The Mammals of Washtenaw County, Michigan: Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, No. 123Wood, Norman Asa
History
The Mammals of Washtenaw County, Michigan: Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, No. 123
Wood, Norman Asa
Mammals -- Michigan -- Washtenaw County
I have several times found nests in meadows and cultivated fields. The
nest is built in a deep form and is lined with fur from the mother's
body and fine grass. The young are completely hidden when left by the
mother. April 16, 1920, I found a nest containing five young in a
stubblefield at Portage Lake. The young were well covered with hair, but
the eyes were not open. April 20, 1920, I found another nest containing
young on the lawn of an unoccupied house near the shore of Portage Lake.
The number of young was not determined. May 5 the young were gone and
the nest was deserted. May 16, 1920, L. R. Dice saw four young
cottontails with their eyes open in the possession of a boy. They were
taken from a nest near Ann Arbor.
About May 10, some years ago, I saw a cottontail jump into and swim
across Mill Creek in this county. The animal was not pursued nor driven
in any way into the water. Sometimes when caught alive the cottontail
utters a loud, shrill cry.
_Bison bison bison._ American Bison.--According to the reports of the
early explorers, this large mammal, in the eighteenth century, occupied,
or at least visited, the southern border of the state of Michigan.
Although we have no record of its occurrence in this county, its remains
have been found just over the western border of the county by L. D.
Watkins, who in 1835 picked up three skulls near Norvell, Jackson
County (Township 4 south, Range 2 east, Section 22). Two of these skulls
were sent to Hillsdale College, where one still remains, though the data
with it were lost during a fire; the other skull was sent to Albion
College, but cannot now be found. At the time these specimens were
collected other bones were plentiful on the surface of the ground.
_Cervus canadensis canadensis._ Eastern American Elk.--Probably common
over most of the Southern Peninsula of Michigan up until the time of the
settlements. I have found no record of live elk seen in the county, and
the species probably was extinct in the district before 1800. Bones and
antlers are common in the marshes and swamps of the county.
_Odocoileus virginianus borealis._ Northern White-tailed Deer.--Abundant
in the county when the first settlers arrived, and continued common for
many years. It quickly learned to adapt itself to civilization, feeding
by night where it formerly fed by day. Some early settlers report much
damage done to gardens and crops, of which the deer soon learned the
location. The last deer known to me in the county was seen in Saline
Township in 1875 by William Gordon, who reported it to me at the time.
Covert[5] records one seen in the county in 1879.
[Footnote 5: Covert, A. B., in History of Washtenaw County, p. 194,
1881.]
_Hypothetical List_
The mammals included in this list have been reported as occurring in
Washtenaw County, but I can find no specimens with authentic data nor
descriptions satisfactory for identification, and consider the records
doubtful.
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