BEAVER
(castor canadensis)Habitat: Lakes - Streams lined with poplars & birches Head - Body: 27"- 38"; Tail: 9" - 12" Beavers are characterized by prominent, orangish front teeth and a large, scaly paddle like tail. They are a member of the rodent family and are master dam builders. The bottom foundation of their dams consist of mud mixed with stone, then trees or branches are dragged from the banking to form the dam itself - sealing the cracks and crevices with more mud. After the newly formed 'pond' collects enough water, then the 'Lodge' is built with sticks and mud leaving entryways and a platform inside that is raised above the water level where they spend the majority of the day. Kits are born in the spring and are ready to strike out on their own after two years, often leaving the pond and starting a new pond. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PORCUPINE
(erethizon dorsatum)Habitat: Often found living in trees or under buildings Head - Body: 18"-23"; Tail: 6"-11" Porcupines have short legs and fat bodies with sharp quills head to tail and walk with a slow, swaying waddle. When threatened by a predator, the porcupine turns it's back, raises it's quills, and strikes with it's tail, embedding the quills on contact. They're equipped with over 30,000 barbed quills which grow back much like hair or fur. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MUSKRAT U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service/line art by Tom Kelley (ondatra zibethicus)Habitat: Ponds - Lakes - Slow-moving Streams - Marshes Head - Body: 9" - 15"; Tail: 7-1/2" - 10-1/2" Muskrats are aquatic by nature and survive on aquatic plants, snails, clams, crayfish and frogs. They are also capable of scavenging for food on dry land, often traveling hundreds of feet for a meal of green plants. They produce several litters a year with up to 11 young per litter. They build lodges much like a beaver does but their lodges are much smaller and are made from grass and sedges instead of sticks and mud. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - RIVER OTTER (A Dmitry Azovtsev photo) (lontra canadensis)Habitat: Rivers - Streams - Lakes Head - Body: 20" - 30"; Tail: 10" - 18-1/2" Characterized by a weasel-like shape, they have dark brown fur often with golden gloss on their head and shoulders. They have a thick and furry tail, tapered towards the tip. Otters are very social animals, they wrestle, play tag, slide down muddy or snowy riverbanks and roll about in grasses and reeds. They express themselves vocally through chirps, whistles, growls and screams. Although male and female stay together for part of the year, the female drives her mate away before giving birth to a litter of two of three young in the early spring. When the young are about 6 months old, the father rejoins them to help teach the young to swim, dive and hunt. Though otters are mainly fish eaters, they also feed on frogs, crayfish and other small animals. They are also known to take a chicken! Their streamlined bodies, webbed toes, and eyes and ears that can be closed underwater make them well adapted to an aquatic life. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - RED FOX(vulpes vulpes)
Habitat: Farmlands - Forests with open areas Length: 20" - 30"; Tail: 14"-16"Red Fox are usually reddish on the back and face with white on their under parts, have a bushy white-tipped tail, black legs and feet. Red Foxes are not always red. Though the fur of this species usually has a reddish cast, some are black with silver guard hairs (silver foxes) and some are red or brown with dark areas on the under parts extending up along the shoulders and back (cross foxes). Such color variation, caused by genetic differences, can occur even among pups in the same litter. Kits are born in the spring and weaned when one month old. They are more active in the early morning and late afternoon. These notorious chicken thieves are actually quite opportunistic in diet, although they prey mainly on small mammals and birds, they also eat insects, carrion, and fruits. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - GRAY FOX(urocyon cinereoargenteus)Habitat: Open woodlands - chaparral Head - Body: 22" - 30"; Tail: 10"-15" Characterized by a coarse coat, salt-and-pepper gray, with orange and white markings, their tail is bushy, black-tipped with a stripe on the top. Foxes belong to the canine family (dog) and canids are noticably deficient in tree-climing abilty, but the Gray Fox is unusual, it climbs trees readily by clasping the trunk with its front legs and pushing itself up with its hind feet. Like other foxes, this grizzled animal uses ground burrows for escape holes and birthing suites. Gray Foxes den in hollow logs, tree trunks and rock caves. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - COYOTE
(canis latrans)Habitat: Prairies - open forests - brush Head - Body: 32" - 40"; Tail: 12" - 15" Characterized by gray fur on their back with red on their flanks, tawny legs, feet and ears. They run with their tail held between their legs. Coyotes have drastically extended their range and commonly occur in the northeastern states. They adapt well to the presence of man and have moved into areas extensively cleared for farming. They are primarily predators on rodents, rabbits and other small animals and are frequently dubbed livestock-killers. Occasionally several adults cooperate in hunting large prey such as deer. Coyotes belong to the dog family. They resemble German Shepherds and have been know to mate with domestic dogs. |
WOLF
