Finalists compete at the 2006 APF show
While hiking around the woods near my home this past spring and fall, I have heard branches breaking far up in the trees (30 feet or higher)-- one time up in a sycamore tree on May 7 and the other time up in a hickory tree on October 22. The location of both events is about 5 miles apart. In both cases, the tree trunks went straight up the first 25 feet or so without any branches and the trunks were massive (over 6 feet in circumference). In both cases, there was little to no wind so the movement high up in the trees was obviously discernible and suspicious. A dead branch (of good size, what folks call a "widow maker") fell to the ground from the sycamore tree. Only twigs and bark fell from whatever was making the noise up in the hickory tree.
Now I doubt whether a smaller animal-- such as a possum, owl, bobcat or raccoon-- would have had the body mass to break off the large branch. Perhaps an animal as large as a mountain lion or bear moving around up in the tree would explain the noises I heard and branch being broken up in the sycamore tree. But I'll concede that a smaller animal would have been capable of knocking down twigs and bark while moving around up in the hickory tree.
Now while I'm hiking around suspicious areas in the woods, I don't just watch where I'm walking on the path. I find myself stopping often to look up and down all of the sturdy "climbing" trees in the area.
2 comments:
Y'know, I never gave the question much thought but the more behaviours we find reported on this, the more open I become. Those image of the two burly lumberjacks is a good illustration for dimensions of trees relative to charismatic megafauna like the larger primates. The trees currently foresting the mid-west, sycamores, oaks, maples...the deciduous hardwoods would not be such good examples, but in the west and where needliferous conifers grow, it's common for trees that are still young (under 30 years) that will tower over most mature deciduous trees. Strong arms in combination with the pliable adaptive foot structure proposed by Dr Meldrum might indeed serve the purpose. I'm trying to imagine how long it would take for an 8' tall ape to scamper up a typical 175' ponderosa or fir and considering that fact that reports of their physical abilities tell us they're formidable. Additionally, stealthily hiding oneself up in the canopy of a forest, and being very still, would probably be enough to throw humans off the track since we are looking for something that we think is earth bound by virtue of its immense weight...After all, who looks up in the forest canopy while hiking around whether on or off trail? If we couldn't identify it with our eyes and mind,(we all admit to poor hearing and smell)we'd simply continue on our way.
I've had a few widowmakers crash around me....I don't think critters are the cause. A faint wind at tree top level may be imperceptible to the earthbound and then there's the nature of material to fail even when we're not watching it.
Cheers.
dogu4,
My suspicion that these creatures climb and hide in trees is only further compounded by observations and sighting reports of these creatures jumping down (or sometimes breaking branches and falling) from trees.
What goes up must come down.
Our field research takes on a 3-dimensional aspect when you realize that these creatures may very well be up in the trees. During the peak foliage months (May to October), each acre of forest provides so many more hiding places for such creatures. A well-chosen look-out spot could provide surveillance of the access road, trail or path into their currently occupied habitat area.
No wonder nothing we do in and around their habitat areas takes them by surprise.
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