![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jim-cumming-deer-fight-1100x640.jpg\")
It\u2019s no secret that dating in the deer world can get\u2026well..rather rowdy. In fact, rutting season can be downright deadly. However, many deer will avoid violence by walking the runway. That\u2019s right! Male deer stags will strut alongside each other to size each other up. Sometimes that little bit extra swagger can settle the score with a weaker deer calling \u201cuncle\u201d to the stronger of the two.<\/p>\n
Prairie Dogs<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/corliss-lilly-prairie-dogs-pups-young-siblings-1100x640.jpg\")
Young Prairie Dogs \u00a9 Corliss Lilly | CWF PHOTO CLUB<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHave you ever seen a picture of Prairie Dogs smooching? Cute, right? Not quite! Turns out, they\u2019re not locking lips romantically. These small mammals are actually pressing their mouths together to bare their teeth. Odd\u2026.but it\u2019s all in the name of recognition. If a male Prairie Dog spots an intruder, he\u2019ll kick into protective mode, ready to defend his burrow, females and young.<\/p>\n
Red Squirrels<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Julie-DeRoche-baby-red-squirrels-1100x640.jpg\")
Red Squirrels \u00a9 Julie DeRoche | CWF PHOTO CLUB<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen it comes to defending their turf, Red Squirrels are small but mighty. Yet a Yukon study found that even these temperamental small mammals have a survival secret. Becoming best friends with their neighbours. Scientists (and it seems Red Squirrels) have found that when they are friendly with their neighbours they have a much greater chance of survival! Red Squirrels might be keeping the whole squad safe by calling out when a predator is nearby or sharing their snacks.<\/p>\n
Song Sparrows<\/h3>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/sparrow-on-sumac-1098232994-1100x640.jpg\")
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis<\/em>) feeding on red sumac fruit. @Jean Landry | Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIf you always thought Song Sparrows were singing love songs, you\u2019d be wrong. Males also sing to claim their territory. These little crooners have between eight to 10 songs up their sleeves\u2026err\u2026feathers to keep an intruder in line. Researchers at the University of Washington found they\u2019ve got a pattern when it comes to defending their territory. Step one: Match the intruder\u2019s song to let them know you\u2019ve got their number. Step two: Bust a move and wave those wings. That\u2019ll usually do the trick and the intruder will fly away but if they\u2019re being particularly stubborn and won\u2019t hit the road, guess what? It\u2019s time to attack!<\/p>\n
Mute Swans<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/arvo-poolar-mute-swans-1100x640.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Researchers at the University of Exeter discovered that Mute Swans might not be the graceful bird we all thought them to be. They\u2019re hardcore foodies. In fact, they\u2019re willing to burn the midnight oil and sacrifice sleep to secure the ultimate feeding turf.<\/p>\n
Zebra Finches<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/2014-08-19_Zebra_Finch_Sumba_Nusa_Tenggara_Timur_Indonesia_1-1-1100x640.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Canadian critters aren\u2019t the only wildlife that lean towards the dramatic side. Down under in Australia and Indonesia, Zebra Finches air all their dirty laundry. While they might be joined at the hip in lifelong partnerships, they also bicker like old married couples. While the female sits on the eggs and the male goes out to forage, she\u2019s keeping track of time. If he shows up late, there is hell to pay. Researchers prevented male Zebra Finches from flying home to the nest and when they did come home late, they began to squabble. They didn\u2019t bicker at a higher volume, but they did increase the frequency and urgency of their squawks.<\/p>\n
Listen to this story (and more) in the CWF podcast, \u201cYour Connection to Wildlife\u201d ><\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yup! Over everything from how to parent to who should eat first. Politics. Religion. For some reason all sorts of divisive topics of conversation get brought up at holiday dinners…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":13467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[631],"tags":[9773],"class_list":["post-13466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect-with-nature","tag-wildlife-behaviour"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13466"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13510,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466\/revisions\/13510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Have you ever seen a picture of Prairie Dogs smooching? Cute, right? Not quite! Turns out, they\u2019re not locking lips romantically. These small mammals are actually pressing their mouths together to bare their teeth. Odd\u2026.but it\u2019s all in the name of recognition. If a male Prairie Dog spots an intruder, he\u2019ll kick into protective mode, ready to defend his burrow, females and young.<\/p>\n
Red Squirrels<\/h3>\nRed Squirrels \u00a9 Julie DeRoche | CWF PHOTO CLUB<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen it comes to defending their turf, Red Squirrels are small but mighty. Yet a Yukon study found that even these temperamental small mammals have a survival secret. Becoming best friends with their neighbours. Scientists (and it seems Red Squirrels) have found that when they are friendly with their neighbours they have a much greater chance of survival! Red Squirrels might be keeping the whole squad safe by calling out when a predator is nearby or sharing their snacks.<\/p>\n
Song Sparrows<\/h3>\nWhite-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis<\/em>) feeding on red sumac fruit. @Jean Landry | Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIf you always thought Song Sparrows were singing love songs, you\u2019d be wrong. Males also sing to claim their territory. These little crooners have between eight to 10 songs up their sleeves\u2026err\u2026feathers to keep an intruder in line. Researchers at the University of Washington found they\u2019ve got a pattern when it comes to defending their territory. Step one: Match the intruder\u2019s song to let them know you\u2019ve got their number. Step two: Bust a move and wave those wings. That\u2019ll usually do the trick and the intruder will fly away but if they\u2019re being particularly stubborn and won\u2019t hit the road, guess what? It\u2019s time to attack!<\/p>\n
