The Eastern Chipmunk
The Eastern chipmunk is a small rodent of the Sciuridae family. This chipmunk is closely related to the red and grey fox, the flying squirrel, and the woodchuck. Its Taxonomic name is Tamias Striatus. The word Tamias, Means collector or keeper and Striatus refers to its bold stripes and coloring.
The body of the average Eastern Chipmunk is about 8 to 10 inches long, the weigh about 2 ½ to 4 ounces. The ears are rounded with ears that stick straight up. It has short legs, the hind legs each have five claws, the front legs have four, and a long thumb like extension. They also have a furry flat tail.
Chipmunks have short, dense body fur. It is the same color for males and females. This is a reddish-brown with
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A chipmunk can transport large amounts of food in cheek pouches. A chipmunk uses its forepaws to manipulate food for eating or transporting.
Eating and foraging among other thing are done during the day. Chipmunks are most active in early morning and late afternoon. In hot weather they spend much time in their burrows.
A chipmunk's burrow my be simple or elaborate. The entrance is about two inches wide, it is usually hidden. Burrows sink straight down for several inches, then settle and lengthen about 30 feet, occasionally branching into derivative tunnels with separate entries.
Chipmunks excavate their burrows, thrusting or carrying unearthed dirt away from the entrance. Somewhere in the system is a foot-square nest chamber. this compartment is lined with crumbled dry leaves and grass. A chipmunk stashes nuts, seeds, corn, and other hoarded foods under the leaf bed or in a storage chamber nearby.
Chipmunks do not enter winter with a thick layer of body fat as do other hibernating animals. Instead they begin gathering and storing food in autumn and live off of that until late October or early November. Length of wintering behavior varies.
Chipmunks close their den entrances when they go underground. They sleep much of the winter, waking sporadically to eat. On tranquil, clear days they may leave the den for a short time. Some surface to breed in late February or early March, but snow and cold may force
Muntjacs can also get energy by sleeping. They make nests out of broken branches and twigs on the forest floor. Muntjac nests are usually hidden under thick vegetation. They are mainly built near a water source and food sources. They are mostly are active during dawn and dusk. Muntjacs are active in 24 hour periods with time spent lying up, after feeding.
Most nesting locations are amongst dense shrubbery and branches of small trees and are built lower to the ground. In order to defend his nest the male sings in a loud, clear whistle from the top of a tree or another high location. Sometimes males will attack their reflection often spending hours charging at what they perceive as unwelcome intruders.
One of the largest rodents is the Sciuridae family is the Woodchuck (Marmota Monax) or more commonly known as the Groundhog. It is a fairly common animal most heavily found in the north and north eastern parts of the United States and across most of Canada (Encyclopedia of Life, 2015). Most Woodchucks choose to live in a habitat of grasslands or along the edge of a forest. They tend to like a cooler climate, but during the heart of winter they will hibernate in burrows that they dig throughout the year. The Woodchuck is a incredibly interesting animal that creates elaborate burrows for homes and one of the true hibernators.
The artic fox lives on the tundra. They are consumers. A consumer is an animal that eats other plants and animals. The artic fox and penguin eat meat. They are carnivores. Carnivores are meat eaters. Mush ox and caribou eat plants. Plant eaters are herbivores. They can eat up to 100 to 200
An environment with a lot of vegetation and their preys is ideal for them. They are perfect hunters with ability to stalk their prey with patience and stealth. They then capture their meals with one strong leap. These animals live in solitary or in territories. One unique thing about them is that the females do not share the same territory with each other. Territories for males usually tend to overlap. The territories are established with scent markings and the size varies extremely. The size ranges from twenty five to thirty square miles for males and five square miles for females (Sunquist & Fiona
The eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) is the largest tree squirrel [1]. The animal is 10 to 15 inches and possesses three diverse color patterns. Firstly, in the southern segment of its range, this creature is dark with a white tip on its tail and a white band of color on its face. Secondly, in the northeastern part of its body, it has a gray appearance above with yellowish undersides. Thirdly, in the western section of its body, it is dark above and has a rust color underneath. This creature is a solitary animal, even though it shares a feeding territory with other squirrels. The eastern fox squirrel commonly occurs in the central and the eastern United States west to the Texas Colorado, and Dakotas [1]. It does not inhabit New England, most of eastern and northern Pennsylvania, western New
Mustela frenata is the scientific name of the long-tailed weasel. This scientific name of this species is known to be Latin and it refers to a bridle-like mask that is typical of weasel inhabitants in the southern sections of the United States. This species is also known as the bridled weasel or big stoat and it’s populated in much of Texas, mostly in the western, southern, and eastern parts of Texas. The long-tailed weasel is known for its looks of a small head with whiskers, a long body, and its short neck and legs. Throughout this research, we will discover that long-tailed weasels are solitary animals that live, reproduce, and thrive in southern sections of Texas.
