Winter Wildlife Quiz

[Tom Beno]

From eNature.com:

Winter Wildlife Quiz

North American animals have numerous strategies for surviving the winter. Some
migrate to warmer climes, others head for a long winter's nap, and some stay
where they are and rely on fur, speed, fat, teeth, and claws to keep them safe,
warm, and well fed. How much do you know about the winter behavior of North
America's animals? Test your winter wildlife knowledge by taking our quiz.
(Scroll down to see the answers.)

1. Which animal has the densest, warmest fur on earth?
A. Beaver
B. Sea Otter
C. Polar Bear
D. Mink
E. Muskox

2. How much weight might an adult Grizzly Bear gain before retiring for the
winter?
A. 50 pounds
B. 100 pounds
C. 200 pounds
D. 300 pounds
E. 400 pounds
F. All of the above

3. Which animal remains active all winter, and doesn't retire to a den for a
sustained period?
A. Eastern Chipmunk
B. White-tailed Prairie Dog
C. Red Squirrel
D. Black Bear
E. Polar Bear

4. Choose the animal species that does NOT regularly appear in a white-furred
form.
A. Eastern Gray Squirrel
B. Arctic Fox
C. Grizzly Bear
D. Least Weasel
E. Gray Wolf
F. Black Bear

5. Which of the following species will travel to a new area for the winter?
A. Manatee
B. Caribou
C. Bison
D. Snow Goose
E. Snowy Owl
F. All of the above

6. Animals generally put on fat for two reasons: warmth and food reserves.
Which of the following species reaches the heaviest weight?
A. Grizzly Bear
B. Polar Bear
C. Northern Elephant Seal
D. Walrus

7. Match the predator (1-7) with the prey (a-g) that it commonly eats.

1. Arctic Fox
2. Lynx
3. Northern River Otter
4. Mink
5. Polar Bear
6. Walrus
7. Northern Elephant Seal

a) fish
b) squid
c) clams
d) seal
e) snowshoe hare
f) lemming
g) muskrat

--ANSWERS--

Question 1: If you guessed the Sea Otter, you're right! Its fur is denser than
the fur of any other mammal. One square inch of Sea Otter fur contains as many
as 1 million hairs -- that's about the same number of hairs on the heads of ten
humans. This water-loving mammal eats, sleeps, mates, and gives birth at sea.
It lacks the layer of blubber that keeps many other marine mammals warm, and so
has only its fur coat to protect it from chilly North Pacific waters. Oil
spills can devastate Sea Otter populations, because the otters' coats lose
their insulating properties when saturated with oil, and many affected otters
die of exposure.

Question 2: All of the above! A Grizzly Bear can put on as much as 400 pounds
to prepare for its winter sleep. This omnivore will eat just about anything in
its quest to fatten up for the lean times. Grizzlies eat not just large mammals
(elk, moose, deer) and fish, they'll eat roots, plant sprouts, berries,
mushrooms, and any smaller critters, including insects, that come their way.

Question 3: The answer is the Red Squirrel. These gregarious creatures are
active year-round, although they may hole up for a few days in inclement
weather. The Red Squirrel's relatives the Eastern Chipmunk and White-tailed
Prairie Dog are true hibernators, meaning they enter a state of dormancy during
the winter in which body temperature drops to only a few degrees above air
temperature, and all bodily processes greatly slow down. The hibernating animal
thus conserves energy and stored fat, and is able to sleep through much of the
winter.

Bears enter a protected area and sleep away the harshest part of the winter,
but they do not truly hibernate, as their sleep is not deep, and their
temperature falls only a few degrees below normal. Even Polar Bears retire to a
den for part of the winter. Females den from November to March, during which
time they give birth, while males usually den from late November to late
January.