Mute Swans<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Researchers at the University of Exeter discovered that Mute Swans might not be the graceful bird we all thought them to be. They\u2019re hardcore foodies. In fact, they\u2019re willing to burn the midnight oil and sacrifice sleep to secure the ultimate feeding turf.<\/p>\n
Zebra Finches<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Canadian critters aren\u2019t the only wildlife that lean towards the dramatic side. Down under in Australia and Indonesia, Zebra Finches air all their dirty laundry. While they might be joined at the hip in lifelong partnerships, they also bicker like old married couples. While the female sits on the eggs and the male goes out to forage, she\u2019s keeping track of time. If he shows up late, there is hell to pay. Researchers prevented male Zebra Finches from flying home to the nest and when they did come home late, they began to squabble. They didn\u2019t bicker at a higher volume, but they did increase the frequency and urgency of their squawks.<\/p>\n
Listen to this story (and more) in the CWF podcast, \u201cYour Connection to Wildlife\u201d ><\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yup! Over everything from how to parent to who should eat first. Politics. Religion. For some reason all sorts of divisive topics of conversation get brought up at holiday dinners…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":13467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[631],"tags":[9773],"class_list":["post-13466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect-with-nature","tag-wildlife-behaviour"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13466"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13510,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466\/revisions\/13510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
When it comes to defending their turf, Red Squirrels are small but mighty. Yet a Yukon study found that even these temperamental small mammals have a survival secret. Becoming best friends with their neighbours. Scientists (and it seems Red Squirrels) have found that when they are friendly with their neighbours they have a much greater chance of survival! Red Squirrels might be keeping the whole squad safe by calling out when a predator is nearby or sharing their snacks.<\/p>\n
Song Sparrows<\/h3>\nWhite-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis<\/em>) feeding on red sumac fruit. @Jean Landry | Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIf you always thought Song Sparrows were singing love songs, you\u2019d be wrong. Males also sing to claim their territory. These little crooners have between eight to 10 songs up their sleeves\u2026err\u2026feathers to keep an intruder in line. Researchers at the University of Washington found they\u2019ve got a pattern when it comes to defending their territory. Step one: Match the intruder\u2019s song to let them know you\u2019ve got their number. Step two: Bust a move and wave those wings. That\u2019ll usually do the trick and the intruder will fly away but if they\u2019re being particularly stubborn and won\u2019t hit the road, guess what? It\u2019s time to attack!<\/p>\n
Mute Swans<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Researchers at the University of Exeter discovered that Mute Swans might not be the graceful bird we all thought them to be. They\u2019re hardcore foodies. In fact, they\u2019re willing to burn the midnight oil and sacrifice sleep to secure the ultimate feeding turf.<\/p>\n
Zebra Finches<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Canadian critters aren\u2019t the only wildlife that lean towards the dramatic side. Down under in Australia and Indonesia, Zebra Finches air all their dirty laundry. While they might be joined at the hip in lifelong partnerships, they also bicker like old married couples. While the female sits on the eggs and the male goes out to forage, she\u2019s keeping track of time. If he shows up late, there is hell to pay. Researchers prevented male Zebra Finches from flying home to the nest and when they did come home late, they began to squabble. They didn\u2019t bicker at a higher volume, but they did increase the frequency and urgency of their squawks.<\/p>\n
Listen to this story (and more) in the CWF podcast, \u201cYour Connection to Wildlife\u201d ><\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yup! Over everything from how to parent to who should eat first. Politics. Religion. For some reason all sorts of divisive topics of conversation get brought up at holiday dinners…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":13467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[631],"tags":[9773],"class_list":["post-13466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect-with-nature","tag-wildlife-behaviour"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13466"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13510,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466\/revisions\/13510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
If you always thought Song Sparrows were singing love songs, you\u2019d be wrong. Males also sing to claim their territory. These little crooners have between eight to 10 songs up their sleeves\u2026err\u2026feathers to keep an intruder in line. Researchers at the University of Washington found they\u2019ve got a pattern when it comes to defending their territory. Step one: Match the intruder\u2019s song to let them know you\u2019ve got their number. Step two: Bust a move and wave those wings. That\u2019ll usually do the trick and the intruder will fly away but if they\u2019re being particularly stubborn and won\u2019t hit the road, guess what? It\u2019s time to attack!<\/p>\n
Mute Swans<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Researchers at the University of Exeter discovered that Mute Swans might not be the graceful bird we all thought them to be. They\u2019re hardcore foodies. In fact, they\u2019re willing to burn the midnight oil and sacrifice sleep to secure the ultimate feeding turf.<\/p>\n
Zebra Finches<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Canadian critters aren\u2019t the only wildlife that lean towards the dramatic side. Down under in Australia and Indonesia, Zebra Finches air all their dirty laundry. While they might be joined at the hip in lifelong partnerships, they also bicker like old married couples. While the female sits on the eggs and the male goes out to forage, she\u2019s keeping track of time. If he shows up late, there is hell to pay. Researchers prevented male Zebra Finches from flying home to the nest and when they did come home late, they began to squabble. They didn\u2019t bicker at a higher volume, but they did increase the frequency and urgency of their squawks.<\/p>\n