Issue 034 | Feb 2019         
Be my Smelly Valentine February might be the month that we will be exchanging flowers, chocolates and cards, but are we the only ones? With so many species represented across North Texas, you won't be surprised to find out that many animals are also searching for their valentines--albeit some have evolved unique courtship behaviors to attract their mates. 
 
Interestingly, this month kicks off the mating season for Texas skunk species. Skunks have a small home range of about 2 square miles, but may travel up to 30 miles from February - March while searching for a mate and home, with Texas Parks and Wildlife noting a significant increase in skunk roadkill during this time of year. If you do see a love struck skunk injured on the side of the road, contact a wildlife professional as about 25% of reported rabies cases are from skunks. 
 
Texas Parks and Wildlife Resources  
There are so many free resources available about Texas Wildlife through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. 
  • TPWD magazine has over 900 searchable issues
  • Volunteer opportunities 
  • Outdoor Skills Workshops and other Educational Classes
Not only will you learn about local wildlife, like the Mephitis mephitis, but also have the opportunity to meet other nature-centric individuals in the DFW area!   
 Citizen Science
Are you interested in starting your own citizen science project? Are you interested in learning about the habits of particular species? Find examples of projects as well as tools to design and share your project with the public:
  • Citizen Science Center-with the aim to encourage participation and the creation of citizen science projects
  • ToolKit Citizen Science- a federal crowd-sourcing and citizen science resource 
  
Habitats for Lovers
Over 120 observations of the striped skunk have been reported on iNaturalist across the Dallas Fort Worth Area. While many of these sightings are of dead specimens, others are caught on camera traps or taken from backyards foraging for food in the evenings as skunks are predominantly nocturnal and therefore most active at night.  
But, the most obvious way to know if a skunk is near is by following your nose. The skunk evolved its pungent aroma as a last resort defense against predators and not as a perfume for chemical courtship communication. 
 
Access our Podcast!
We invite you to deepen your knowledge of the beautiful natural world that is all around us and to connect with passionate naturalists by listening to our bi-weekly podcast. All in the spirit of lifelong learning!
 
Featured Books 
Skunk
by Alyce Miller

Solitary, nocturnal creatures, skunks generally go about their business unnoticed. But then there’s that thing they do . . . and oh, boy, when they do it, no one can ignore them.   
           
But there’s far more to skunks than their stench, and with this beautifully illustrated entry in Reaktion’s Animal series, Alyce Miller gives these furry scavengers their due.
Wildlife spectacles : mass migrations, mating rituals, and other fascinating animal behaviors
by Vladimir Dinets

A zoologist and animal-behavior expert describes the often spectacular and remarkable behavior of animals around the U.S., including the migration of gray whales, the scuba diving of spiny lobsters, the synchronized blinking of fireflies and scorpions that glow blue-green.
The mammals of Texas
by David J. Schmidly

The Mammals of Texas has been the standard reference since the first edition was authored by William B. Davis in 1947.  Revised several times over the succeeding decades , it remains the most authoritative source of information on the mammalian wildlife of Texas. 
Pheromones and animal behavior : chemical signals and signatures
by Tristram D. Wyatt

"Pheromones and other kinds of chemical communication underlie the behavior of all animals. Building on the strengths of the first edition, widely recognized as the leading text in the subject, this is a comprehensive overview of how pheromones work"--Provided by publisher
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