My Notes

Please, remember that the posts published under ‘My Notes’ are not official, proven and tested scientific theories (unless indicated otherwise). While I have built them on my reading of scientific literature and observations, these are subjective musings. They should not be referenced as scientific facts.

Are roe deer using plant secondary metabolites to condition their fur and skin against biotic and abiotic stress?

Roe deer females – exercising during pregnancy?

Tawny owl observations (ca. May 5 – 9, 2024) – using vocalizations to entice the young out of the nest?

Two beaver youth personality profiles

Beaver tail-slapping behaviour during the reproductive stage after parturition

Roe deer male territorial vocalizations – 3 phases (spring observation summary)

Badger observation (May 5, 2024) – a larger group in our area?

Nightingale observations (May 4, 2024) – song as a tool to regulate spatial distribution

A glowing Lampyris noctiluca larva in spring or another bioluminescent invertebrate species entirely? (May 3, 2024)

Nightingale observations (May 1 – 2, 2024) – singing perch preferences

Roe deer observations in April – foraging preferences

Roe deer observation (Apr 29 and May 1, 2024) – conversation between two neighbours

Do animals use magic?

Mute swan observations (Apr 28 and Apr 29, 2024) – male, female roles

At last – an otter in our town? (Apr 28, 2024)

Minam wolf pack, Oregon – reconstructing pack’s history

Tawny owls – comparing vocalizations between new vs. older residential pair

Roe deer observation (Apr 26, 2024) – a male sniff-tracking another species?

Roe deer observation (Apr 26, 2024) – five neighbour assembly

Scent is in the nose of the besmeller. Neighbours as affiliates

Scent is in the nose of the besmeller. Familiar scents as safe havens and golden standards

Scent is in the nose of the besmeller. Scent signal transduction via chemical-neural pathways (remedial benefits)

Roe deer observations (Apr 16 – Apr 21, 2024) – behavioural changes during cold weather

Has dispersal promoted individualism in wolves and has individuality, paradoxically, evolved due to pronounced sociality?

Beaver observation (Apr 19, 2024) – appropriating a log jam

Beaver observation (Apr 18, 2024) – do beavers take time to exercise?

Roe deer observations (Apr 3 & Apr 16, 2024) – a male with a unique vocal pattern

Unusual night observations after a windstorm – beavers, roe deer, tawny owls (Apr 16, 2024)

Beaver observations (end of March, April) – enthused and adventurous youth

Hedgehog observation (Apr 14, 2024) – savvy urban hedgehog

Roe deer observation (Apr 12, 2024) – my theory of males protecting pregnant females

Could sexual size dimorphism be preventing red deer males from greater parental investment?

Some thoughts on beaver foraging sounds

Roe deer observation (Apr 6, 2024) – territorial patrolling?

Tawny owl observations (beginning of April) – vocalizations near nest

Beaver observation (Mar 6, 2024) – long-distance leap-dive

Games that adult/subadult wolves play. My will be done

Hedgehog observations (end of March/beginning of April) – the vocal generation

Roe deer observation (Apr 3, 2024) – territorial conflict

Regarding beaver foraging requirements and preferences

Games that adult/subadult wolves play. Strategizing game

Beaver foraging activity peaks and lows (leading to hypothesis on functions of anal gland secretions)

Games that adult/subadult wolves play. Social status dynamics game

Roe deer observation (Mar 27, 2024) – dispersing individual or meeting a giant

Roe deer observation (Mar 26, 2024) – territorial pressure

Hedgehog observation (Mar 26, 2024) – meowing?

Social learning opportunities in polygamous species (from kids)

Do beavers prefer woodland edge trees?

Roe deer observations (the week around Mar 20, 2024) – resuming territoriality

Beaver observation (Mar 20, 2024) – interaction with American mink

Roe deer observation (Mar 16, 2024) – fawn still seeking mother’s guidance

Beaver observations – an interesting family home arrangement

Beaver observation (Mar 14, 2024) – a locally exceptional family structure

Beaver observation (Mar 13, 2024) – last year’s kit protecting mother?

