Great Read: Reading Animal Signs - AMC Outdoors

Story by Allison W. Bell

AMC Outdoors, September/October 2012

A walk in the woods rewards us with glimpses of forest animals—a scampering chipmunk, a prowling toad, a trailside salamander. But sightings of lesser-known creatures are, by definition, rare. Many woodland animals are not active during the daylight, and most are shy about contact with humans. Typical hikers move with enough stomp and clomp to warn every listening thing of their approach. If we do spot an animal through the trees, it is likely to be moving quickly—away.

DID YOU KNOW?
Do not handle scat with your bare hands. Animal waste can transfer disease via contact or inhalation. Look. Use a stick. Take a photo.

Often, the presence of wild creatures is revealed to us only in the signs they leave behind. Tracks, nests, food scraps, and shed feathers or antlers are all clues to the ways and means of forest animals. And so is their scat.

Poop, feces, droppings, dung—scat by any other name will smell as sweet. OK, not quite sweet, but you may be surprised that scat of the non-domesticated kind does not often present olfactory offense. If you can get past a basic level of squeamishness, a study of these animal signs will reveal much about life in the woods.

We can analyze animal diets and habits by examining their scat. Wild woodland creatures eat local and eat (mostly) fresh, although some may contrive to mix human food into their menu.

Click Here for continued article:==> Reading Animal Signs - AMC Outdoors

MISSING CHILD BOLO: 3.5yr old, Henniker NH part 2

WMUR: Missing child in Henniker is wearing a grey "GAP" sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers.
Child is under 3 feet tall, brown hair and brown eyes.

MISSING CHILD BOLO: 3 1/2yr old, Henniker NH UPDATE 2

UPDATED: 5:32pm 10/08/12


HENNIKER, N.H. —

A 3 1/2-year-old boy reported missing in Henniker has been found safe.

Police sent out reverse calls and text and email alerts to people in a 4-mile radius as they began their search with fire officials and members of the Fish and Game Department.

Police said it's unclear how the boy made it to the Baker Road farm. Murdough said the boy's pant legs were slightly wet, so he likely went off the road and might have followed snowmobile trails.


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Read more: http://ow.ly/ejCBb


WMUR: Henniker police searching for missing 3 1/2 year old in area of Peasley Road. Last seen @ 10:45am. .@WMUR9

UPDATED: 2:11pm 10/08/2012
Henniker police said the boy, named Brody, was wearing a gray sweatshirt with "GAP" on the front, blue jeans and sneakers. He is just under 3 feet tall, weighs about 35 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.

He was last seen in the area of 48 Peasley Road about 10:45 a.m. There is no photo of the boy yet available.

Anyone with information is asked to call Henniker police at 603-428-3213.

FOUND: Hiker near Strafford NH go missing in night rain UPDATE 2

UPDATED: 5:45pm 10/08/12

STRAFFORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man reported missing by his family has been found safe in the woods in Strafford.

Fifty-four-year-old Francis Drown of Rochester had gone hiking on Blue Job (jobe) Mountain in Strafford on Sunday morning but did not return by evening.

About 20 people searched the woods on Sunday night but did not find him. Search teams continued on Monday morning. Drown was found by a search dog shortly before noon.

Fish and Game Department officials say he had been camping in the woods about a half mile from where his vehicle was parked near Johnsonboro Road and was unaware that people were looking for him.


STRAFFORD NH — Rescue crews gathered on Johnsonboro Road near Blue Job Mountain Sunday evening to execute a search for what officials believed to be a missing hiker or hikers.

Due to inconsistent cell phone service little was known of the party’s description as officials began canvassing the area a little before 8 p.m.


Members of New Hampshire Fish and Game along with Strafford police were on scene attempting to make contact with the lost party via cell phone, though service in the area is sparse.


A K-9 team was dispatched to pick up a track, but was unsuccessful in initial attempts. Officials attempted contact with Verizon Wireless to get a signal from the closest service tower to the lost party’s phone. Initial attempts to do so were also unsuccessful.


By 10:15 p.m. as rain began falling more heavily, search volunteers continued arriving along with an ambulance and requested N.H. Department of Forestry vehicle a well as a Gator Utility All Terrain Vehicle.

UPDATED: 9:57am 10/08/12
A search for a missing hiker or hikers continues on a New Hampshire mountain.

Searchers from the Strafford police and New Hampshire Fish and Game gathered Sunday evening to begin looking for a man who was reported missing on Blue Job (jobe) Mountain.

Fish and Game spokeswoman Jane Vachon says the search continued into Monday morning.

UPDATED: 2:02pm 10/08/12
STRAFFORD, N.H. (AP) — A 54-year-old Rochester, N.H. man is missing after going hiking on Blue Job (jobe) Mountain in Strafford.

Police say Francis Drown began his hike Sunday morning but did not return by evening.

Authorities say initial efforts to reach the man by cell phone were unsuccessful, and a dog failed to pick up the missing man’s scent.

Police say the blue-eyed, brown-haired drown was wearing camouflage plants and a tan shirt.

Police say they do not suspect foul play.

Blue Job Mountain is a mountain summit in Strafford County in the state of New Hampshire (NH). Blue Job Mountain climbs to 1,296 feet (395.02 meters) above sea level. Blue Job Mountain is located at latitude - longitude coordinates (also called lat - long coordinates or GPS coordinates) of N 43.33147 and W -71.115065.

MISSING: Jonathan Dailey, 23, Boston MA (UPDATE)

UPDATED: 7:05pm 10/09/12
BOSTON (WHDH) – The body found in the Charles River near Boston University Tuesday morning has been positively identified as missing graduate student Jonathan Dailey.

State police said Dailey’s body was spotted by a BU rowing coach at about 7:25 a.m. Tuesday. The family of the 23-year-old graduate student Jonathan Dailey was in Boston waiting to hear if the body of the person found is that of their son, who has been missing for a week. He was last seen at his apartment on Gardner Street in Allston.

UPDATED 9:32 AM EDT Oct 08, 2012

BOSTON —
A body was found Monday morning in the Charles River, but it was not clear if the person is a missing graduate student who disappeared last week.

FAMILY'S UPDATE: (VIA: Facebook Page 12:43pm)

Just got a call from the detective to assure us: there's a breaking news report about a body retrieved from the Charles River, but the state police have confirmed to the Boston police that it is not Jonathan, it's the body of an older man.

Read more: http://ow.ly/eiIxz

Friends and relatives of 23-year-old Jonathan Dailey have started a Facebook page and have spent time plastering the city with fliers.