(canis lupus)Habitat: Open forests - tundra Head - Body: 40" - 52"; Tail: 13" - 19" Characterized by a visual dog-like appearance, the wolf's fur is usually gray but varies from silvery white to black. The wolf pack, usually numbering four to seven individuals, is a society of parents, young, and close relatives that follow a rigid hierarchy. The leader, or alpha male, appears to control the pack's activities and is often the only male to breed; usually he is paired with the dominant female. Wolves have a wide repertoire of social behavior, communicating by posture, voice and scent. They cooperate in feeding, protecting and training the pups. They are mainly big-game hunters, preying on deer and other large mammals, but will also attack smaller mammals and birds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BLACK BEAR(ursus americanus)
Habitat: Forests - Swamps - Mountains Head - Body: 4-1/2' - 5'.; Shoulder height: 2'- 3' Characterized for fur varying from cinnamon to black with a brown snout, no shoulder hump, and occasionally a white spot on their chest. Omnivorous in diet, Black Bears feed on animals ranging in size from insects to large mammals, as well as on plant material, carrion, and garbage. In autumn, these bears gain weight and retreat into dens under fallen trees, in caves, or in other protected areas. There they sleep for several months, living off stored fat. Black Bears are not true hibernators, their body temperature does not drop drastically and occasionally they wake up and wander away from their dens. Cubs are born about the end of January, while the sows are still in their dens. Bears produce exceptionally small offspring relative to adult size. A Black Bear weighs about half a pound at birth, but a mature sow averages 300 pounds. Males can exceed 600 lbs. or more.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MOUNTAIN LION(felis concolor)Habitat: Mountains - forests - swamps - deserts Head - Body: 42" - 60"; Tail: 24" - 36" The young are spotted and the adults have a fur tawny in color to gray. They have a relatively small head and a long, dark-tipped tail. The Mountain Lion has many aliases (Puma, Cougar, Panther, Painter, and Catamount). They are very secretive and are generally nocturnal. The Mountain Lion hunts deer and other mammals by stalking and rushing or by pouncing from trees and overhanging rocks. Like other large cats, it often kills by biting the neck of its prey. Most births take place in the summer and the spotted kittens nurse for five or six weeks and stay with the mother for as long as two years. This is one of the few cat species in which the adult's fur has no spots or stripes. There have been occasional sightings in the Great North Woods over the last decade or so. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - LYNX(lynx lynx)Habitat: Northern Forests - Swamps Head - Body: 30 - 38"; Tail: 4" Lynx are characterized by tufted ears, short, black-tipped tail, fur varied in color but usually grayish tan with scattered spots - furry and ruff. Lynx are a shy, elusive animal and is an agile climber, swims well, and travels with ease among fallen timbers and moss-covered boulders. In winter its broad, well-furred feet act as snow shoes, allowing swift movement in deep snow. Lynx populations undergo ups and downs that closely follow those of its chief prey animal, the Snowshoe Hare. When hares are abundant, the cats produce larger litters and their population increases. Eventually the hare population crashes, and a decline occurs in the number of Lynx. A similar relationship exists between the owl and rodent population, but the cycle recurs at shorter intervals. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BOBCAT(lynx rufus)Habitat: Canyon Country - Chaparral - Forests - Swamps Head - Body: 26-36"; Tail: 5" Characterized by a short tail (black on top only). Their fur varies from dark to light and they have a spotted belly, far more conspicuous than that on a Lynx. The Bobcat is the most common native feline in North America. It is a solitary animal with individual hunting ranges that vary in size according to the availability of prey. Rabbits and Hares are their main diet but it will eat almost any mammal, reptile or bird. The adults den up in caves, hollow logs and rocky ledges for protection and to have their young. The kittens are usually born in the spring. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WHITE-TAILED DEER(odocoileus virginianus)
Habitat: Forests - Swamps - Brushy areas near swamps Head - Body: 4' - 6 '.; Tail: 7 - 11" Characterized by reddish brown fur in the summer or grayish brown in the winter, they have a white underside of the tail which is raised when alarmed. Antlers have a main beam with several prongs. The White-tailed Deer favor the clearing of land and cutting of forests for browsing, especially for the young. They are more readily seen in the early morning and at dusk. Females normally don't have antlers and the males begin growing them several months after birth, shed them each winter and develop them anew each spring and summer. The age of a deer cannot be told by the size of the antlers or the number of tines, for antler growth is determined by nutrition, not age. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MOOSE(alces alces)
Habitat: Northern forests - often around freshwater Head - Body: 7-1/2 '; Tail: 2-1/2" - 3-1/2" Shoulder height: 5'- 6-1/2' They are the largest of the deer family with massive antlers that are flattened and pronged. They have a fleshy dewlap on their throat and the upper lip overhangs the lower. Males may weigh more than a thousand pounds in the falltime. Standing or swimming in lakes and ponds, they feed on many kinds of aquatic plants. Moose are not social animals, they are solitary or associate in small groups most of the year. In the fall the males become restless and aggressive, engaging in antler-to-antler combat, searching for mates. Calves are born in the spring (often twins) and remain hidden and inactive for several days. Wolves and bears prey on the calves, as they also do on the old and weak but few predators can successfully challenge a healthy adult. Moose swim well and run easily through the snow. Their formidable weapons are their legs and hooves. The male sheds his antlers in mid-winter and begins to grow them again in the spring. |