Olympic marmots at the summit of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park

 
Photo by Flickr member Cherished Light Photography | Rajan Desai
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Snowpack comparison of Gaylor Lakes (Photo by Beth Pratt)

I also counted myself lucky with wildlife sightings, although I am still adjusting to being forced to downgrade my expectations in the Sierra after having just returned from three years of living in Yellowstone where I encountered charismatic mega-fauna on a daily basis. I miss the wolves, but I’ve had no better wildlife encounter than on this hike when a pika—an animal I cherish seeing in the high country—ran over my foot. My friend, the naturalist Jack Laws, who I have often scrambled up boulders with in the high country searching for these remarkable creatures, claimed when I related the story to him that it was the pika’s way of welcoming me back to the Sierra.

Discovering a well-populated frog pond, however, certainly qualifies as the highlight of the day (along with observing some “misguided” frog mating—see photos below), as I am a well know frog-o-phile. For most of the day, running water and the boisterous call of the Clark’s nutcracker dominated the soundscape, but as I descended down the basin to lower Gaylor Lake, suddenly I heard the distinct and very loud call of the Pacific chorus frog. Music to my ears! And did I hit the frog jackpot. I spent a couple of hours taking photos and filming these little guys as they swam and sang. A couple hiking Roper’s Sierra High Route stopped to listen when they passed, along with another couple, one who taught biology and who was delighted at the sight of all the frogs.  To paraphrase Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged, that people just love frogs.

I’ve shared some photos and video from my bully day below. For more photos, visit the National Wildlife Federation’s California Facebook page.

The pika who ran over my foot poses for a photo. (Photo by Beth Pratt)

Pacific chorus frog swimming (Photo by Beth Pratt)

Pacific chorus frog trying to mate with a plant (Photo by Beth Pratt)

Still partially frozen Gaylor Lake (Photo by Beth Pratt)

A misguided mating attempt by two male frogs (Photo by Beth Pratt)

A marmot surveys the scene (Photo by Beth Pratt)

Pacific chorus frog calling (Photo by Beth Pratt)

Video of Pacific chorus frogs at Gaylor Lakes

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video of Gaylor and Granite Lakes

Click here to view the embedded video.

A guest post by Mahesh Basantani, a research scholar in Botany who also writes for Inabitat, a green design blog.

Species extinction is a natural phenomenon with one to five species going extinct each year. But, presently this rate has accelerated, with dozens of species lost each day.

It is believed that primary reasons to blame for this rapid extinction stem from human activities like overhunting, urbanization, over-exploitation, and pollution and disease. These have led to the loss of natural habitats of several organisms.

Climate change is also considered as a threat to many species. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of threatened species, of all the organisms found on earth 40% are estimated to be threatened. Some of the key organisms which face serious risk of extinction include African lions, Siberian tigers, marine turtles, great apes and panda bears. A great number of conservation efforts by several organizations are underway to protect endangered species.

Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) is one of the world’s rarest mammals, and is listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species: Only 252 Vancouver Island marmots were found across Canada at last count. It is found only in the high mountainous regions of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is herbivorous, lives in small colonies in underground burrows, hibernates for 8 months in a year, mates in early spring (usually May), and is the largest animal in the squirrel family.

Several efforts, which include captive-breeding programmes, are underway to protect this mammal from the risk of extinction. But, recently, Calgary researcher Diane Casimir adopted a unique and ingenious approach to further the endeavor of saving these organisms. She has created a computer program to select for the most potential mates, and that would bear young ones. She has based her software on several factors like the period for which the mates were kept together, the age, previous production of young ones, etc. These factors are combined with the genetics of marmots. The software on the basis of these attributes could predict marmots that are most likely to mate. Truly wonderful!

This greatly helps in planning the future breeding programmes of marmots, which would help increase the population of this endangered animal. This study could further be extended to other animals which are threatened, or endangered. Of course, factors taken into consideration would differ from animal to animal.

Diane Casimir is working with the Centre for Conservation Research and the University of Calgary on the reproductive behavior of the marmot.

Important Links:

• Abstract of the research article

• News piece published in The Vancouver Sun