Question 4: The answer is the Grizzly Bear, which ranges in color from tawny to
dark brown but is never white (except in the case of a rare albino individual).
Arctic Foxes and Least Weasels vary seasonally, growing a white coat for winter
camouflage (in northern populations). The Gray Wolf is a species that varies
individually, ranging from white to black and any shade in between. Most
Eastern Gray Squirrels are gray, but there are populations of white gray
squirrels in several areas, with the largest concentration found in Olney,
Illinois. And rarest of all of these white mammals are the cream-colored Black
Bears that live in the coastal rain forests of British Columbia. These bears
belong to a subspecies of Black Bear officially named the Kermode Bear but
often referred to as the Spirit Bear.

Question 5: If you guessed all of the above you are right! At least some
individuals of all of these species relocate seasonally. Even though Manatees
live only in the South, they head for warmer water in the winter, some
migrating tens to hundreds of miles and others merely congregating around the
heated discharge from power plants. The Caribou of Alaska and Canada famously
go on long mass migrations between winter and summer grounds. The Bison of the
Great Plains once undertook mass migrations by the millions and ranged nearly
from coast to coast. Few of the populations left are free-ranging, but some
Canadian Bison still migrate about 150 miles between winter and summer grounds.

The Snow Goose is named for its white color rather than its love of snow; it
summers in the Arctic but heads to the coastal United States and southward for
the winter. The Snowy Owl, on the other hand, can and does survive the winter
in our most northerly climes. In some years, however, if the owl's prey species
(mainly lemmings) decline in population, large numbers of Snowy Owls will move
into regions south of their normal range; this kind of migration is called an
irruption or invasion.

Question 6: The Polar Bear, with its warm coat to keep it warm, is the svelte
member of this group, reaching only about 1,100 pounds. A Grizzly Bear can
weigh as much as 1,700 pounds. The largest Grizzlies are those of the southern
Alaska coast and islands that are known as Alaskan Brown Bears. A Walrus can
weigh nearly twice as much, topping out at 3,300 pounds. It lives in Arctic
seas and needs a good solid layer of blubber to keep warm. Wisely, it spends a
lot of time sunbathing on beaches or ice floes. When it does go on a prolonged
dive (for up to 30 minutes) its blood flow decreases to the skin, thus
conserving body heat, and increases to its vital internal organs.

The record holder among these four creatures is the Northern Elephant Seal: A
male can reach 4,400 pounds! He doesn't stay that hefty, however: this seal can
lose 50 percent of its weight during the mating season, when it is too busy to
eat, and also fasts during the molt, when it grows a new coat. This Pacific
Coast species does not live in waters as cold as the Walrus, but it spends more
time in the water. It can stay underwater for nearly an hour and a half, pop up
for a few minutes and dive again, so clearly it needs insulating blubber to
help retain body heat.

Question 7: Lemmings are an important food source for the Arctic Fox. These
small rodents undergo cyclical variations in population, increasing in number
enormously when food is plentiful, then decreasing when the population outgrows
the food supply. Arctic Fox populations follow these cycles, usually peaking a
year after the lemmings. There is a similar relationship between the Lynx and
the Snowshoe Hare, which makes up three-quarters of the Lynx's diet.

Northern River Otters mainly eat fish, and Minks fish too but their preferred
prey in many areas is muskrat. Polar Bears stalk seals mainly, but also eat
young Walruses, whales, fish, birds, eggs, shellfish, kelp - whatever they can
find. Walruses like clams and other mollusks so much that they can eat 3,000 to
6,000 in a single feeding. Northern Elephant Seals eat enormous quantities of
squid (and they eat fish, too).

http://www.enature.com/feature/feature_news.asp?storyID=590

[Tom Beno]

Deer and elk head to valleys for shelter

Winter not as hard on animals as some might think

By GREG STAHL in the Idaho Mountain Express

With the arrival of heavy snow in Central Idaho last week, the region's wild
animals are streaming down to the relative shelter of valley floors and the
rolling desert.

Elk are flocking to private and public feed sites, as well as into subdivisions
and cities with lush vegetation fit for eating. Deer are migrating south to the
Snake River Plain.

And as they have for centuries, mountain lions and other predators are
following the ungulates into the valleys.

