Wildlife

The land around Kahshe Lake is home to a plethora of animal species. Learn to enjoy them in their natural habitats and how to coexist peacefully with them. Below is a brief summary of some of the animals you may come across if you are privileged enough to be able to spend time in this beautiful area which houses the fourth-largest lake in Muskoka.

Bears

Yes, black bears have come to cottage country. Especially juvenile males on their own for the first time who ramble farther afield to find their home turf. While no one would want to deprive Ontario’s bears of habitat and food sources, there is plenty you can do – and more importantly not do – to make sure that they keep a wide berth around your place and that you have no face-to-face encounters with these intelligent animals. Just about all of it involves food so keep these caveats in mind:

• Don’t ever feed bears, deliberately or inadvertently. Never leave garbage behind. If you have to vacate your cottage before your collection date, take your garbage with you.
• Don’t stockpile garbage. Do not put garbage out the night before collection. Invest in a bear-resistant container. A wood garbage bin, rubber bin, or old freezer won’t stop a hungry bear. Nor will a tin shed, as some cottagers have learned through experience.
• Clean the barbecue after EVERY use. Wipe the food residue and grease off the grill; ideally, wash it as well in warm, soapy water. Don’t forget to clean the grease trap.
• Keep any leftover meat or meat scraps in your freezer until garbage collection day. Do not put meat, fish, or sweet food (especially fruit) in your composter.
• Pick all ripe fruit from the trees; pick up any fallen fruit. Don’t leave vegetables on the ground.
• Only fill your bird feeders in the winter, the hibernation months.
• Don’t put pet food outside.

If you do cross paths, it’s best to let any bear know you are in the 'hood.' Follow these easy suggestions:

• Walk with others.
• Make noise so they can avoid you.
• Don’t wear headphones.
• Keep an eye out for signs of bears – tracks, claw marks on trees, overturned rocks, and bear droppings.
• Take a whistle, air horn, long-handled axe, or bear spray with you.
• Control your dog; it could lead a bear to you, not scare it away.
• Don’t let a bear get a whiff of your food.

But, sometimes you may round a corner and there it is. If the bear isn’t paying attention to you, slowly and quietly back away, making sure it’s not following you. If it’s obvious the bear knows you are there, raise your arms to let it know you are human. Stand tall; look as big as possible. Speak in a firm, non-threatening voice as you look at the bear and back away. Generally, if the bear is noisy – huffing, pawing the ground – it’s less dangerous. It’s when it’s quietly advancing that you need to worry. Don’t climb trees; bears are excellent climbers.

Beavers

Did you know the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is an Ontario native? Bet you are not surprised. Sometimes it seems as if they are as fond of the Kahshe Lake environs as we are and just love to sink their very strong teeth into our trees for snack food. Fall is their busy season. They cut branches or tree trunks, drag their booty into the water, and anchor them in the mud near their lodge for their winter food supply. They like cambium, inner growing layer of the tree bark. They prefer smaller slimmer trees but can topple a tree of any size.

As a cottage owner, you have two choices: control the beavers or share your land with them. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources doesn’t run any beaver-control programs unless the animals are creating a problem on Crown-owned or managed land so you are on your own if you opt to destroy dams, shoot beavers, or even trap and relocate them. But check with the authorities first, otherwise you could face charges under the Criminal Code, Canada Fisheries Act, Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act, or the Public Lands Act.

The KBLA recommends you take the land-sharing approach. Here’s why: beavers create and maintain wetlands that buffer natural changes in water level. After the dry spell of summer 2012, Kahshe’s water level dipped only 19 centimeters below its targeted optimum level. When the floods came that next spring in 2013, Kahshe Lake crested at two centimeters below target level. In both cases the wetlands, aided by beavers’ dams, held onto the water.

There are three methods to achieve this peaceful co-existence between cottager and castor canadensis and to avoid their impingement on your forest:

• Wrap heavy mesh hardware cloth, sheet metal, or a few layers of chicken wire about one meter high around the base of a deciduous tree.
• Apply an abrasive paint mixture. Mix five ounces of sand per quart of tree-coloured exterior latex paint the same day you will be applying it. This should last for several years.
• Apply an animal-repellent product to the base of the tree. But be warned: This must be re-applied following rainfall so is the least effective method.

