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"Wild" Ideas for Surviving
New England Winters
By Margaret Gillespie
We live in New England so we
have winter all figured out,
right?
Deep down, I think many of us would admit that we have a least a few things to
learn about our coldest season, and from what better source than some of the
wild creatures that have been New Englanders long before this place got its
name? At the very least, wildlife can remind us of the things we should be doing
to better benefit from these snowy months.
Our primary focus here is on the ungulates or hoofed mammals, specifically the
even-toed ungulates that inhabit New Hampshire, and what they can show us
about winter survival.
Yes, we will explore the winter habits of moose and white-tailed deer. Here are
some wild thoughts!
Insulate: The coats of moose and deer change dramatically with the onset of
fall. With deer we notice the color change from rusty red of summer to thick
grays, but more important things are happening with this pelage difference.
Thick dense undercoats grow, hidden by long guard hairs that incorporate a
special ingredient – air. Air is a good insulator and, of course, there is more
room for it if the hair is raised. Moose guard hairs, hollow and air-filled, may be
10 inches long, resulting in excellent insulation, while those of deer average two
inches in length. People can benefit from insulation too, in our homes, our
jackets and, so easily forgotten, our hats. Hats slow heat from radiating from our
heads where a rich supply of warm blood circulates in our scalps. Up to 50% of
our radiant heat loss can be from an uncovered head!
Reduce and recycle: Why have excess baggage at any time of the year? Antlers
in male deer and moose emerge in April, grow rapidly over the summer covered
by velvet, and are transformed when the velvet is scraped off into magnificent
displays of strength during the fall rutting season. Moose antlers in particular
are especially impressive with some spanning five feet from tip to tip and
weighing up to 70 pounds. In deer, we cannot tell the age by the number of
points on the antlers; in general, healthy adult bucks have the most developed
antlers. After the rut, the level of testosterone declines significantly and the
antlers, now unneeded, fall or are rubbed off, often in early winter, leaving the
small pedicle where the new antler will grow next spring.
Recycling? Porcupines, deer mice and other forest rodents eagerly chew the
antlers to get the calcium and other minerals they hold. On a different reduction
topic, moose in particular can be infested with many thousands of winter ticks,
sapping energy through blood loss and through extra grooming which removes
fur as well as ticks. A recycling market may be difficult in this case.
Eat locally: Moose and deer do not have the choice between Spanish oranges
and Chilean grapes or foods grown in New England. However they do conserve
energy by finding food within their natural communities even though this means
switching to different and often less palatable food sources. In summer deer
may be seen snipping green shoots of grass and moose may be observed diving
for aquatic plants, but in winter they become browsers or eaters of twigs and
buds. Preferred deer foods include white cedar, hemlock and maple and deer
need about 5 to 9 pounds of food per day.
In contrast, moose consume about 40 pounds of food each day in winter and
often feed on willows, balsam fir and aspen. Moose will readily eat bark and, in
fact, get their name from a Native American word meaning, “animal that strips
bark off trees.”
Conserve energy: Deer regularly gather in “deer yards” in the winter – areas
often with coniferous cover where the snow is less deep and there is protection
from wind, but where browse may be limited. As with us, energy is saved by
traveling on packed trails. Moose “yards” are much less common and usually
the result of deep, crusty snow. Both deer and moose respond to winter by
maintaining a lower metabolism than in summer; thus they require less food.
The ungulates’ four-chambered stomach with its special microbes and these
animals’ ability to chew their regurgitated cud enable them to get the most out of
their food. More time is spent lying down to prevent heat loss and solar heat is
used especially in late winter.
Some wild suggestions may be more popular than others, but a good way to
keep warm in winter is an energetic walk, snowshoe or cross-country ski,
especially enjoyable under the brilliant blue skies of winter. Be sure to keep a
look out for those characteristic tracks made by split hooves that tell you a deer
or moose found this a good path to follow too.
About the author:
Margaret Gillespie is a naturalist at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center,
Holderness, NH, a private, nonprofit organization opening a window to the
natural world. For more information visit their website at www.nhnature.org or
call (603) 968-7194; Email: info@nhnature.org.
