Eric hunting for critters.

Eric looking for living animals underneath substrate.
Life is all around us.  The trick is to know where to look for it.  Most animal life, critters as I like to call them, innately make an effort not to be seen.  Besides being vulnerable to predation, they may be subject to desiccation, the vagaries of temperature, or some other factor spelling their potential doom.

Time of day and year are both important factors.  Creatures tend to have habits based upon light and temperature.  Dawn and dusk activity, otherwise called crepuscular, is one trend.  Diurnal organisms are ones you will likely see during the day.  Nocturnal habits make associated organisms hard to find both because of lack of light and tendency to be up when we are soundly sleeping.

This is where it pays off to hunt in places that the nocturnal and crepuscular critters hide.  One of my favourite hiding places is beneath stuff.  Logs, rocks, boards, paper, plastic, pretty much whatever.  It tends to be dark, moist, and cool; parameters favoured by many in these categories.  The things which may be lurking in these subjacent dens vary from invertebrates to reptiles and mammals.  I have uncovered lizards, snakes, mice, and salamanders, all representatives of vertebrates.  For organisms lower on the evolutionary ladder, the numbers and variety increase exponentially.

The downside to this idea of hunting for living treasure is that it takes time away from the purpose of the journey held by my cohorts.  If not left behind, I am holding everyone else up.  But the thrill of discovery often diffuses any ill feelings as onlookers get to experience something often never before encountered.

Alas, it is a delicate balance, as the fact is that there is only about a 1% success rate in uncovering something amazing.  Common finds include worms, woodlice, spiders, beetles, and centipedes.  It is easy to lose focus when the odds are so low.  On the other hand, it is a little like winning the lottery when a find is made.  It's not money of course, but not everyone's treasure is gold.


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