A Utah Public Radio production featuring contributors who share a love of nature, preservation and education
Podcast: Wild About Utah
Wild About Utah is a Utah Public Radio production featuring contributors who share a love of nature, preservation and education. Contributors include Bridgerland Audubon Society, Utah Public Radio, Stokes Nature Center, the Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS) at USU and many other nature-related individuals and institutions. See WildAboutUtah.org for a list of authors, voices and contributors.
Grizzly Bear Courtesy Pixabay Angela AMBQuinn, ContributorLadies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the puppet show is about to begin!
It was Pioneer Day in Mendon, and the puppeteer’s loud cry brought the little kids running to the puppet theater on the town square. They settled down on the grass in a hushed silence as the narrator began:
This is a true story. It took place in early pioneer days in Mendon about 130 years ago.
And now introducing: the bravest man in Mendon, Tom Graham. He was so brave he would grab a rattlesnake by the neck and spit tobacco juice right down its throat.
A hidden water pistol shot a stream of water out into the audience, which caused some oohs and ahhs in the front row.
The Tom Graham puppet took a bow and disappeared
And now introducing: the biggest and baddest bear in Cache Valley at the time, The Big Slough Grizzly!
The puppeteers booed loudly. If there was any doubt that the bear puppet was the villain in the story, these doubts soon disappeared.
A small wooly lamb popped up and the bear pounced on it. Baaaaa went the lamb as it sank out of sight. The same thing happened to a calf and a small pink pig.
It was time for the hero, Tom Graham to take action.
Tom and another puppet popped up. Let’s go find that bad bear, Tom said.
They bobbed across the stage in single file, looking at the ground. Then they saw a bear paw print and they jerked back.
It’s 8 inches wide! And 12 inches long!! Not counting the claw!!!
We need to go get help, they said as they ran off the stage
In the meantime, Tom went down to the watery sloughs below Mendon to get some firewood. Bad luck. He ran right into the Big Slough Grizzly. The bear took a mighty swing at Tom and knocked his head right off his shoulders!
Now the Tom puppet was made out of a leg of panty hose. So Tom’s long neck stretched out a good two feet as his head flew out over the audience before snapping back and disappearing.
This caused quite a sensation in the audience. In fact, I used to judge the success of each show by how high the kids came off their seats.
But the story wasn’t over. After Tom lost his head, every man in Mendon picked up his rifle and headed for the slough. They found the bear’s den. Two very brave men stepped into the entrance and got a couple shots off. The bear did not come out.
Another man pushed his old flea bitten mare up to the entrance. This brought the bear out. The men opened fire.
It got really noisy as two young boys in the puppet theatre shot off their cap pistols like mad. The Big Slough Grizzly keeled over and sank out of sight. That was the end of the story.
This is Mary Heers, puppeteer (now retired), bringing you this Pioneer Day true bear story for Wild About Utah.
Western Swallowtail Butterfly Seeking Salt From Soil, 6/24/2017 Courtesy & Copyright Hilary Shughart, PhotographerThe year of the tiger. Our mountains, canyons, and valleys are replete with tigers-there’s no escaping them, tiger swallowtail butterflies! Even my grandkids captured one, which entertained them for days. It had a damaged wing and preferred crawling to flying. It’s angelic beauty transfixed the onlookers. Although injured, it hung on for a week- about the average life span of an adult butterfly.
The normal range of the western tiger swallowtail covers much of western North America, from British Columbia to North Dakota in the north to Baja California and New Mexico south. Individuals occasionally turn up in eastern North America, though it is generally replaced by the similar eastern tiger swallowtail.
Western tigers emerge from winter chrysalids between February and May, the date depending on the temperature. They are seen earlier in the more southerly and coastal parts of their range. These are high energy butterflies, rarely seen at rest.
The females lay up to a hundred eggs on a wide variety of host plants including willows, aspens, ashes, poplars, alders, and cottonwood. The eggs are deep green, shiny, and spherical. They are laid singly, on the undersides of leaves. The caterpillars emerge about four days later.
