{"id":2505,"date":"2023-09-01T01:15:42","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T07:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/?p=2505"},"modified":"2023-09-05T12:04:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T18:04:21","slug":"the-rundown-on-rodents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wildlife\/the-rundown-on-rodents\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rundown on Rodents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you search the term \u201crodent\u201d on the internet, it\u2019s telling. Besides a dictionary definition (above), the web pages include health cautions, extermination services, how-to traps, and more. Apparently, lots of people regard these animals as unwelcome, dirty pests. Dig deeper, and you\u2019ll find a rich wild world of amazing animals with intriguing lifestyles.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bq\"><p><b>What is a rodent?<\/b><br \/>\nA gnawing mammal of an order that includes rats, mice, squirrels, hamsters, porcupines, and their relatives, distinguished by strong constantly growing incisors and no canine teeth. They constitute the largest order of mammals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Four out of 10 species of mammals are rodents in Colorado and worldwide. In sheer numbers of mammals alive at one time, rodents probably outnumber all other mammals combined, including people.<\/p>\n<p>Some rodents are vegetarian, gnawing away at everything from tree bark to cattails to succulent seeds. The grasshopper mouse \u2014 a carnivore \u2014 consumes a wide variety of insects. Some rodents, alas, make meals of bird seed from feeders, trash from carelessly filled garbage cans, and insulation from wiring. That\u2019s in part why they get a bad rap.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado is home to almost 60 rodent species. Many of them are small, secretive, and seldom seen as they scurry along runways through the grass, tunnel beneath snow, or den underground. Some small rodents were recognized as living here only after their teeth or bones turned up in the scat of predators and the pellets of owls.<\/p>\n<p>Rodent teeth are remarkable. They grow continually, and the animal gnaws all the time to sharpen and trim their chisel-like incisors. One weather-whitened skull revealed still-orange-coated incisors, but the teeth were loose and when pulled, came out of the tooth sockets as semicircles of teeth in reserve.<\/p>\n<p>Rodents have been around for roughly 65 million years. Globally, they live everywhere except Antarctica. In Colorado they\u2019re found from tundra (think of yellow-bellied marmots) to wetlands (beavers and muskrats); from woodlands and treetops (fox squirrels, chickarees, Abert\u2019s squirrels, chipmunks, and porcupines) to grasslands (prairie dogs, voles, and mice).<\/p>\n<p>Small rodents \u2014 mice, voles, and chipmunks \u2014 occupy the lowest rungs of the \u201cfood chain,\u201d a prey for foxes, coyotes, badgers, weasels, owls, hawks, and snakes. If it were not for this predation, ecosystems would be overrun with small rodents. Deer mice can produce from one to 11 babies (they average four to six) in each litter, and litters are produced year-round, from five to 10 litters a year; do the math!<\/p>\n<h2>What follows is a sampler of watchable local rodents<\/h2>\n<p>Our largest rodent (up to 50 lbs.) is the beaver. It mainly eats bark, buds, and leaves and twigs of aspens and willows. Its flat tail is amazingly versatile. (Note: the similar but smaller muskrat has a skinny, side-to-side moving tail.) The beaver\u2019s legendary dam building skills slow up water runoff and help prevent deep gullies from forming.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/beaver-poem.png\" data-lbwps-width=\"1824\" data-lbwps-height=\"846\" data-lbwps-srcsmall=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/beaver-poem-300x139.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2507 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/beaver-poem-1024x475.png\" alt=\"Illustration of a beaver, with a poem written inside the beaver's frame. Poem reads: What a Tail. A prop for balance, A store for fat, A rudder for steering, And a warning, &quot;splat.&quot;\" width=\"640\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/beaver-poem-1024x475.png 1024w, https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/beaver-poem-300x139.png 300w, https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/beaver-poem-768x356.png 768w, https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/beaver-poem-1536x712.png 1536w, https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/beaver-poem.png 1824w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The porcupine is Colorado\u2019s second-largest rodent. Active year-round, it lives by eating the bark, buds, and foliage of shrubs and saplings. Look for map-shaped patches left after bark-stripping. Their quills serve as a superb defense against most predators, but porcupines cannot \u201cthrow\u201d their quills; they merely detach easily.<\/p>\n<p>Arguably the cutest rodents are chipmunks. They may hold seeds in their front paws as they eat, or stuff seeds into their pouchy cheeks and scurry away to hideouts safer than open ground to chow down.<\/p>\n<p>The tassel-eared Abert\u2019s squirrel inhabits ponderosa pine woodlands, where it feasts on inner bark from the pines\u2019 tender terminal branches, scattering tell-tale short, peeled twigs beneath favored eating trees.<\/p>\n<p>Colonial black-tailed prairie dogs, whose extensive underground tunnels are habitat for various other creatures, is a \u201ckeystone species\u201d vital to its ecosystem. Without prairie dogs the whole grassland web of life might collapse. Prairie dogs are vocal, using a complex language of yips and barks to keep the group cohesive and warn colony-mates in detail of predators and intruders.<\/p>\n<p>Smart, agile, and devious, the fox squirrel is an immigrant, having trekked here from the east along treed waterways. It\u2019s now at home in people-places. Watch it tight-rope along wires to cross highways, scurry down trees with amazing agility (it rotates its hind feet to aid swift descents), and raid almost every bird feeder ever invented.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/collage.png\" data-lbwps-width=\"1007\" data-lbwps-height=\"811\" data-lbwps-srcsmall=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/collage-300x242.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2509 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/collage.png\" alt=\"Photo collage that features an example mage of each rodent highlighted in the sampler of rodents to watch list.\" width=\"1007\" height=\"811\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/collage.png 1007w, https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/collage-300x242.png 300w, https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/collage-768x619.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1007px) 100vw, 1007px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you search the term \u201crodent\u201d on the internet, it\u2019s telling. Besides a dictionary definition (above), the web pages include health cautions, extermination services, how-to traps, and more. Apparently, lots of people regard these animals as unwelcome, dirty pests. Dig deeper, and you\u2019ll find a rich wild world of amazing animals with intriguing lifestyles. What [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[80],"class_list":["post-2505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wildlife","tag-fall-2023"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Rundown on Rodents - Images<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wildlife\/the-rundown-on-rodents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Rundown on Rodents - Images\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you search the term \u201crodent\u201d on the internet, it\u2019s telling. Besides a dictionary definition (above), the web pages include health cautions, extermination services, how-to traps, and more. Apparently, lots of people regard these animals as unwelcome, dirty pests. Dig deeper, and you\u2019ll find a rich wild world of amazing animals with intriguing lifestyles. What [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wildlife\/the-rundown-on-rodents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Images\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BoulderCountyOpenSpace\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-01T07:15:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-05T18:04:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Beaver.