New England Winters
By Margaret Gillespie
We live in New England so we
have winter all figured out,
right?
Deep down, I think many of us would admit that we have a least a few things to
learn about our coldest season, and from what better source than some of the
wild creatures that have been New Englanders long before this place got its
name? At the very least, wildlife can remind us of the things we should be doing
to better benefit from these snowy months.
Our primary focus here is on the ungulates or hoofed mammals, specifically the
even-toed ungulates that inhabit New Hampshire, and what they can show us
about winter survival.
Yes, we will explore the winter habits of moose and white-tailed deer. Here are
some wild thoughts!
Insulate: The coats of moose and deer change dramatically with the onset of
fall. With deer we notice the color change from rusty red of summer to thick
grays, but more important things are happening with this pelage difference.
Thick dense undercoats grow, hidden by long guard hairs that incorporate a
special ingredient – air. Air is a good insulator and, of course, there is more
room for it if the hair is raised. Moose guard hairs, hollow and air-filled, may be
10 inches long, resulting in excellent insulation, while those of deer average two
inches in length. People can benefit from insulation too, in our homes, our
jackets and, so easily forgotten, our hats. Hats slow heat from radiating from our
heads where a rich supply of warm blood circulates in our scalps. Up to 50% of
our radiant heat loss can be from an uncovered head!
Reduce and recycle: Why have excess baggage at any time of the year? Antlers
in male deer and moose emerge in April, grow rapidly over the summer covered
by velvet, and are transformed when the velvet is scraped off into magnificent
displays of strength during the fall rutting season. Moose antlers in particular
are especially impressive with some spanning five feet from tip to tip and
weighing up to 70 pounds. In deer, we cannot tell the age by the number of
points on the antlers; in general, healthy adult bucks have the most developed
antlers. After the rut, the level of testosterone declines significantly and the
antlers, now unneeded, fall or are rubbed off, often in early winter, leaving the
small pedicle where the new antler will grow next spring.
Recycling? Porcupines, deer mice and other forest rodents eagerly chew the
antlers to get the calcium and other minerals they hold. On a different reduction
topic, moose in particular can be infested with many thousands of winter ticks,
sapping energy through blood loss and through extra grooming which removes
fur as well as ticks. A recycling market may be difficult in this case.
Eat locally: Moose and deer do not have the choice between Spanish oranges
and Chilean grapes or foods grown in New England. However they do conserve
energy by finding food within their natural communities even though this means
switching to different and often less palatable food sources. In summer deer
may be seen snipping green shoots of grass and moose may be observed diving
for aquatic plants, but in winter they become browsers or eaters of twigs and
buds. Preferred deer foods include white cedar, hemlock and maple and deer
need about 5 to 9 pounds of food per day.
In contrast, moose consume about 40 pounds of food each day in winter and
often feed on willows, balsam fir and aspen. Moose will readily eat bark and, in
fact, get their name from a Native American word meaning, “animal that strips
bark off trees.”
Conserve energy: Deer regularly gather in “deer yards” in the winter – areas
often with coniferous cover where the snow is less deep and there is protection
from wind, but where browse may be limited. As with us, energy is saved by
traveling on packed trails. Moose “yards” are much less common and usually
the result of deep, crusty snow. Both deer and moose respond to winter by
maintaining a lower metabolism than in summer; thus they require less food.
The ungulates’ four-chambered stomach with its special microbes and these
animals’ ability to chew their regurgitated cud enable them to get the most out of
their food. More time is spent lying down to prevent heat loss and solar heat is
used especially in late winter.
Some wild suggestions may be more popular than others, but a good way to
keep warm in winter is an energetic walk, snowshoe or cross-country ski,
especially enjoyable under the brilliant blue skies of winter. Be sure to keep a
look out for those characteristic tracks made by split hooves that tell you a deer
or moose found this a good path to follow too.
About the author:
Margaret Gillespie is a naturalist at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center,
Holderness, NH, a private, nonprofit organization opening a window to the
natural world. For more information visit their website at www.nhnature.org or
call (603) 968-7194; Email: info@nhnature.org.
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