January 1, 2023: Trauma on the Lake

Happy New Year!  

The end of 2022 gave us some of the best skating we've had on the lake in a couple of years, but it also gave me perhaps the most difficult window into the harshness of nature that I've ever seen.  Thankfully it's not loon-related, and I'll make it clear when this entry is going to the grim side of nature, but first, let's start with the good news:  There is an upside to rain in December.

Perfect ice for skating.

That warm, windy, wet day last Friday set the lake up for some great skating after it froze.

Areas that didn't melt out on Friday had six inches of ice by Christmas Day, making it safe to skate in those parts of the lake.  By December 28th the open water had refrozen four to six inches thick (in some places), allowing more of the lake to be used, but we still stayed off areas less than five inches thick.

The line between new and old ice.  The black ice was up to six inches thick.

With warm weather returning I'm staying off the ice again, but if it gets cold there will be more great skating.

As I mentioned last week, roaming predators such as fox, mink, and bobcat take advantage of the ice as it gives them easy access between different parts of their territory, and this year it helped our local bobcat enjoy a Christmas feast.  But there are other animals for which the ice is not welcome, and this is where things get messy.  If you don't want to hear a story about how dispassionate wild animals can be, you should stop reading at this point.  I'll report the story first and save the photos until the end in case you'd like to read about what transpired without seeing it.

As daylight came on Christmas morning something slowly became visible far out on the ice - it looked like a large branch blown onto the ice.  But as the day brightened it became evident there was a deer on the ice.  I've seen this several times before, both on Lake Wicwas and Lake Winnisquam; it's a regular occurrence as predators know if they can drive a deer onto the ice it becomes easy prey - skinny hooves on slippery ice are no match for a clawed coyote or bobcat.  We wondered what had killed it, but then shortly a bobcat walked out onto the ice and sat down and watched.  Was that the predator?  Events over the coming hours revealed that it was, and this was one big cat, almost certainly a male.  Male bobcats can reach 50 pounds while females are 10 to 15 pounds lighter.  After a few minutes of observing whether any other animals were in the area, the bobcat walked out towards the deer.  Here is where it gets really ugly.  The deer was still alive.  We thought it had moved earlier, but now it clearly lifted its head and watched the bobcat as it approached.  

With the intent of understanding the facts of nature, I'll report as objectively as possible, but know that what happened next is quite disturbing.  After determining there were no threats in the area, the cat walked up to the deer and resumed feasting on the rump of the deer, while the poor victim, lacking a couple of legs, watched helplessly while its body was devoured.  This scene repeated itself several times over the course of the day.  I was amazed at the strength and resiliency of the deer - how could it survive such great injury and loss of blood for such a long period of time?

At one point a coyote came out of the woods and onto the ice - a beautiful animal with a glistening coat and bright white chest and forelegs - but it stood just a few yards onto the ice and watched.  I guess it decided it didn't want to tangle with that large a feline, and turned back and didn't return - at least in daylight hours.  As darkness fell the deer was still alive.

I think the bobcat must have guarded its kill all night because the next morning the deer, now lifeless, was still largely intact which wouldn't have been the case if coyotes got to it.  The eagles, however, did make an appearance that day; at one point there were four bald eagles on the ice and in the trees watching and waiting for their turn.

Timing is everything, and it just so happened that Santa brought me a new trail camera for Christmas, so without really learning much about it, I set it out on the second night.   The camera has an infrared feature that allows it to take pictures in the dark without ambient light, and I got several pictures that first night, one of which showed there were two bobcats feeding over night. I had to place it far away as the deer was on ice that I wasn't willing to go on, so it was too far away to be triggered except when one bobcat came close to the camera, so I didn't get all the action.  The night pictures aren't too graphic so I'll show that now.

Two bobcats were present.

Knowing that bobcats are solitary except during mating season in the spring, I asked Patrick Tate - the NH Fish and Game biologist who spoke about bobcats at the Lake Wicwas annual meeting in August - if the male was allowing a female to share in the food.  His reply was "maybe".  He said males have slightly overlapping territory, and this male may be tolerating another male on the edge of his territory.  Considering the deer is on water, it's kind of in no-mans-land, so it could be either another male. 

That evening the camera recorded several videos which I spliced together; they aren't too gory, but they aren't for the queasy either.  You'll see that the cat was quite curious about the camera and several times came right up to examine it.

In the morning the camera captured a few more videos:

Those pictures makes me think news of the kill got to the coyotes and they came in force over night.  The bobcats had been eating carefully, but over the second night the carcass had been decimated.  Perhaps a pack of coyotes came and drove the bobcats away.  

The third night the ice was safe enough to move the camera closer, and now it captured quite a few videos.  The bobcat came back several times over the course of the night and it's possible that at other times it was just out of view of the camera, guarding its kill.  At one point the cat went on high alert when a single coyote approached.  The bobcat stood its ground; the lone coyote was not willing to tangle with the cat and it went quickly on its way.  The camera caught much more of the action that night, including that interaction:

As I learn how to use this new camera I hope to gain more insight into what transpires around the lake when no one is watching.

By Saturday the animals had pulled the carcass apart, and though larger animals will come by and drag off a bone to chew on, it's pretty much up to the birds now to pick the carcass clean.  

I know this is a long post, and it was as difficult to write as it was to observe.  But I find the stories that nature provides to be captivating and the insight into nature too fascinating not to share.  It's remarkable what transpires right beside us, to learn all this takes place right beside our houses and roads - did you notice the headlights of cars driving along Meredith Center Road in the nighttime videos?  

Once again nature shows us just how harsh it can be, but that is the way of the wild.  That one deer fed a dozen or more animals for a week, even longer for the birds:  crows, ravens, vultures, hawks and eagles.  The circle of life goes on.  Let's just hope our loons did in fact fly off safely before the ice filled in the lake.  It will be a long winter waiting to see if all four of our banded loons return next spring when the ice retreats.  The beauty of  a frozen lake depends on one's perspective.

At this point I'll post the pictures.  Proceed according to your own level of sensitivity and curiosity.

We woke to this scene on Christmas morning.

And then the bobcat appeared, answering many questions.

This shows just how big that bobcat is.

Warning:  I found these next two pictures the most disturbing.

How can this be?

Day two  These next two pictures were taken from afar.

Immature bald eagle.

And a mature one.

Day three:

After the second night there was not much left - I'm guessing a pack of coyotes came.  Yes, it's a big cat.

On alert as a coyote approaches.

Coyote arrives

And is shown who's boss.

By Saturday (day 7) the animals had pulled the carcass apart and though larger animals will come by and drag off a bone to chew on, it's pretty up to the birds now to pick the bones clean.  

It was a hard week.  Again, the beauty of  a frozen lake depends on one's perspective.