Rattlesnakes are even known to move around during extended warm periods during winter months, especially if they hole up in a stump or other location that can be warmed easily by sunshine. Snakes do not actually hibernate, rather they become less active during cold weather. It is called
burrow with grasses, feathers, and other natural resources. The owl can lay up to eleven eggs, but usually
Chipmunks, scientific name tamias, interact with their environment in three major ways. They use their environment for shelter, food and protection. Chipmunks commonly live in forest or areas with lots of ground coverage. Generally, they live in burrow systems near said coverage; chipmunks also can live in nest in logs or bushes. Since they dig burrows, they help the plants receive the nutrients that they need to grow. The plants in turn give the chipmunks food. A typical chipmunk diet consists of nuts, seeds, eggs, frogs, berries and insects. Plants provide them with the food that they will store for the winter, when they wake up periodically from their hibernation to feed. The plants also provide them protection from predators such
When the temperature drops, animals who hibernate disappear from the outside world and emerge once again out in the open in the spring. Biologists wonder what activity occurs in the animals’ hidden underground chambers. Semi - fossorial animals dig enough suitable space underground for hibernation and movement. Woodchucks, skunks, and cottontail rabbits are known species that would occupy a den. Small mammal species like the jumping mice, meadow voles, and white footed mice are known to roam along vegetation to conceal themselves from prey. However, what is the probability that a small mammal would take the advantage and sneak right in and occupy it during the winter is a subject that interest most researchers.
The Western Painted Turtle is the largest of four species of turtles. They can grow up to about 8 inches and the males are generally smaller than the females. Their shells are nice and smooth and are about 250mm long. They are called painted turtles because their lower shell is a bright red with yellow and olive green colored designs spread through their shells. They have yellow lines on each side of their neck that are about the same size that go all the way to their head. They are cold blooded animals so they cannot control their body temperature. They have to go under the mud or sand to keep themselves warm. Western Painted Turtles are aquatic reptiles so
They need food, water, shelter, and a safe place to live. Depending on where they live they sometimes travel along a coast line which is a good place to find food. When the weather gets cold they return to their winter home, which they migrate to year after year. They return to their territory where they were born during the cold season to hibernate. Their hunting ground is their territory they sometimes share their territory with smaller animals and tend to go back to there hunting grounds year around; if they lose their hunting grounds to another bear they must find a new one. Polar bears hunt ring seals during the spring and early summer. They also eat wild berries, seaweed, and grass when they come across them. They will also go after snow geese, lemmings, birds’ eggs, dead whales, and walruses. They can get a successful kill every five days. (Smith)
Their environments are rainforest, woodlands and grassland. They spend the majority of their time on trees and eating on trees. They do not travel much and just scattered over their area. They are known to be omnivores and their diet consists of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, leaves, blossoms, insects and occasionally other animals. They are very social and communicate by calls, touch, body language, gestures, and facial expressions.
Skunks are burrowing animals found everywhere in the State of Michigan. Skunks are omnivorous; they feed on grubs, insects, small rodents, carrion, fruits and vegetables. Local skunks breed from February to March; gestation is eight weeks – they produce four to seven young which are usually independent by mid-summer. Skunks are active all year but may be dormant during periods of extended cold. They are attracted to spaces under porches, sheds, woodpiles, rocks or debris, garbage, pet food and open compost containers or compost piles.