To help the animals survive the deep snow and to mitigate the effects of their
presence on the valley floor, a number of public lands closures have been
implemented and feeding operations instituted. The Wood River Land Trust is
trumpeting some of its protected land as a sanctuary for the wintering animals.

But the winter so far has not put the animals in dire straits, said Idaho
Department of Fish and Game Conservation Officer Roger Olson.

"Animals, basically, aren't hurting," Olson said. "They're in good shape. They
were in great shape going into the winter. The fat reserves measured on deer
going through hunting season check stations was good, better than in previous
years."

Among local deer populations, last week's storm caused a panic that drove them
south, Olson said. Though the winter weather doesn't pose an imminent threat,
the migration into areas where humans have developed the animals' traditional
winter range does.

At least 85 deer and elk have drowned in the last week after breaking through
the ice covering Lucky Peak Reservoir near Boise. The animals fell through
while attempting to cross the lake to escape higher, heavier snows and to find
food in the lower elevations south toward Boise, according to Fish and Game
Regional biologist Jerry Scholten.

Closer to home, 17 deer were hit and killed Thursday, Jan. 15 ,by a train east
of Dietrich, Fish and Game reported. The kill came just four days after 58 deer
were killed on the same railroad tracks.

Fish and Game Regional Conservation Educator Kelton Hatch said the agency is
contacting Union Pacific Railroad officials to see if snow can be bladed away
from the tracks to offer migrating big game an alternate traveling route.

The deer seek refuge on the tracks from deep snow, he said.

To help mitigate the impact of people on wintering wildlife, the Bureau of Land
Management and U.S. Forest Service implement annual closures of key wintering
areas.

"During the winter, harassment of wildlife on historical winter ranges can
quickly deplete their energy reserves," said Bill Baker, BLM Shoshone Fieled
Office manager. "They have a difficult enough time trying to live through these
tough winter conditions, so we need to eliminate any further stress on wildlife
from disturbance or harassment by motorized and non-motorized recreationists."

Each winter, the BLM closes six local areas from Dec. 1 to April 30. The Forest
Service's closure of south-facing slopes in Warm Springs canyon is implemented
as snow dictates.

Looking at the issue from another angle, the Wood River Land Trust said last
week that deer and elk are frequenting a number of properties on which it has
obtained conservation easements. On Wednesday, Jan. 14, 16 elk milled around on
the east side of Highway 75 just south of East Fork Road.

One of the properties the animals were on was recently protected through a
partnership between local landowners, Blaine County and the land trust.

Nancy Schauer, who was involved with the easement process, watched the elk move
through.

"I love seeing wildlife right in our midst," she said. "My husband and I were
so excited to see the elk crossing the river, cutting through our yard and
grazing on the easement property."

Elk, however, are not the only species using protected lands in the area,
according to Dan Gilmore, land trust communications director. Moose, bald
eagles and mountain lions have also taken up refuge in the towering cottonwoods
along the Big Wood River.

In fact, a mountain lion was discovered at a Hailey home on Tuesday, Jan. 6,
when it took up residence at the front door. The 2- to 3-year-old female was in
"incredibly poor shape," Olson said.

"When it would stand up and move around, we could see that the whole back half
of the animal had atrophied," he continued. "You could see the backbone and all
of its ribs, practically."

Olson said Fish and Game officers euthanized the lion because of its poor body
condition.

"If it had been healthy, it would not have been doing what it was doing," Olson
said. "Healthy mountain lions do cruise through neighborhoods looking for deer,
elk, dogs, cats, whatever they can find. Healthy mountain lions do not stand
looking into someone's living room letting someone look at it for 20 minutes."

Though Olson said deer and elk are doing well so far this winter, Lawrence
Kimball, part owner of Warm Springs Sleighs, said the elk he helps feed on the
Warm Springs Golf Course in Ketchum need more food to make it through the
winter.

http://www.mtexpress.com/2004/04-01-14/04-01-14winterwildlife.htm