Desert Cottontail is named after the area they like to live in
- the arid lands of the American Southwest and Plains states,
and their cottony white tail. They are light-colored tan to gray
with a yellowish tinge. The Desert Cottontail normally weighs
about 2 to 3 pounds and has large hind feet. It can run up to
20 miles per hour to escape predators.
Black-tailed Prairie Dog is the most abundant and widely distributed
of the four species of prairie dogs found in North America. They
are yellowish tan in color and have a black-tipped tail. Prairie
dogs live as groups in "towns" which can cover 1 to
over 1,000 acres. They are diurnal
animals, and spend much of their day visiting and grooming each
other as well as feeding.
were first spotted by the Lewis and Clark expedition on April
7, 1805. They are light gray to brownish in color with dark spots.
Bobcats weigh from 14-29 lbs., have ears that are slightly tufted,
and tails that are short and stubby ("bobbed"). Bobcats
make their homes in scrubby country or forests, and sometimes
swamps and farmland. They are found only in North America.
Missouri Beaver was first noted by Lewis and Clark on July 3,
1804, in Platte County, Missouri. The beaver is a very large rodent
with dark brown fur and a large, black, paddle-shaped tail. Using
its webbed hind feet, it can swim at speeds of up to 6 mph. Beavers
make their homes in rivers, streams, marshes, lakes, and ponds.
are a member of the dog family which includes wolves, dogs and
foxes. The color of their coat ranges from almost pure gray to
a red-brown. They have broad, pointed, erect ears and yellow eyes.
Coyotes can be found throughout the United States living in a
variety of habitats including grasslands, forests, and even very
close to human populations.
Grizzly Bear has a coat of blond, brown or black hair that is
tipped in white or silver, hence its nickname "the White
Bear." Even though the grizzly weighs between 300-1500 pounds,
it can run up to 35 mph! (No wonder the Indians warned Lewis and
Clark about this mammal!) Grizzly bears are primarily nocturnal
animals and feed on plants, berries, roots, fish, insects, and
weasel has a long body, short legs, and a tail that is often as
long as its body! Their body is brown on top and white to yellow
underneath. Long-tailed Weasels are found in forested, brushy,
and open areas, preferably near water. It makes its home in abandoned
burrows of other mammals such as chipmunks or moles. Weasels are
valuable in controlling populations of rodents such as rats.
Deer get their name from their large ears that move constantly
and independently of each other. They are reddish-brown in color
and weigh from 125-330 lbs. Mule deer "bound" instead
of run when startled; all four feet hit the ground together in
a series of jumps. Although they are unable to detect motionless
objects, they are very sensitive to moving objects. They are also
Antelopes are true Americans. They are found only on America's
Great Plains where they have roamed for over a million years.
Sometimes called the "prairie ghost," pronghorns are
America's fastest mammal. They can reach speeds of 60 mph, easily
outrunning any animal that tries to catch them. The pronghorn
has keen vision as well as excellent hearing and sense of smell.
are nocturnal animals, usually gray- or orange-brown in color.
Their face has a black mask outlined in white, and their tails
are bushy with black or brownish-gray rings. Raccoons make their
homes along wooded streams or wetlands,
but it is not unusual to find them in the middle of a city! They
have human-like, very agile, hands and are very intelligent.
Moose, also known as Wyoming moose, are dark brown in color with
high, humped shoulders and a long, oblong head. They can grow
to 7 feet tall at the shoulder and 10 feet in length! They live
in marshy areas and meadows in the summer, and move into the forest
during the winter. They feed on leaves, twigs, bark, buds, and
Short-tailed Shrew is only 3-4 inches long, but it is the largest
shrew in North America. Their eyes are almost invisible, and they
have no ears. Shrews live in forests, grasslands, and marshes.
They build nests out of shredded leaves, grass, and plant fibers.
Shrews like to eat earthworms, snails, centipedes, and sometimes
mice and smaller shrews. Their poisonous saliva kills their victims.