Seasonal microbiota changes in omnivores (brown bears as an example)

Captive wolves – unintentionally specializing in raven hunting?

Evolutionary history of wolves – choices wolves made to be together

Non-lethal wild boar control – ensuring highly attractive foraging and birthing habitats

Beaver observation (Mar 7, 2024) – sending a warning despite an ensuing conflict possibility

Climate change effects on bird nesting material

Different chemical composition in fruit- and seed-bearing trees due to bird droppings (evolutionary implications)

Beaver feeding behaviour observations – periodic shifts in foraging sites

Rolling in scent – aromatherapy? (plus types of cognitive processing

Could intraspecific learning result in similar genotypes?

Red deer observations (Sep, 2023) – implications for social dynamics, colonization, habitat exploration

Beaver observations (autumn, winter, 2023/24) – related families with shared behavioural traits?

Learning subordination as an intentional and desired path of life – wolves

Beaver observations (Feb 26, 2024) – ensuring alarm signal delivery for family

Larger pack size in wolves – motivational and psychological support in hunting formidable prey?

Roe deer observations (Feb 20, 21, 2024) – overcoming fences

Beaver observations (Feb, 2024) – keeping watch / mate guarding behaviour?

Hormonal changes during weather fluctuations

Two roe deer types – open habitat type vs. forest type

Age and status group differences in beaver tail slapping behaviour

Roe deer observation – Feb 8, 2024 (winter habitat use, anti-predator behaviour)

Beaver observations – Feb 9 and 10, 2024 (exception to central-place foraging)

Mink observation – Dec, 2023 (land crossing shortcut)

Roe deer riparian habitat use observations (autumn, 2023 – Feb, 2024)

Do beavers avoid trees that have been felled and sawed into smaller pieces?

Raising aggression levels through ‘performance art’ to increase testosterone in males

Far-dispersing vs. near-dispersing wolves and the implications for reintroduction

Umatilla River Pack, NE Oregon – retracing pack’s history

Do wolves hunt (mainly) resting or foraging ungulates?

Tawny owl (mythical) observation – Jan 27, 2024

Overcoming genetics

Is vigilance the same as alarm? Roe deer observation, Jan 17, 2024

Beaver observation – Jan 15, 2024

Large predator impact on prey behaviour and herbivory via social pathways

Beaver observation – Jan 10, 2024

Roe deer vocalization – ‘the screech’?

Roe deer winter observations regarding grouping and territoriality

Yellowstone’s Casanova – interpretation of 302’s story

Large ungulate bud baths and nutrient dispersal

Resource partitioning within wolf packs during summer

Beaver monitoring through tail splashing

European badger lifestyle – social *and* solitary

Regarding European badger social organization (the importance of solitary foraging)

The impact of local environment and social interactions on scent-identity in wolves (mate choice, inbreeding)

Snake River Pack, Oregon – following pack’s history (with a slight sidestory of Horseshoe Pack)

Roe deer observation – blood in tracks in December

Could landscape have influenced the evolution of litter size in wolves?

Do beavers leave summer-windthrown trees for autumn/winter?

Roe deer foraging along riverside – possible association with beavers

Eutrophication as an additional consideration in wolf-prey-vegetation trophic cascades

Exploitation of windthrown trees by beavers with respect to season and climate

Roe deer observation – meeting familiar individuals after brief separation

Are there anatomical and neurological differences between territorial vs. non-territorial, scent-marking species?

Some thoughts on Isle Royale wolf inbreeding and dispersal/neighbour relations

Observation of colonization by beavers after a prolonged intense rainfall period

Automated messaging system to advice on wolf-livestock conflict risk dynamics

Changes in diel activity patterns due to human disturbance and sunlight deficiency

Concerning beaver foraging behaviour – do they prefer felling trees?

Predators, prey and exercise

Imnaha wolf pack, Oregon – following pack’s history

Spacing during summer foraging – a kit guarding behaviour in beavers?