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Summer Alameel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BoulderCountyOS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BoulderCountyOS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Summer Alameel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Summer Alameel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/36c7e5f4732f1bc4188d4c72b5a7a596\"},\"headline\":\"The Rundown on Rodents\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-01T07:15:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-05T18:04:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":704,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/Beaver.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Fall 2023\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Wildlife\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Rundown on Rodents - Images\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/Beaver.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-01T07:15:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-05T18:04:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/Beaver.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/Beaver.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":768,\"caption\":\"Beaver chewing on a stick\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/wildlife\\\/the-rundown-on-rodents\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Rundown on Rodents\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\\\/i\\\/\",\"name\":\"Images\",\"description\":\"Articles from Boulder County Parks &amp; 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(Boulder County Parks & Open Space parks are closed sunset to sunrise). The night shift takes over. A wild party? No! The animals are merely doing what nocturnal animals do. Some hunt for prey. Others forage for food in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Wildlife&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Wildlife","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/wildlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Skunk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/skunk.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/skunk.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/skunk.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/skunk.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/skunk.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/skunk.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2273,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/science\/a-show-below-the-snow-the-subnivium\/","url_meta":{"origin":2505,"position":1},"title":"A Show Below the Snow: The Subnivium","author":"Staff","date":"12\/01\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many descriptions of the subnivean zone make it sound idyllic\u2014a balmy and peaceful refuge from the ravages of winter. If it were only about temperature, I\u2019d agree, but if you\u2019re a mouse or vole, the subnivium is more like the Wild West than Palm Springs. Before we dig into the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Science&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Science","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/science\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snow at Walden Ponds","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/snow-walden-ponds-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/snow-walden-ponds-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/snow-walden-ponds-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/snow-walden-ponds-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/snow-walden-ponds-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/snow-walden-ponds-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2091,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wildlife\/hibernation-a-long-winters-nap\/","url_meta":{"origin":2505,"position":2},"title":"Hibernation: A Long Winter\u2019s Nap","author":"Staff","date":"12\/01\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"As weather cools down and days get shorter and nights get longer, animals have a choice to make\u2014scavenge for hard-to-find food and shelter during snowstorms and frigid winds, or hunker down to wait it out until spring. For many, the latter option is far more appealing, especially for small mammals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Wildlife&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Wildlife","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/wildlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"bears hibernating","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/bears-hibernating.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/bears-hibernating.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/bears-hibernating.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/bears-hibernating.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/bears-hibernating.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/bears-hibernating.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1103,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/nature-detectives\/muskrat-swims-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":2505,"position":3},"title":"Muskrat Swims Home","author":"Staff","date":"03\/03\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Perhaps the first thing you notice is a small, v-shaped wave and ripples on top of the water. At the tip of the wave you detect a dark body paddling across the pond, creating those ripples. Beaver? Then you get a glimpse of its tail. You might remember beavers have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Nature Detectives&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Nature Detectives","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/nature-detectives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nature Detectives Muskrat","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/nature-detective.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/nature-detective.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/nature-detective.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/nature-detective.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/nature-detective.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":996,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wildlife\/elusive-enchanting-fox\/","url_meta":{"origin":2505,"position":4},"title":"The Elusive &#038; Enchanting Fox","author":"Staff","date":"08\/26\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Among the most handsome and clever of Boulder County mammals is the fox. We are apt to see the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) more often than the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). Red foxes look similar to a small, slender dog, with pointed erect ears and weigh up to 15 pounds.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Wildlife&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Wildlife","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/wildlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red fox","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/red-fox.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/red-fox.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/red-fox.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/red-fox.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":620,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/volunteer\/pollinators\/","url_meta":{"origin":2505,"position":5},"title":"Help Pollinators Thrive","author":"Staff","date":"03\/02\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Native pollinators are not only responsible for a significant amount of the food we eat, but also are key to the balance of natural ecosystems. Flowering plants require pollination to complete their life cycle and most rely on help from outside agents such as wind, water or animals to do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Volunteer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Volunteer","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/volunteer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"pollinators","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Pollinators-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Pollinators-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Pollinators-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Pollinators-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Pollinators-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Pollinators-2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2505"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2558,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505\/revisions\/2558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}