White-tailed Jackrabbit, also known as the "Prairie Hare"
or "White Hare", is pale grayish-brown in color, turning
grayish-white in the winter. They have long, antenna-like ears
and long legs which carry them at speeds up to 45 mph. White-tailed
Jackrabbits make their home in the grasslands and farmlands of
the Western states. They are strong swimmers and may plunge into
a river or stream when pursued.
Rats are often called "pack rats" because they pick up bottle
caps, paper, pieces of rope, and anything else they can find,
and carry it to their nest. Their color is brownish-gray mixed
with black on top, with lighter brown on the sides, throat, and
belly. Wood Rats are nocturnal and feed on a wide variety of plants.
They are found in rocky, timbered regions, and like to build their
nests in crevices or small caves.
Plains Pocket Gopher is a rodent and is related to the Ground
Squirrel. It is cinnamon brown in color and has long front and
back claws for digging its burrow which sometimes reaches 800
feet deep. The Plains Pocket Gopher gets its name from the pouches
("pockets") on its cheeks. It fills these pouches with
food and then transports the food back to the burrow to store
for later use. The Plains Pocket Gopher can be found in grasslands,
alfalfa fields, pastures, and roadsides.
Yellow-haired Porcupine's Latin name, Erethizon dorsatum,
can be loosely translated as "the animal with the irritating
back." And no wonder, because its back and upper body are
estimated to have 30,000 quills! (There are none on the nose,
legs, and underparts.) Porcupines move very slowly so their quills
are their only protection from their faster moving enemies. The
quills have several dozen small black barbs on them that cause
a great deal of pain to attackers. The quills contain an antibiotic
so they seldom cause infection in the attacker.
Mountain Sheep, a subspecies of Bighorn
Sheep, was first sighted by Lewis and Clark on April 26, 1805,
in North Dakota. Bighorn sheep are distinguished by their large
curved horns that keep growing during the life of the animal instead
of being shed each year like the antlers of deer. They need extremely
rugged terrain with steep canyon walls adjoining grassy meadows
to survive. Some subspecies of Bighorn sheep are still found in
the United States and Canada, however, because of uncontrolled
hunting, the Audubon sheep became extinct around 1890.
many stripes does a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel have? Hmmm...13?
That's right! This ground squirrel has 13 alternating dark and
light stripes; the dark ones are dotted with white squarish, white
spots. Thirteen-lined squirrels are small, 5 to 6 inches long
and weighing from 4-10 ounces. They are found in much of central
North America in pastures, lawns, and other short grassy areas.
They are very active during the day and will stand straight up
to look around.
by Lewis and Clark in 1805 at Great Falls, Montana, Lewis wrote
"Their tallons appear longer than any species of fox I ever
say and seem therefore prepared to more amply by nature for the
purpose of burrowing." The Swift Fox is the smallest wild
dog in North America. Its fur is light gray with orange-tan coloring
on the sides and legs. They live in shortgrass prairies and deserts.
Swift Foxes are not on the Endangered Species
List, but at present there are only a few scattered
populations in the Great Plains of the U.S. and in western Canada.
Striped Skunk is about the size of the average-sized house cat.
Its body is black with a white stripe running from its eyes to
the tip of its tail (the stripe splits at the shoulders and forms
a nice V along the skunk's back). Skunks are known for being very
smelly creatures. When threatened, the skunk sprays a strong,
musky smelling fluid at its would-be attacker. This fluid is very
painful if sprayed in the eyes and can cause temporary loss of
vision. When left alone, this nocturnal mammal likes to roam the
desert, woodland, grassy plains, and suburb areas.
Bushy-Tailed Woodrat is named for its squirrel-like, bushy tail.
It is pale gray to brown to black in color with white underside.