Large ungulate resting site microhabitats

Prey, predators, health-check and micronutrients

Wild babies playing and modifying their environment

Detecting age in conspecifics

Traditional foraging behaviour in ungulates and land use changes

Starting new dynasties – female dispersal in wild boar

Two notes after having watched captive wolf videos

Biomass vs. micronutrient accumulation rates – could they be affecting herbivores?

Selectivity by stress endurance

The beginning of home-making in wolves

Wolf social interactions in captivity – Lava and Tyke (food/den interaction)

Adjusting bat roost box construction in order to facilitate new roost discovery

On politeness and aggression

Could country tourism trails mitigate wildlife conflict rates?

Do wolves adjust territory patrolling ‘cycles’ and are they aware of their neighbours’ routine?

Small mammal population cycles and their effects on predator sociality

Self-discipline by breeding wolves?

Could the Isle Royale wolf demographics (gene drift due to inbreeding) have been exacerbated due to a relatively simple predator-prey system?

Wolf diet studies – could there be differences caused by age and experience?

Do European hares never burrow?

Were semi-natural habitats always nutrient poor?

Roe deer fawn chasing off a corvid

On humming in bears

The effects of population density on red deer stag quality and behaviour

Vibrations, plants, large herbivores and large predators

Observation of tail slapping behaviour commencement in beaver kits

Plant and deadwood biodiversity in the context of parasite/pathogen loads

Livestock bull emulating red stag rutting call?

Could large predators reduce parasite and pathogen load in the entire ecosystem?

Carcass distribution on the landscape – impacts on plant regeneration and scavenger prey species

An observation of dominance relationships in a group of bulls

Walla Walla wolf pack, Oregon – following pack’s history

Can social instability in wolf populations lead to reduced deer refugia habitats?

Fawns following female roe deer also after rut and roe deer winter grouping behaviour

Scent of roe deer vs. red deer

Forest openings, ecotones, forest-side meadows and animal thermoregulation

Wenaha wolf pack, Oregon – tracing pack’s history

Human-caused disturbance – seasonal patterns

Rituals of politeness and playing out future scenarios – testimonies to culture in red foxes?

The mystery of the origins of badger social life

Regarding the evolution of wolf population social structures

The fun in morality

Reviewing the concept of sociality in animal species

Regarding (grizzly) bear eyesight and vision

Environmentally friendly dogs = socialized (cognitively-engaged) dogs

Possible reasons behind individual foraging specialization in European badgers

Moose observation in an unlikely habitat

Does the hunting of ungulates by humans alter calcium, sodium and other microelement deposits in wild areas?

Could inbreeding be related to sensory impairment?

Turnover in wolf packs – Voyageurs case studies (dispersal)

Has prevalence of polygamy and promiscuity in wolves changed due to intense persecution by humans?

Mate change in beavers – discussing potential reasons

Beaver territory size determinants and possible consequences

Could logging increase human-wildlife conflict rates?

Bear cognition – can object manipulation promote sociality?

Beaver dams as signals demanding respect?

Natural landscape elements to deter wolves as clear boundaries to announce risky zones

Bossy female or preparing mate for times of hardship?

Turnover in wolf packs – Voyageurs case studies (pup survival)

Circadian rhythms in plant activity – possible effects on herbivores

Why do free-ranging dogs represent social systems very different from those of wolves if many other aspects of their behaviour and cognition are still similar?

Why did roe deer not migrate into North America?

How did the Beringian wolves take over?

Turnover in wolf packs – Voyageurs case studies (confirmed mortalities)

Grassland restoration – how to remove excess nutrients but not to remove essential micronutrients?

Behaviour around carrion by other prey species

Do beavers dislike loud sounds very near to them?

Bird dawn chorus – shifts in distribution of the earliest singers

Are wolves born later in Central Europe than would be predicted by latitude and why?

Hunting by humans never constitutes compensatory mortality

Could body shape and predominant movement style indicate the most important activity in a species?

Rolling in deposits by other species – immunity-strengthening behaviour?

Do bulls learn dominance behaviour from mothers? Bull herd behaviour on livestock operations

Would a species learn to recognize alarm calls by another species that share the same predators?

