Community Critters

Silver Springs Critters

ALCES ALCES a.k.a MOOSE

1995 moose cow and her calf forage for food.

Wish we had had a camera with us. In our car we followed a FEMALE moose along Bear Hollow Drive up to the mountain trail. This moose had one antler in tact and on the opposite side was a round red hole where she had lost the second antler. Yes, it is rare but possible for female moose to grow antlers!

In 2003 a bull moose was seen submerged in the NorthShore wetland pond (now over grown with cattails) next to Highway 224.

A Closer Look At Nature — A Backyard Visitor

Article submitted to the Park Record
by Susan Gunter
March 12-14, 2008

Around January 10, 2008 Susan Gunter began her three day visit by a moose calf. The calf was approximately seven months old. The moose cow mother may have been the one found killed along S.R. 224 the previous week. Bill Gunter had planted his xeriscape yard with aspen, mountain mahogany, scrub oak, and other native plants that had possibly attracted this munchkin.

A loose dog chased the calf away. It has not been seen since. Read the full article and support the Wildlife Protection Society, a nonprofit serving Summit and Wasatch counties. 435-615-8309 bull moose


	2011 Silver Springs was visited during Easter week by a cow moose and her teen twins. Many residents took photos. The moose consumed every tulip they encountered, but left the daffodils alone

Magpies are prolific in Silver Springs
SEE MANY MORE BIRDS IN SILVER SPRINGS
Loggerhead Shrike -This predatory bird stalks insects, spiders, small mammals, and amphibians from a high perch. It stores excess food on sharp thorns or fence posts.

	SILVER-HAIRED BAT Lasionycteris noctivagans
These bats fly over small bodies of water, hunting for flying insects like mosquitos and moths. This behavior helps to control insect populations in our Community. Insects consumed by bats include both aerial insects, and ground-dwelling insects. Each bat is typically able to consume one third of its body weight in insects each night, and several hundred insects in a few hours. This means that a group of one thousand bats could eat four tons of insects each year. One of the things that can destroy a nice warm summer night spent outdoors is the presence of pesky insects and mosquitoes attacking you. Other than swatting at them vigorously,your next step	is to attack them by spraying toxic repellent to kill them. There is another more effective way of eliminating these annoying insects. Construct a bat house in your yard. Installing a bat house nearby sounds weird especially if one does not know how helpful they can be. Contrary to what movies and myths portrayed bats, they do not hurt humans. They attack insects.

Red foxes can be spotted prowling around at dawn and at dusk.	.RED FOXES: Red foxes are solitary hunters who feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small game—but their diet can be as flexible as their home habitat. Foxes will eat fruit and vegetables, fish, frogs, and even worms. If living among humans, foxes will opportunistically dine on garbage and pet food.

The Summit County Animal Control Services of Utah, UT

Lost pets, barking or loose dogs, loose cats, cows, horses, goats, sheep, or other domestic,
farm or ranch animal issues need to be reported to The Summit County Animal Control Services:
801-615-3985. They work with domestic animals and can provide information about licensing,
vaccinations, lost pets, etc. Summit County does not offer free wildlife animal control services,
nor do cities within Summit County .

Send all Friends Of Animals Mail to P.O Box
(no mail delivery to any facility)
Friends of Animals Utah
PO Box 682155
Park City, UT 84068

Furburbia Adoption Center located at
Tanger Outlet Center
6699 N Landmark Dr Ste B-103
Park City, Utah 84098
Phone: (435) 649-5441
Fax: (435) 615-6808
furburbia@foautah.org
Click here for location and hours.

Critters that can cause problems in and around your home include:

Gophers, Potguts -
Voles -
Squirrels -
Rats and Field mice -
Skunks -

Need To Get Rid of Nuisance Wildlife? - Call Allstate Animal Control 1-435-647-3030
Or for natural, organic control call Nature’s Balance at (435) 671-4434.

Gophers or Potguts As they hunt the gopher these predators will dig like a dog, further tearing up the grass, lawn and landscaping.	Gopher holes are just the right size for twisting the ankles of man or beast. Their tunnels undermine trees, sometimes to the point of toppling. They eat roots, stems, bark, leaves, fruit, and vegetables undermining your garden, the landscaping, etc. They chew into water lines and telephone cables, causing flooding and interruption of service. They uproot sprinkler system heads and their tunnels warp underground water lines. They damage dams and retention ponds by chewing through pond liners. Predators will follow gophers; weasels, skunks, badgers, coyotes, poisonous snakes, bobcats and foxes all prey on them and will enter yards or golf course in search of a meal.
	Raccoons were introduced into the state of Utah around 1980. They usually travel in pairs or groups. Raccoons are pretty good about finding dog doors and especially if dog or cat food is left near these flap style doors.
Remember not all skunks are considered pests, some of your neighbors may see them as natural habitat pets. Some of these owners have their pets’ scent glands removed at an early age. These owners claim their pets to be intelligent, playful, and curious.

	Red Squirrels are newcomers to Silver Springs arriving sometime around 2005 These critters will chew through plywood and two-by-fours to gain access to your crawlspace and attics. They will store pine cones where ever there is a protected space. Sometimes they will dig holes around your spruce trees to bury their pine cones. They also will whorl pine cones around the base of trees.