Animals

Videos: Check Out This Crazy Cool Caterpillar Seen in Jamaica Plain

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Check out the "antennae" on this crazy cool looking caterpillar scene on the Southwest Corridor! This sycamore tussock moth caterpillar was seen on the Southwest Corridor by Jamaica Plain resident Jenny Nathans on August 7. Don't worry they're native to Canada, the northeast, and down to Mexico. You'll notice the caterpillars have yellow-orange heads and bodies covered with hair, and they can grow to approximately 25–35 mm in length, according to wikipedia. The larvae (caterpillar) have two pairs of long, orange hair-pencils and two pairs of white hair-pencils towards the front of their body, which can be seen in the videos..

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Animals

Should The First Church’s Burying Ground Be Used As A Dog Park? It Is Now

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Neighbors of the historical First Church on Eliot Street use the burying ground as a dog park, which they're allowed to do by the church. But some neighbors aren't happy about the cemetery being used as a dog park. So there will be a public meeting to discuss the matter on July 29th. Currently dogs are allowed in the burying ground. There is a posted sign stating that visitors must be respectful of the cemetery, and be careful around the fragile gravestones.

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Animals

Check Out This Smoky Grey Turkey

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Many of us have seen wild turkeys roam around Jamaica Plain. But how many of us have seen a smoky grey turkey? Recently, Rosetta Martini has seen a flock of turkeys by her home in the Forest Hills area, and one poult (a baby turkey) has a distinctive look to it -- smoky grey. According to Audubon.org, turkeys come in five different colors. The commonly seen color is chestnut.

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Animals

Dozens of Turtles Relocated During Arnold Arboretum Ponds’ Restoration

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Turtles, toads, frogs, and catfish were all relocated this spring as part of the Arnold Arboretum's dredging project of two of its ponds. If you've been by the trio of the Arboretum's ponds recently you probably noticed there was roping and fencing around Rehder and Faxon ponds. There were also floating and bucket traps set generously provided by Zoo New England, which caught turtles more than 80 times since April 20, said Arnold Arboretum Horticulturist Brendan Keegan to Jamaica Plain News. Keegan stressed that visitors not go around the roping and fencing, as it can stress out the Arboretum's wildlife. The number of individual turtles caught are probably in the 50 to 60 range, said Keegan.

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Animals

Photos: Look Who’s Swimming in Jamaica Pond

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Recently Kim Ribeiro took a walk around Jamaica Pond and look who she saw swimming -- a muskrat. Muskrats are native to North America, but aren't commonly seen. Their tails are actually covered in scales, not fur, and they can swim underwater up to 17 minutes, according to wikipedia. Muskrats probably get their name comes from a word of Algonquian (possibly Powhatan) origin, literally means "it is red", or from the Abenaki native word mòskwas, which is in the archaic English name for the animal, musquash, according to wikipedia. The name stuck because of its musky odor, which the muskrat uses to mark its territory.

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