The caterpillars molt five times, eventually reaching a length up to 2 inches before pupating to adults. In summer, the butterfly can emerge as quickly as 15 days after the caterpillar’s pupated, but when the caterpillar pupates in the fall, the butterfly does not emerge until the spring. For camouflage, the young caterpillars, strangely resemble bird poop as they hatch. Once they begin to molt, they turn bright green in color, with large, yellow eyespot marks studded with black and blue pupils. These fake eyes may frighten predators, along with retractable, iridescent, horn-like structures on their head.
To harvest nectar, a butterfly unfurls its proboscis, a tube that functions like a straw and is coiled below the head when not in use. It inserts the proboscis into the flower and sucks up nectar by rhythmically contracting the muscles in its head. Sugars in the nectar provide energy for flight, defense, reproduction, and other daily activities.
Tigers also obtain nutrients and replenish fluids through “puddling,” where they congregate in large groups on mud or wet sand around puddles, streambanks, or on piles of fresh manure. I’ve observed puddling many times, always a levitating experience! Here they take up salts, proteins, and minerals. Salt is scarce in the butterfly diet, but is essential for reproduction and flight.
Puddling is primarily a male behavior, and during mating, a male butterfly transfers salt to the female in a sperm package, which she incorporates into her eggs. Researchers have found that sodium increases reproductive success in some butterfly species. During puddling, groups of males are conspicuous to females seeking mates. Males also patrol at treetop level looking for mates, swooping down to intercept females.
Thus, if you see a tiger, don’t be alarmed, just relax and enjoy their exquisite beauty and fascinating behaviors.
This is Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m wild about Utah, and its puddling tigers!!
Carroll, James, 2006, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails gathered at mineral trace along Blackwater River tributary in Western Florida, BugGuide.net, https://bugguide.net/node/view/79626
I first played this sport at 6 years old by tagging along after my father as he navigated the course through a forest and around a lake, starting each hole at a concrete tee pad and counting how many throws it took him to get his disc to settle in the metal basket with dangling chains. Once in a while I would throw a disc, but mostly my little legs tried to keep up on this exciting hike that involved throwing, putting, strategy, patience, and lots of searching through the woods for nearly lost frisbees! Now, 25 years later I still enjoy all the sport has to offer, and one of the primary reasons is because it is an all too easy excuse to get outside and enjoy the different landscapes and environments this great state has to offer.
We Utahns shouldn’t be too unfamiliar with this sport. In 2021, the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championship tournament was held in Ogden at two disc golf courses, Fort Buenaventura and Mulligan’s Golf and Games. History was made at this event when James Conrad, on the final shot of the tournament, curled the disc 247 feet in a single throw to land in the basket; forcing a sudden death play-off, which he won, to become the world champion. This shot is widely accepted as the greatest shot in disc golf history.
According to the PDGA course directory, there are at least 91 disc golf courses throughout our state, and 50 spread along the Wasatch front. Most of these courses are free to play and include exposure to a diverse outdoor experience. Some courses wind and wiggle through heavily wooded areas while others meander through manicured city parks. If you are really up for an outdoor adventure, try one of the extreme mountain courses, like the Solitude Ski resort course, where you launch discs up and down rugged mountainous slopes, sometimes more than 1000 feet in a single throw! Try not to lose too many discs.
In this sport, some people prefer to have just one disc, go out on a beautiful sunny day, and simply enjoy nature while throwing a frisbee; scores don’t need to matter! Other people take a different, more competitive approach to this sport and focus on the dynamics of how each of the many discs fly. They learn that based on disc shape and weight and the technique of their body, they can manipulate the disc to bend and turn, go right or left, skip or roll, or limitless other maneuvers that may be required to get the elusive birdie!
Two years ago, I started an afterschool Disc Golf and Ultimate Club at USU’s Edith Bowen Laboratory School, which was open to all our 3rd-6th grade students. What I experienced was kids passionately enthusiastic about the comradery, the physical activity, and the special wonderment that only objects in flight seem to bring. Each session has hosted around 40 girls and boys and many end up introducing the sport to their own families. It seems there is something special about this sport that naturally draws the love of children.
