Crucian Confusion

On Saturday Mike Evans' wife Maggie informed me that Mike was stuck in Atlanta and would not return until Sunday and therefore Matt and Katie could not stay at the Refuge Headquarters as we had planned. Paul and company said no worries mon we will put an extra bed in Caravelle (our cottage) for Phil to sleep on. It was a little cramped and Phil is a world-class snorer, but we did just fine on Saturday night.

Katie and I set 30 traps on Saturday afternoon - 8 along the beach and 22 along the road from the beach to the start of the salt pond. I noticed iguana tracks on the beach but no turtle tracks. The current has been particularly strong lately and the beach is steeper than I have seen it.

It feels funny not to be able to drive in St. Croix, however Katie is doing a great job despite my sometimes incorrect directions. It is easier for me to remember which way to turn when I am driving. But, I don't have a valid driver's license, and I won't get one until I return to MA.

Katie drove Phil to Christiansted on Sunday morning to catch the seaplane to St. Thomas to visit some friends and I went along as a navigator. Matt has been a real trooper agreeing to watch Jonathan on several forays that I have made. Katie was impressed with the beautiful buildings in Christiansted and can't wait to return to do some shopping.

Charlie went with with us to check traps on Sunday afternoon and had a great time. We captured eight animals, had one trap mauled by dogs, had five traps sprung or tipped over, and several more robbed of their chicken feet without tripping them. It have always been intrigued by mongooses messing with traps. I know that mongooses inside traps constantly reach outside and drag anything they can get a hold on into the trap, so it seems logical that they will also sit outside a trap and reach in for the bait. The question I have no answer to is do mongoose recognize traps as something that can imprison them. Our recapture data indicate that some animals are recaptured frequently and some animals are never recaptured. I think we could get a better understanding of mongoose trap avoidance behavior if I was to stay on da island for a year or two and trap everyday! Internet access is better than it has been, so maybe I will just teach online courses from the beach for a year . . . hmm.

Sunday afternoon Mike showed up as we were getting ready to return the mongoose and head to Christiansted to pick up Phil. We decided that it would be easier to move Matt and Katie to the refuge on Monday morning.

Phil returned about 90 minutes before we arrived at the Fort Christian Brew Pub for dinner. Poor Phil, he had to sit and stare at Christiansted harbor all that time enjoying the island's best beer! Of course Jonathan fell asleep on the ride home.