Fun observation – roe deer, late June, 2023 (making decisions regarding human presence)

Voyageurs wolves – high pup mortality during summer/autumn, small pack size, smaller territories

Brown bear female density and population genetic viability estimates should be considered more carefully due to matrilineal clustering

Several questions related to matrilineal clustering of female brown bears (regarding philopatry of old males, female clanship and habitat quality influence on kinship clusters)

Kin preference – another mechanism for self-regulated populations in some species?

Bird nest materials – seasonal availability

How do wild boar use space during winter?

Effects of predator den/nest sites on the host tree’s health and regeneration

Why are wolves in Africa small mammal specialists?

Regarding scavenging trade-offs and possible similarities in habitat/prey use between scavengers and their commensal predators

Could herbivore intraguild activities involve a self-regulating mechanism under natural conditions?

Alloparenting benefits non-related to reproductive success

Could there be a minimum threshold and a maximum threshold to the need by animal species to interact with others?

Is it truly adaptive for wolves to be giving birth in April/May?

Could large predators regulate herbivore health by controlling exposure to plant secondary metabolites?

Reintroducing wolves to areas of ungulate overabundance – potential wolf health effects

Do animals have personalized vocalizations for specific individuals (‘names’)?

Wild boar poor eyesight leading to compromise behaviour with regard to illumination in predator systems on rugged / dense canopy terrains?

Hedgerows as preventive anti-predator measures

Pooping rates and territory size, defense strategy and sociality

Siberian roe deer in the Baltics – an additional cervid species in the European Union?

Do wolves dislike ungulates that have higher rates of woody browse in their diet?

Excrement, secretions and urine – a self-diagnosing tool?

Predator-prey dynamics in fog conditions

Dispersal in wolves – habitat use during migration

Dispersal in wolves – prevalent direction

Mating ritual play and play-fighting – a method to prevent inbreeding and to find the perfect balance between cooperation and diversity potential in the couple?

Curious mute swan behaviour – observations from my childhood

Rooting activity by mammals and fungal organism dispersal – with the focus on vegetation community regeneration, colonization and succession dynamics

Effects of artificial nest/den boxes

Reduced hunting efficiency – another factor contributing to avoidance by some species of anthropogenic habitats?

Different behaviour in breeders of packs with different term of tenancy as well as different life history

Bird dawn chorus – a nature’s clock

Ritualistic behaviour in wild mammals

Impacts of eutrophication on bedding sites and impacts of clear-cutting woody debris on animal movement

Deer feeding behaviour observations

Animals talking to themselves? Roe deer communication observation

Play behaviour non-equity in wolves – what if wolves differentiate between physical and social equity?

Age structure effects in harvested wolf populations – indicator of additive impact?

Regarding the null model in determining predator-prey effects

Roe deer grouping in summer

Deer herding – an alternative, non-lethal, landscape-of-disturbance method to manage deer in urban and semi-urban areas

Bird dawn chorus – when to begin and who sings first?

Physiological and chemical reactions caused by certain gestures to prolong play and dominance/subordinance in play

Wolf pup playing with a dog pup – differences in focus

Red deer rut – could some activities be aimed at increasing fertility rather than at mate selection/competition?

Experienced vs. inexperienced wild boar sounders

Badger popularity by other species – due to beneficial microbiota?

Riparian deadwood as a connectivity resource (travel within home range / dispersal / colonization)

Concerning snake basking microhabitats

Cooperative hunting and non-territorial mating – alternative theories regarding wolf domestication

Deer foraging on crops – perceived vs. actual rates

Bear-human conflicts – due to habitat homogeneity?

Friendly dog-wildlife encounters – potential benefits?

Roe deer males – higher parental investment than currently assumed?

Potential facilitation / engineering by wild boar

Waiting for large predator population stabilization rather than upkeeping the destabilization trend – to lower human-wildlife conflict rates and to predict migration

Plant diel activity – a part in predator-prey-primary producer trophic cascade?

Beaver engineering activity – moderated by predation pressure or disturbance?

Tail splashing – intraspecific, intragroup communication in beavers, also non-related to threat and disturbance?