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🌿 Wildlife Wednesday: Extirpated Species Edition 🌿
This week we're shining a light on a species most New Yorkers have never heard of because it's been gone from our state for nearly 40 years. Meet the Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister).

The Allegheny woodrat is the second largest member of the native North American rats and mice subfamily, roughly the size of a grey squirrel. And despite its name, it's not closely related to the European rats most people picture, it's actually more closely related to the White-footed deer mouse. Throughout its range, the Allegheny woodrat is associated with extensive rocky areas. In New York, records were restricted to accumulations of large talus boulders throughout the Hudson Highlands and Shawangunk Mountains of southeastern New York.

A decline in the woodrat's numbers and range was first noticed in the 1940s and by 1980, biologists knew of only five remaining sites in New York, and the last of those was extirpated in 1987. Researchers have identified a cascade of stressors following European settlement including large-scale deforestation, the loss of the American Chestnut, habitat fragmentation , spongy moth defoliation, and increased competition for mast from rebounding deer and turkey populations. But the final blow? Raccoons. In 11 of 12 recovered carcasses from a 1990 reintroduction attempt, the cause of death was raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis). A parasite whose eggs contaminate soil through raccoon f***s and are deadly to woodrats.

There is a single potentially extant occurrence in New York, representing a recent rediscovery in Rockland County, but it likely represents immigrants occasionally moving north from New Jersey's only known population, which itself is estimated at fewer than 50 individuals. The woodrat's return to New York would seem to require a substantial and long-term decline in raccoon numbers - a tall order given how well raccoons thrive alongside human development.

The Allegheny woodrat is a reminder that extirpation isn't always a single dramatic event. Sometimes it's a slow unraveling, one thread at a time, until a species that called a place home for 20,000 years quietly disappears.

Sources: NYS DEC (dec.ny.gov) | NY Natural Heritage Program (guides.nynhp.org)

🌍 Happy International Biodiversity Day from all of us at Snapshot NY! 🌿

New York is wilder than most people think - and our Snapshot NY trail cameras have the proof! White-tailed deer, black bear, bobcat, coyote, fisher, river otter, fox squirrel, weasels, opossum and more are all out there living their lives in New York's forests, fields, and waterways every single day.

That's what biodiversity looks like! It's not just in rainforests or nature documentaries, but right here in our own backyard. 🐾

Each of these species tells a story. The river otter signals clean, healthy waterways. The fisher and bobcat remind us that New York still has wild, connected forests for predators to roam. Even the humble opossum - North America's only marsupial - is a small biodiversity marvel in its own right.

Today we celebrate the incredible variety of life that calls New York home. Every species, big or small, plays a role in keeping our ecosystems healthy and balanced. 🌲

🌐 Learn more about international biodiversity day here: https://www.cbd.int/idb

We may be looking mostly for mammals, but sometimes our trail cameras capture some amazing shots of birds! 🐦🦅🦆🦉

🐾 Wildlife Wednesday: Extirpated Edition (Extirpated = no longer exist in the state)

This week we're spotlighting a big cat of New York's past: the Eastern Cougar (Puma concolor cougar), also known as the mountain lion, puma, catamount, or panther.

Once a top predator roaming much of NYS and the East coast, the Eastern Cougar played a vital role in maintaining prey populations and a balanced ecosystem. Next to the jaguar, it was the largest cat in North America, with adults weighing anywhere from 80 to 225 lbs and stretching up to 9 feet from nose to tail.

So what happened? When European settlers arrived, they quickly viewed cougars as a threat to their livestock and livelihoods. As with most species that are now extirpated, the cause was a combination of mass hunting, bounties, deforestation, and human development. By the late 1800s, they had effectively vanished from New York, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern Cougar extinct in 2011.

Today, there are no native populations of cougars in the state. That said, cougars aren't entirely absent from the conversation. Western cougars have occasionally made extraordinary journeys eastward. In 2010, one individual traveled an estimated 1,800 miles from the Black Hills of South Dakota, passing through the Lake George area before being struck and killed by a vehicle in Connecticut.