Coywolf

Coywolf is an informal term for a canid hybrid descended from coyotes, eastern wolves, gray wolves, and dogs. All members of the genus Canis are closely related genetically with 78 chromosomes and therefore can interbreed.  Hybrids of any combination tend to be larger than coyotes but smaller than wolves.  Hybrids also reach sexual maturity when they are two years old, which is much later than occurs in pure coyotes.

The main nucleus of pure eastern wolves is currently concentrated within Algonquin Provincial Park. The addition of domestic dog genes may have played a minor role in facilitating the eastern hybrids' adaptability to survive in human-developed areas. You may find the coywolf roaming mainly on the Crown lands to the north of Kahshe Lake.

Loons

With its black and white plumage, large profile and haunting calls the Common Loon is Canada's most iconic and beloved inhabitant of our lakes. Missy Mandel, a past Kahshe Lake cottager and Loon Steward, worked with Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada) to track Loon reproductive success by monitoring chick hatch and survival and sharing knowledge of better boating, fishing, and shoreline practices.

Recognizing Danger Signs

When in danger, loons give a warning or distress call that sounds like a laugh. Listen for and heed this call, which means: "Please move away." If you see a loon "dancing" straight up out of the water, and slapping with its wings, you must move away. You are in their territory and they may attack!

Nesting Season is Critical: May - June

Most loons nest from mid to the end of May. Their nests are usually on small islands or the back end of bays and inlets. Loons lay only two eggs, which both parents take turns incubating for 28-29 days. Loon parents leave if watercraft come within 137 m (150 yds) of the nest (the length of 1.25 football fields), leaving the eggs without warmth or protection. The nest then becomes vulnerable to predators. If disturbed often, loons abandon the nest. If you see two adult loons together in May or June, their nest site may have been disturbed.

Keep a Safe Distance

Nesting birds are easily disturbed by boat traffic, jet skis, and even non-powered boats. Because loons nest on the water’s edge, wakes from boats and jet skis can wash eggs out of nests. Canoes or kayaks can slip quietly into nesting areas and can startle loons off nests. Fishing boats spend lots of time in waters perfect for nest sites.

Loon chicks hatch in late June, which coincides with the start of the busy boating season. Loon awareness and responsible watercraft use will help reduce the conflicts that can occur between boaters and loons. Watercraft traffic can cause loss of chicks: Young chicks are not waterproof! They need to be able to climb up on their parents' backs to stay warm and dry. When watercraft approach too closely, parents leave their chicks to defend their territory. Young chicks are buoyant, can’t dive quickly to get out of the way, and can be run over.

Fishing and Loon Safety

Loons commonly eat small pebbles to grind food for digestion. Small lead sinkers and jigs may be mistaken for these pebbles, or lures with fish and lead attached may be consumed by the bird directly. A bird that eats lead will become ill and die within two or three weeks. Just one lead sinker or jig can poison a water bird.

Consider purchasing non-lead alternatives. Sinkers, including split shot, are now available in less toxic compounds such as tin, steel, bismuth, and tungsten. Ask your local tackle shop or retailer to carry non-lead alternatives.

Watercraft operators are naturally drawn to our beautiful lake. Please help keep our Loons safe and reproducing on Kahshe Lake. To learn more about loons and what you can do to help protect them check out Birds Canada.

Porcupine

Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, which protect them against predation. It is the second largest rodent in North America after the beaver. The word porcupine comes from the old French “porcespin” which means “thorn pig.” Its scientific name Erethizon dorsatum loosely translates as ‘the animal with the irritating back!”

They can grow to three feet in length and weigh up to 40 pounds! The porcupine, wolverine, and skunk are the only mammals in North America that have strongly contrasting black and white colouration because they benefit from letting other animals know where they are in the dark of night.

An adult porcupine has about 30,000 quills that cover its entire body except the underbelly and feet. Quills are modified hairs formed into sharp barbed hollow spines. While used primarily for defense, they also insulate during winter. They do not actually ‘throw’ their quills, but when threatened can contract superficial muscles which cause the quills to stand up and out from the body. In this position, they detach easily and lodge into the flesh of the attacker. Many dog owners will know how difficult and painful they are to remove.

