Backyard wildlife

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I did call a pest control company to find out about options (pretty sure it's been around for a week, this is just the first sighting, but has been digging in our front yard). He asked me repeatedly if maybe it was a skunk, had me text a picture. He was in disbelief that I correctly IDed a badger until he saw it.
 
How the hell could anyone mistake a skunk for a badger? They look totally different. Coloration alone is a dead giveaway for the skunk.
 
Ooo - Saw some badgers in SK - they can be pretty mean I think!

Saw a young skunk in our side yard last week ... having a good sniff & I guess insect meal before wandering off. No odour tho so that was good.

I'm currently trying to persuade a raccoon that a section of my garden is NOT a latrine - they are stubborn about that.
 
They're an at-risk species. How are they a problem? They eat rodents, for sure. We don't have them here, but...
 
How the hell could anyone mistake a skunk for a badger? They look totally different. Coloration alone is a dead giveaway for the skunk.
I said there was a stripe on it's face, so I think he was just going with the stripe. I did clear up it was brown, not black, no stripe on it's back, etc. At that point I think he was thinking badger was more likely than his initial impression. He was like yup, you were totally right when he got the picture.
 
They're an at-risk species. How are they a problem? They eat rodents, for sure. We don't have them here, but...
They aren't at-risk. It's legal to hunt them without a licence.
The are vicious, will kill cats, dogs, etc.
 
They're an at risk species in Ontario.

I'm not sure how an interaction with a 'pet' would normally happen. I have to be sort of observant of Lucy and skunks for instance, in the evening, unless I want to do late night bathing. Cat is only out if I know about it and where she is.
 
They're an at risk species in Ontario.

I'm not sure how an interaction with a 'pet' would normally happen. I have to be sort of observant of Lucy and skunks for instance, in the evening, unless I want to do late night bathing. Cat is only out if I know about it and where she is.
There are roaming cats around, which is a whole other issue. I know many people who put their dogs in their fenced yards though. These are city lots, so not huge and while there are skunk sightings they aren't super common. Our neighbours have a dog and a baby, so when it ran out of our yard and into theirs we were knocking around 10 pm last night.
 
I have never seen a badger except in zoos.

our Latest addition to our pond is a huge snapping turtle. we caught her last year and moved her to a pond in the golf course across the road. But she is back. She sits on the rocks in the sun And we are getting used to having her around
 

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That does look like a big snapper Lastpointe! I'm glad you've struck up a mutually respectful relationship :) We used to have a pair of huge old snappers (fondly named Mertle & Yertle) on the small lake where my parents had a cottage. They would come by the dock routinely in the evening & so we'd go to the dock or to the nearby treefort (dubbed Turtle Towers) to watch for them - so amazing to see. Sometimes we would come across them during the day when we were out in the canoe or row boat. Over on the other side of the lake we would sometimes find turtle nests that had been raided - but sometime successful hatchings occured. Nature is so amazing.
 
They're an at risk species in Ontario.

Wasn't even sure we had them in Ontario. Thanks for the tip. Here's a site on them. Only 200 left in the entire province, evidently. Apparently we are the eastern fringe of their range and they are primarily a Western animal, so I guess that's why I always thought of them as something out West.

 
Does this count as backyard wildlife? I find the contrast of the green on the red leaves impressive. We had a day of heavy rain, so they are a bit washed off than when I saw them first before the rain.
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But horrible for your garden. You can sometimes buy bags of lady bugs To release in your garden and they will eat the aphids
 
But horrible for your garden. You can sometimes buy bags of lady bugs To release in your garden and they will eat the aphids
Oh, the ladybugs are already around. Same bush had something else on it last year that killed all the leaves. I thought it was dead, but by the fall it has resurrected. Nature has its way of going in circles. I have to read up on it if it needs more sun or maybe it was too dry to get a bit more resistance.
 
Well, London has bears, apparently. One got treed and tranquilized in the West end today and there've been a couple other sightings. Given that we have deer and coyotes in the valley near my house, I guess a bear in my area isn't impossible. I'd rather stick to skunks and coons, though, please and thank you.
 
Someone is interested in the badger for a news story, and for radio. We sent the pictures, but don't have much to say.
 
Well, London has bears, apparently. One got treed and tranquilized in the West end today and there've been a couple other sightings. Given that we have deer and coyotes in the valley near my house, I guess a bear in my area isn't impossible. I'd rather stick to skunks and coons, though, please and thank you.
Newmarket had a bear visit a residential neighbourhood several years ago now, and it was unfortunately shot by police before MNR made it there. It was a horrorshow. The bear was considered to be a good deal south of it's range up there, so they must be losing habitat like crazy now, to be as far south as London. Besides, human garbage is tastier.
 
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