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Discover unique traits of wildlife mammals and their tracks in the environment. Learn about grey squirrels, opossums, beavers, and more.
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Environmental Science: Wildlife Mammals Tracks and Characteristics Notice: the characteristics I’ve listed here are not necessarily the same as those Mrs. Haveman will test you on.
Grey Squirrel • Uses its feces to spread seeds • Pelt has some value • Eats nuts • 4 front toes and • 5 hind toes
Opossum • Important for its fur • A delicacy in the South • Plays dead • Lives in dens located in brushy areas near streams • A large hind thumb • Naked tail • Babies are born at 1/175th of an oz.
Woodchuck/Groundhog • Hibernates from Oct-Feb • Trapped by a box trap • Some believe it is a delicacy (delicious)
Beaver • Can stay under water 15 minutes • A twig with bark rubbed away can bait this animal • Webbed feet
Muskrat • Europeans love its fur • 4 skinny long toes • Lives in cattail marshes of Iowa
Red Fox • Nocturnal (active at night • Male & female raise the young together • Can be caught by using a dirt trap hole or urine post • Eats rodents, rabbits, birds • Straight line tracks
Raccoon • Nocturnal • Eats plants & meat • Trapped by a cage • A banded tail
Badger • Digs tunnels • Hisses • Releases odor when disturbed (but no spray)
Striped Skunk • Lives in field corners, rock piles, and fence
Whitetail Deer • Travels in packs • Males rub their antlers, and lose them • Live in wooded areas and corn fields
Ring-necked Pheasant • The male is called a cock or rooster • Female is a hen • The MOST IMPORTANT game bird in Iowa
Wild Turkey • Hunting for this creature brings $60 million to Iowa’s economy
Plains Garter Snake • 18-28 inches long • Lives hear ditches, home foundations, and abandoned wells • Important for killing rodents • Will bite, but not venomous
Prairie Rattlesnake • Lives in the Loess Hills of Plymouth County • Extremely venomous