Like all woodrats, they are "pack rats," dropping whatever
it is holding in favor of any shiny object. Bushy-tailed woodrats
like to live in rocky areas and coniferous
the Yellow-bellied Marmot looks a lot like a groundhog, that's
because he is, or at least, he is what people in the eastern
United States call a groundhog. This heavy-bodied, grizzled
buff-brown colored marmot is the animal that people watch to
see if it sees its shadow on Groundhog Day. Marmots live about
three years and eat a diet of native forbs,
grasses, sedges, clovers, and alfalfa.
or short-tailed weasels, are small, furry mammals, that can be
found in the forests and tundra of the Northern United States
and Europe. These weasels lose their brown summer fur when winter
comes when they grow a pure white one. Only the black tip of their
tail remains black during this transformation. Weasels are excellent
hunters, catching and eating small mammals such as mice, squirrels,
and rabbits. They also eat birds, eggs, fish and insects.
Goats spend their lifetime wandering the steep, snow-covered cliffs
of North America's mountain ranges. Because they live in such
remote areas, not much was known about the Mountain Goat until
almost 1900. Mountain Goats have a thick, snow-white, poofy long
coat of hair, that stops just below their knees. They have black
horns that are 6-10 inches long.
Seals belong to the scientific order Pinnipedia, which
includes walruses and sea lions. Unlike most pinnipeds, Harbor
Seals are generally solitary and rarely interact with one another.
They have short, thick fur, and long whiskers that aid their sense
of touch. They feed on squids, crustaceans, mollusks, and fish.
Harbor Seals can crush the shells of crustaceans and mollusks
with their flat back teeth.
Columbian White-Tailed Deer is a medium-sized, brownish colored
deer, with, you guessed it - white fur along and under its tail.
These deer were plentiful in Lewis and Clark's time, but by the
late 1800s, they were considered extinct. Pioneers had settled
on much of the fertile farm land and either drove the deer away
or hunted them. Columbian White-Tailed Deer were one of the original
78 species placed on the Federal Endangered Species List in 1967.
Since that time, the White-Tailed Deer population has grown to
Columbian Black-Tailed Deer has - right again- black markings
on its tail (what were Lewis and Clark thinking!). This medium-sized
deer has a stocky body with long, slim, sturdy legs. It is a subspecies
of Mule Deer. Mule deer have large ears that can move independently
like a mule's. They range the Pacific coast from British Columbia
to northern California, along the forest edges, and in the mountains
Sea Otter has the thickest fur in the animal kingdom. Although
it is beautiful fur, it has its disadvantages: the sea otter relies
on its fur to keep warm (it does not have a layer of blubber like
other mammals), so if the fur gets coated with oil or any other
substance, the otter can easily die from cold and exposure; and,
before it became a protected species, sea otters were hunted to
near extinction by fur traders for their luxurious fur. The Sea
Otter is the largest member of the weasel family. It can reach
four feet in length and 100 pounds in weight. They inhabit the
shallow coastal waters of the northern Pacific.
Elk, sometimes known as Olympic Elk or Wapiti (the Shoshone word
for "pale" or "white"), are the second largest
member of the deer family. This elk was part of the reason that
Lewis and Clark expedition located their camp at Fort Clatsop
during the winter of 1805/1806. Elk was their main source of food
that winter as well as a source of clothing and footwear. In the
summer they range in the open mountain pastures, and in the winter,
in the lower wooded slopes and dense woods.
Red Fox resembles a medium sized dog, has reddish-orange fur,
and a thick bushy tail. Like most other members of the wild dog
family, they are quite intelligent and very adaptable to their
surroundings. Because of this, it is not unusual to find red foxes
in urban areas. They eat a wide variety of food including mice,
rabbits, earthworms, beetles, fruit, and small birds. Red foxes
are nocturnal animals, rarely coming out during the day.
and Clark described the Oregon Bobcat at Fort Clatsop, Oregon
in February 1806. They are a tawny color (more gray in the winter)
with dark spotting, have short, stubby tails, and slightly tufted
ears. They generally like to be left alone and avoid people, but
sometimes they become curious about humans, pets, and activities.
