Visit our new online home!

MOCS is pleased to announce the development of a new, more functional website: www.obeasts.org . In the coming weeks this blog will be retooled to provide more casual, behind-the-scenes peeks at our day-to-day happenings. Stay tuned!

keeping warm & fed: Northern Obeasts in winter

It is December in western Maine. Obeastologist Stanley Keen crunches along the frozen grass. He leaves an evanescing wake of white breath behind him as he makes his way to the top of Pigeon Hill. His olive drab rucksack contains a digital camera, notebook, and a field guide with pictures of area obeasts Keen has cataloged so far.

An email from a local farmer brought him here this morning. An obeast has been spotted chasing deer in an apple orchard where it was scavenging fruit left behind from harvest season.  As he hikes Keen thinks to himself that it is unlikely the obeast was hunting the deer. It was more likely defending its cache of fruit from hungry competitors.

“Not that they wouldn’t eat a deer if they could catch it,” Keen later clarified in an phone interview. “It’s just unlikely that they would be willing to expend energy trying to take down an animal so much faster than they are.”

This strategic  food defensiveness is something Keen and other researchers have seen before, particularly amongst Northern Obeasts which have to be more cunning and aggressive to survive long winters. Unlike bears and other animals, obeasts do not hibernate through colder months. Instead they seem to become more sedentary than usual, preserving all of their energy for finding food. Usually this means making dens near reliable sources of sustenance like orchards and ponds, but more recently obeasts have been denning close to garbage cans and city dumps.

“Some obeasts, especially youngsters who have a hard time establishing their own territories in rural areas, will find themselves close to human dwellings. It doesn’t take long for them to sniff out our garbage and compost piles,” Keen noted. “You can’t really blame them. Food doesn’t get much easier than that for obeasts. But ultimately we can’t allow that behavior to persist; it’s not good for them or us.”

If it seems heartless to deny these hungry animals an easy meal, we must remember that humans aren’t doing obeasts any favors by encouraging them to be around us and identifying our presence with food. As with all wild creatures, obeasts naturally have a fear of people that not only keeps them away from humans that might harm them, but also discourages potential harm of humans by emboldened obeasts.

“You don’t want an obeast living in your neighborhood. Yes, they are kind of cute, but they are also opportunists who wouldn’t think twice about snacking on our pets. If they get too comfortable around humans, it’ll be us they are chasing away from their food sources,” Keen observed.

Certainly familiarization with humans has been disastrous for animals like wolves, wild horses, bears, alligators, and coyotes. Robert Timm, a biologist with the Hopland Research and Extension Center, recently presented a paper to the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Spokane, Washington. The paper, titled “Coyote attacks: an increasing suburban problem,” indicates that coyotes are much less afraid of humans than they once were.

“In the absence of harassment by residents, coyotes can lose their fear of people and come to associate humans with this safe, resource-rich environment,” the Timm states. “The overall picture is that this is a problem that is continuing to increase.”

Back in Maine, Keen gets several shots of a healthy male obeast munching on frozen Golden Delicious apples. It does not appear to be wearing any kind of radio tag, which means it is a new animal to Keen. When Keen inadvertently snaps a twig underfoot, the animal turns, spots him, and immediately makes a dash for the woods. The camera follows him to the cover of the low pine trees where the animal disappears. Its fear is a good sign, and Keen breathes a sigh of relief.

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TIPS TO PREVENT OBEAST ENCOUNTERS

• Never feed or attempt to “tame” an obeast.

• Don’t leave small children or pets outside unattended.

• Remove sources of water, especially in dry climates.

• Trim ground-level shrubbery to reduce hiding places.

• Store trash in tightly closed containers that cannot tip over.

• Do not leave pet food outside, and bring pets in at night.

• Provide secure enclosures for rabbits, poultry, etc.

• Pick up fallen fruit and cover compost piles.

• Install motion-sensitive lighting around the house.

Are you a MOCS member?

As they say, there is strength in numbers. Our growing membership sends a message that there is public concern and support for this endangered animal.

But we still need YOU.

For a limited time you can become a MOCS member for absolutely FREE. It’s as easy as sending an email. Sign up today and we’ll get your membership packet out to you right away! Click here for membership details and instructions.

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obeasts @ nc museum of natural science

MOCS is so pleased to be partnering with the NC Museum of Natural Science to have two preserved obeasts included in the museum’s habitat exhibits.

Coming soon! Obeastie Bites!

MOCS is in final negotiations with a major frozen entree company to release a special, limited edition Obeastie Bites line of frozen entrees. Besides being delicious, the dinners’ boxes will display fun obeast trivia for kids (and grownups!) to learn about this endangered animal. Plus 25%  of sales proceeds will go to MOCS conservation programs. Look for them in grocery stores next spring.

New MOCS film: Discovering the Obeast

The Museum is pleased to release this preliminary footage of an obeast tagging operation underway in the eastern U.S.. Since March 2010 MOCS has been funding a tagging and tracking project headed up by obeastologists Stanley Keen and Lucy Dwight. Their field experiences have provided some important information about the obeast’s habitat needs and migration patterns, as well as some stunning views of this beautiful, elusive creature.

MOCS @ MECA

The Museum for Obeast Conservation Studies was honored with an exhibition at the Maine College of Art’s Free Street Gallery. This was our first opportunity to showcase our growing collection of obeast -related artifacts. The exhibit will be up through July 14 and is open to the public free of charge M-F, 9-5.

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