County critters that make their home in Presque Isle County go unseen by most eyes

There is any number of accidents in Presque Isle County involving animals. Most involve deer, but there are other varieties of four-legged critters that have made that fatal dash across county roads, but none more unusual than the one that occurred May 12 northeast of Posen. Kendra Krajniak was traveling along Leer Road in Posen Township when a wild pig ran in front of the vehicle she was driving. It turned out to be a wild boar, according to a Department of Natural Resources conservation officer. The animal had stiff black fur, unlike the domestic pig that is pink, and a long snout.

?TO THE best of my knowledge, there is no wild population of hogs in this county,? said C.O. Rich Stowe. He believes the animal may have come from a private landowner, but is uncertain how long it had been running loose. He said there is not a wild boar herd running undetected, nor does the county have very many unusual animals, but there are a great many varieties that go unseen, from the rare whippoorwill, to the different species of weasels, including the ermine. ?It is what they call a weasel in the winter time, when he is white,? said Stowe. ?Very few people have ever seen one, and they probably did not know what it was when they saw it.? The coat of the ermine changes during the summer and winter seasons. During the summer, their short fine fur is a rich chocolate brown except that the underside of the body and the tip of the tail is black. As winter approaches they shed their coat, regrowing back completely white with the exception the black tip of the tail. Last year, Stowe learned of another member of the weasel family residing in the county. He was told there are pine martins, although he has not seen one yet. About the only species of weasel that is not found in Presque Isle County is the fisher.

WHILE WOLVES and supposed panther sightings receive a lot of publicity, county residents may be surprised to find out that an area near the US-23/M-65 junction is prime rattlesnake country. Stowe, who lives in Pulawski Township, has had one in his yard. He said the massasauga rattlesnake has been found in the Thompson Harbor area to Grand Lake to south of US-23. Michigan’s only venomous snake is a rare sight for most state residents. Historically, they could be found in a variety of wetlands and nearby upland woods throughout the lower peninsula. Stowe said there are a lot of bobcats in the county, ?we have a good population of bobcats. Most people have never seen one.? T

hey are typically found in thick-forested areas. ?They are pretty shy.? There are different species of fox as well. The gray fox is nocturnal and are not seen as much as their daytime counterpart, the red fox. The gray fox have slightly shorter hair with an orange front and a tail that is about as large as their body. The red fox is a lot more common and is found in the open country of the county. Bears are are also found throughout the county from North Allis to Presque Isle townships, but again, many residents will go years, if not decades, living here without seeing one bear. Some want to keep it that way, too.

Stowe makes several presentations at area schools and is impressed by the knowledge of young people in the county. ?The kids are fairly well informed about what is going on, because we have such a large population of people who hunt and trap,? said Stowe. ?Those are the people that are in the loop.?