WORKS, LORD! IN WISDOM YOU MADETHEM ALL; THE EARTH IS FULL OF YOUR CREATURES.”
PSALM 104:24
A few weeks ago, I was awakened by a scrambling noise on our roof, near our bedroom. Then it moved over to the porch roof above the front door. I knew it was too early for Santa Claus, so thought it might be a raccoon. But when I turned on the porch light and opened the door to have a look there was a flying squirrel, clinging half-way up on one of the balusters. We looked at each for about a minute before it moved down to the deck and then onto the ground to disappear into the night.
Flying squirrels are more common than we sometimes realize. Being almost completely nocturnal, they are not often seen. There are flying squirrels at camp. Beacon’s mature woods provide a great habitat. They need lots of trees to move about, flying, (actually gliding) from one tree to another. They do this by first climbing up a tree trunk to a certain height, then leaping into the air and stretching out the folds of furred skin between their front wrists and back ankles. Using these large membranes as sails and their flat tail as a rudder and brake, they maneuver themselves over to another tree, or to a building, or sometimes to the ground. They can cover up to 50 meters in one glide.
When they land on another tree they immediately scoot around to the other side of the trunk, in case an owl has followed them. Barred owls are their number one predator in Muskoka. If you are out hiking and come across just the tail of a flying squirrel laying on the path, it may have been the victim of a barred owl. Or the owl could have ended up with just the tail, as they do break off. If that happens the squirrel survives, but can’t grow another.
Flying squirrels are slightly smaller than the more familiar red squirrels, and weigh only half as much, for obvious reasons. There are actually two species of flying squirrel in Muskoka – the northern and the southern. Both are a soft brown or gray in color. The northern is the more common of the two, but the southern species sometimes irrupts north into the region, as Muskoka is part of the ‘Land Between’, where the northern boreal forest and southern deciduous woodlands meet. The last irruption was in 2003, but the southern species is moving further north, which means there are more chances of seeing either species now.
Both species live in tree cavities, and will sometimes move into larger birdhouses. In the winter they roost communally to stay warm, and safe. Their diet includes seeds such as maple keys, beech nuts and acorns, fungi, berries, and insects. Either species also visit bird feeders at night, which is often the best chance of seeing them.
These are just one of the many seldom seen and little-known animals living in and around Beacon. Isn’t our God so amazing - amazing as our Creator, and amazing as the Sustainer of all life! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise him, all creatures here below!