And so, whether you are looking for something outdoor and active to do on your own, with children, grandchildren, or even a niece or nephew, disc golf might be a soaring success!
This is Joey Kozlowski, and I am Wild About Utah! Credits:
Underpass and Jump Ramp Near Santaquin WMA Courtesy & Copyright Lyle Bingham, Photographer
Rural Road Leading to Santaquin Wildlife Management Area Courtesy & Copyright Lyle Bingham, PhotographerDeer and other wildlife have been migrating across our state much longer than humans. When people drove horse-drawn wagons and slower vehicles, wildlife could easily pass without a problem. However, with the introduction of fenced highways and their increased speed and traffic, problems quickly arose. In this case, the problem is mostly with mule deer, because they comprise 90% of the animals migrating in Utah. Robert Frost wrote that “Good fences make good neighbors.” But neighbors need to cooperate to maintain a fence, and even with fences in place, what if the neighbors are animals? The problem is how to keep migrating deer from jumping fences and causing accidents.
Animal/vehicle encounters cause over 5,000 animal deaths in Utah each year. Beyond the loss of life, it is also an economic problem, not only for wildlife management but also for vehicle owners. Some estimate the deer are worth more than $2,500 each. Joshua Coursey wrote in the Deseret News, that the “estimated cost of collisions with mule deer in Utah reached close to $50 million in 2021.” That’s why the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) have worked for decades to reduce wildlife/vehicle encounters. As noted, fencing alone does not work; consequently, highway managers have had to find ways to get trapped deer across and away from fenced roads.
When USU researchers studied escape mechanisms in Sardine canyon, they found earthen escape mounds were superior to one-way, metal gates. Climbing a hill is more natural to deer than pushing through a metal gate. These mounds enable a one-way jump to safety. However, escape alone does not solve the driving force of migration.
A more effective way to handle migrating animals is to guide them above or below the road. UDOT explains: “Studies have shown there is a 90% reduction in wildlife/vehicle collisions when there is a crossing structure and fence in the area.” Since 1975, when UDOT built its first wildlife overpass near Beaver, Utah, deer, moose and elk, along with bear and mountain lions have begun to use wildlife underpasses and overpasses. More recently, a larger overpass was built in Parley’s Canyon on I-80. Videos show a variety of animals who successfully traverse that overpass.
But escape ramps and overpasses aren’t the only tools available. Passage is also possible using creek beds or culverts crossing under roads. Tall fences are effective in guiding animals toward structures and preventing roadway access. Then, to encourage faster adoption, contractors have found they can walk a herd of cattle through the structure, overpowering human scents
When on I-15, I-80, I-70, or in our canyons, watch for overpasses, underpasses, one-way gates and exit ramps. They demonstrate a few ways the DWR and UDOT are working together to preserve human and animal lives.
This is Lyle Bingham, and I’m Wild About Utah and our 15 years on Utah Public Radio.
Buford, Daniel, Cramer, Patricia, and Simpson, Nova, Integrating Wildlife Connectivity and Safety Concerns into Transportation Planning Processes, Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation, Winter 2023, https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/winter-2023/04
“A dynamic part of a National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored research project titled; ‘Evaluation of the Use and Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings.'”, https://www.wildlifeandroads.org/
DWR: “It’s the video seen around the world! This compilation of footage shows various animals using the wildlife crossing constructed in 2018 over Interstate 80 near Parleys Summit. What’s especially notable with this crossing is how many animals are already using it; usually it takes several years for wildlife crossings to become widely used.
This video went viral near the end of 2020, and was celebrated as great progress in the problem of wildlife-vehicle collisions. Special thanks to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Transportation and Summit County for the footage.” https://wildlifemigration.utah.gov/stories/parleys-summit-wildlife-crossing/
UDOT: Baker Canyon Wildlife Crossing Installation
DWR: “Utah’s highways are vital to the health of the state. They can present a significant barrier for wildlife migration. In order to prevent automobile/wildlife collisions and to increase habitat availability for animals, Wildlife biologists and the Utah Department of Transportation have designed and installed several overpasses and underpasses to allow wild animals to safely cross the highway.”
