At the Bear Center, our moderators captured video of a mink that found a frog that was so cold it could hardly move. It looked like a green frog to me, best guess. 
Pine marten maleI suspect the mink found it hibernating on the bottom of the pond. I don’t know why it hadn’t eaten it. 2 ½ minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLy1z7slQRY
In this 4-minute video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPJDcUGZ09k, a mink circles the pond looking for any hole that would let it explore under the ice—maybe to find another frog.
Pine marten maleFrom the WRI cabin, two beaver lodges are visible. Both show signs of activity. The one straight out from my office window was built in 1977, I’m told, and is still being used. One side has no snow due to beaver activity. To the front right of the lodge are some snow-covered branches that are the winter food cache. This is the lodge that we had a camera inside years ago to see interactions of beavers, muskrats, and mink as is showing in the Ecology Hall at the Bear Center.
The beaver lodge that is over to the right from my desk also shows areas of barely any snow due to beavers working on the lodge at night, but I don’t see a winter food cache. The two lodges are about 160 yards apart. I suspect the beavers go back and forth under the ice. There were long periods when the camera didn’t show any beavers in the old lodge. In the spring, we’ll canoe out to these lodges and listen for baby beavers (kits).
Out the window, the big male pine marten visited. He’s the one that chased the smaller female when she found a choice piece of beef fat a few days ago. In the chase, they gave the best display of climbing and jumping from tree to tree I’ve seen. I usually snap pictures through the window, but when I go outside, the pine martens look and disregard me. When I stepped out today, he looked and came running because that’s where the food was.
 Beaver lodge without food cache |
 Beaver Lodge with food cache |
It’s distracting to have deer, foxes, martens, squirrels and birds in action outside the window when I’m trying to work. But I’m not closing the blinds.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center