They may sit and observe from a vantage point, much like a common
house cat does.
Chipmunk is a large, dark brown chipmunk, with black and pale
stripes on its head and body, and a long, bushy tail. Chipmunks
are shy but active creatures. They are good climbers and will
run quickly up trees to flee enemies. They eat berries, acorns,
maple seeds, conifer seeds, fungi, and insects. Townsend's Chipmunk
is found from extreme southwestern British Columbia south through
most of western Oregon. It was noted by Lewis and Clark at Fort
Gray Squirrels is a tree squirrel that grows up to a length of
24 inches (including the long bushy tail!). They do not have cheek
pouches like ground squirrels do. Their coat is gray above and
white on the underside. The gray hairs of their coat and tail
are tipped in white. The Gray Squirrel lives in woodland areas
eating mostly acorns and does not hibernate in the winter like
some ground squirrels do.
Douglas Squirrel is olive brown in color with an orangish-buff
belly and an orangish line of fur between the fur on its back
and the fur on its belly. They are noisy squirrels and will often
alert other forest creatures to danger by their loud scolding
and chattering. Douglas Squirrels eat seeds from Douglas fir,
Sitka Spruce, and Shore Pine pinecones. They get to the seed of
the pinecones by stripping the cone's scales one by one. These
squirrels also eat mushrooms. Of course, they dry them first by
stashing them in the forks of tree branches!
Ground Squirrel is a gray or yellowish gray squirrel which likes
to live in the sandy, well-drained soils of prairies. There, it
makes burrows 15-20 feet in length, 4-5 feet below the surface.
Each burrow has a mound of dirt at the entrance where the squirrel
often stands. It is nicknamed "flickertail" for the
way it accompanies its shrill whistle with a flick of its tail.
Because of its cheek pouches and the large amounts of seed it
stores in them, Richardson's squirrel sometimes looks like it
has a head that is much bigger than its body.
you've never heard of a Mountain Beaver, you are not alone. Little
is known about these rodents since they live underground, come
out mostly at night, and never go very far from their burrows.
They are dark brown except for a white spot below each ear; their
fur is coarse and dull. Mountain Beavers like to live near water
in forested areas at sea level to timberline peaks. They are herbivores
and eat just about any type of vegetation.
Western Badger was first noted by Lewis and Clark at Fort Clatsop,
Oregon, in 1806. The badger got its name from the white, badgelike
mark on its forehead. It can be from the western United States
to eastern Texas, Oklahoma, northern Missouri, northern Illinois,
northern Indiana and northern Ohio. The badger likes to live in
open plains and prairies, farmland, and sometimes along the edges
probably never seen a mole in real life, but you've probably seen
the damage they can do burrowing through someone's yard. Townsend's
Mole is a large mole with black fur and a short, thick, nearly
bare tail and snout. Its eyes are tiny but visible. It is about
7-8 inches in length and can be found in meadows, fields, and
lawns along the Pacific coast from extreme southern British Columbia
to northern California.
Oregon Pronghorn Antelope can be found near the borders of Oregon,
Idaho, California, and Nevada. DNA analysis has shown no different
from the pronghorn antelope. Early settlers almost eliminated
pronghorns from their native range in eastern Oregon. Hunting
was finally prohibited in the early 1900s and was not allowed
for 25 years thereafter. Herds are now established once again
and limited hunting is allowed. Oregon Pronghorns like grasslands,
grassy brushlands, and bunchgrass-sagegrass areas to live in.
Columbian Ground Squirrel has white speckled brown, black, and
gray fur on its head and back, and reddish-tan fur on its undersides.
It can be found in open alpine meadows, dry grasslands, and brushy
areas. This squirrel hibernates
seven or eight months out of the year, starting as early as
July. It has a special hibernation chamber in its burrow that
is sealed off from the rest of the burrow with a plug of dirt.
It stores seeds and bulbs in the chamber to eat when it wakes
up in the spring.