Our Popular Posts

Looking at your blog stats at the end of the year is a kind of tradition. It is a good way to get a sense of what people are reading the most and look for trends.

I notice that besides endangered species, the most popular posts are often about rare species - some of whom do not live in our state. Besides the occasional question or comment about seeing a moose, elk or grizzly bear, one popular species brings up the question Is That a Mountain Lion I See Wandering in NJ?  The answer is No in most cases.

Snakes are still quite misunderstood and misidentified by the general population. Since our state only has Two Venomous Snakes, the chances are that the one you saw in the backyard is not dangerous. Still, it is good to be educated about them. And certainly don't kill them! The venomous ones should be avoided, but they serve a purpose in our ecosystem.

A fisher in its full winter coat bares its teeth and looks a bit like a little bear.

The pretty rare fishers have returned to NJ and a post in April about them have probably garnered the most sighting comments in 2017.

Bobcat posts were also generally popular as we see more sightings in the state.

As our state trapping regulations and zones make clear, we have otters, mink, muskrat, coyote, red and gray foxes, raccoon, skunks, opossum and weasel and nutria in New Jersey. Some of those furbearers may be rarely sighted, but not endangered or threatened. You are likely to spot raccoons, skunks, a fox and opossum even in Jersey suburbia. But you are in a select group if you have come upon a Jersey mink. And if you really saw a nutria, that's unfortunate, because we would like to get these invaders out of our state!

Our state's beavers are just as busy as in other states.

And when was the last time you saw a porcupine in your NJ wanderings?

People often write to say they think they saw a wolf in their neighborhood, but if you are seeing wolves in NJ, they must be ones in captivity.   But Have You Seen a Coywolf in New Jersey?  That is a real possibility these days.

Though wildlife seems to get the most attention here, when it's not winter in NJ, posts about hiking and places to visit, like the Watchung Mountains, get more traffic.

And please follow us on Twitter @Endangered_NJ  (You can see our daily posts online even if you don't belong to the Twitter community.)  We post many articles there that have been written elsewhere pertaining to NJ and beyond about endangered species, conservation, management and the environment.