Porcupines are nearsighted and slow-moving. They are mainly nocturnal and do not hibernate. They will use their teeth to warn off predators and bristle their quills. They have a strong warning odour – but the last line of defense is to climb a tree. Their life expectancy can be up to 30 years.

Raccoon

The raccoon is an animal well-known to every homeowner. Whether you live in the city or are up at Kahshe Lake full-time, chances are that you will have come across this animal at least once or twice - or at the very least have seen the results of its foraging efforts with the garbage that has been strewn all around!

The raccoon is a mammal native to North America. Everyone is familiar with its most distinctive features: its extremely dextrous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail. The raccoon is mainly nocturnal and omnivorous - which means it is not choosy in what it eats! They are very intelligent animals, and very cute. Keeping them as pets is however discouraged.

After a gestation period of a little over two months, 2-5 young known as ‘kits’ are born in the spring. Their life expectancy in the wild is only a couple of years, with hunting and vehicular injury the most common causes of this early death. However, the most frequent cause of natural death is distemper, which does not affect humans - but they are also known to carry rabies and at least a dozen other pathogens, which do affect humans. People are urged to stay away from any raccoons showing unusual behaviour or appearance and to notify animal control authorities if these are sighted. Raccoon roundworm is also of particular concern to public health. Raccoons without a fear of humans are a concern, and many raccoons use attics as shelters in the winter - causing damage to soffits and depositing feces in the attic space.

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer is a medium-sized species of deer that you will often see at dusk or dawn. The white-tailed deer's coat is a reddish-brown in the spring and summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the fall and winter. The white-tailed deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail. It raises its tail when it is alarmed to warn the predator that it has been detected.

An indication of a deer's age is the length of the snout and the color of the coat, with older deer tending to have longer snouts and grayer coats. The white-tailed deer's horizontally slit pupil allows for good night vision and color vision during the day. Whitetails process visual images at a much more rapid rate than humans and are better at detecting motion in low-light conditions.

North American male deer (also known as a buck) usually weigh 68 to 136 kg (150 to 300 lb), but mature bucks over 180 kg (400 lb) have been recorded  The female (doe) in North America usually weighs from 40 to 90 kg (88 to 198 lb).

Deer poorly distinguish the oranges and reds that stand out so well to humans. This makes it very convenient to use deer-hunter orange as a safety color on caps and clothing to avoid accidental shootings during hunting seasons. The length and branching of antlers are determined by nutrition, age, and genetics. Healthy deer in some areas that are well-fed can have eight-point branching antlers as yearlings (1.5 years old).

Diets vary by season according to the availability of food sources. They also eat hay, grass, white clover, and other foods they can find in a farmyard. Though almost entirely herbivorous, white-tailed deer have been known to opportunistically feed on nesting songbirds, field mice, and birds.

White-tailed deer typically respond to the presence of potential predators by breathing very heavily (also called blowing) and fleeing. When they blow, the sound alerts other deer in the area. As they run, the flash of their white tails warns other deer. This especially serves to warn fawns when their mother is alarmed.

Bears, which usually target fawns, often simply knock down the prey and then start eating it while it is still alive. Deer have been recorded sprinting at speeds of 60 km (40 mi) per hour and sustaining speeds of 50 km (30 mi) per hour over distances of 5–6 km.

Females give birth to one to three spotted young, known as fawns, in mid-to-late spring, generally in May or June. Fawns lose their spots during the first summer and weigh from 20 to 35 kg (44 to 77 lb) by the first winter. Male fawns tend to be slightly larger and heavier than females.

Species at Risk

We are extremely fortunate to have such a wide diversity of wildlife in our area. Our unique topography has resulted in over 94 bird species, 14 species of reptiles or amphibians, 16 mammals, and over 513 species of vascular plants. Of these, there are many species that are at risk -- for a variety of reasons:

• destruction of their natural habitat as we build dwellings and roads, and clear the land.
• pollution whether as acid rain, contaminating the water, or smoky woodstoves.
• destruction of food sources, such as insects, with the increased use of chemicals and pesticides.
• introduction of competitive and undesirable species through carelessness (live bait, dumping of landfill from other areas, importing firewood).
• disturbing life activities by allowing domesticated animals to run wild.