Most of the time, sighting reports are other cats like bobcats and domestic cats mistakenly identified as cougars. As you can see in the last picture - they are quite a bit bigger than both! 🐈

🌐Learn more here: https://www.fws.gov/story/2011-03/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-concludes-eastern-cougar-extinct

🌐https://mdc.mo.gov/wildlife/report-wildlife-sightings/mountain-lion-reports/mountain-lion-signs



Photo credit: Larry Master

Hello Snapshot NY-ers! We have made some updates to our app/website to improve the user experience! Your apps should automatically update, but it is always good to check for the update in your app store!

You may notice that some of the button are color-coded differently, some buttons removed, and others wording was changed for clarification. Another convenient change is that your images will automatically submit to the website once they are done uploading. That way, if you have a large upload that is taking a while, you can walk away from your computer and it will still go through!

The deployment and uploading process remain pretty much the same, and these changes are an effort to make the app and account portal more intuitive!

We have updated protocols available for download on the website resources page here: https://www.snapshotny.org/resources

As always, let us know if you have any questions or need assistance with anything. We are here to help make participating in Snapshot NY as smooth and convenient as possible for you! Call or email any time during business hours: 607-255-6459 or [email protected]

Resources | Join Our Wildlife Monitoring — Snapshot NY Discover tips and protocols for using trail cameras to monitor mammals in NY. Contribute to citizen science and support wildlife research today.

🐾 Today is Endangered species day 🌿

Today we're celebrating the wild neighbors we share this incredible state with - including some who really need our help.

The Indiana bat, Northern long-eared bat, and the Allegheny woodrat are listed as Endangered in NY, though the woodrat is presumed extirpated from the state.

The New England cottontail and the eastern small-footed bat are considered species of Special Concern in NYS.

Some other species of greatest conservation need (not listed as of special concern) in NY include: American pygmy shrew, Easter red bat, Eastern water shrew, Fox squirrel, Hoary bat, Least weasel, Long-tailed shrew, Moose, North American least shrew, Rock vole, Silver-haired bat, and Southern bog lemming.

While it may be unlikely that you see these species on your Snapshot NY camera - it is an important reminder of why we need to monitor wildlife.

Protecting wildlife takes more than good intentions, it takes real data. That's exactly what you're helping to provide every time you deploy your camera and upload your photos. The trail camera images you contribute to Snapshot NY are a direct part of how scientists track populations over time, and how wildlife managers make the decisions that matter.

So, thank you for being part of the effort. Every photo counts. 🙌

🌐Learn more about our sensitive species here: https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/biodiversity-species-conservation/endangered-species/list

🌐Learn more about endangered species day here: https://www.endangered.org/21st-annual-endangered-species-day-celebrated-nationwide/

Photo 1: Tricolor bat
Photo 2: Fox squirrel
Photo 3: New England cottontail
Photo 4: Southern bog lemming
Photo 5: Alleghany woodrat

Photo credit: Larry Master

Snapshot NY will be at Reinstein Woods - come say hi!

🦌 Wildlife Wednesday: Extirpated Edition
Eastern Elk (Cervus canadensis canadensis)

Before European settlement, the eastern elk (a now-extinct subspecies of elk) roamed across much of New York State. Archaeological remains of this sub species have even been found in the western part of the state. The eastern elk was a massive animal with bulls up to 1,000 lbs with antler racks six feet across. Elk were once one of the most widespread large mammals on the continent, with an estimated 10 million individuals across North America at the time of first European contact.

Unregulated hunting for food and hides wiped them out with staggering speed. The last elk in New York was shot in Allegany County in 1834. By 1880, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the entire eastern elk subspecies extinct.

Today, chronic wasting disease (CWD) and its risk to New York's deer and moose populations make reintroduction unlikely for the foreseeable future. The closest wild elk? Just across the border in north-central Pennsylvania.

Did you know New York was once home to Elk? 🤔

Pohot credit: Larry Master