Transcript Common Animals of the Bear Creek Watershed

Common Animals
of the Bear Creek Watershed
December 2009
The Bear Creek Watershed Virtual Tours
were created with funds provided by the
Bear Creek Watershed Education Partners
through a grant from the
Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board
with additional funding from Oregon Trout’s Healthy Waters Institute.
THANKS TO:
•Terri Eubanks
•Jefferson Nature Center
Animals Need Habitats
A habitat is the place
where a plant or animal
naturally or normally lives.
All living things require
habitats: a place giving
them food and shelter,
where they can find what
they need to thrive.
Both a bear and a bug
need a habitat, and
though they may live in
the same place like the
Bear Creek watershed,
they need different
things from their
habitat.
The Bear Creek watershed
is full of habitats and
the animals that live in them!
• While large animals like bears and mountain
lions need large areas for their habitats, small
animals may easily have their habitats all
around us.
• Almost all habitats in the Bear Creek
watershed are affected by the actions of
people.
What are Mammals?
• Warm blooded
• Feed their young milk
• Usually have some kind of hair or bristles
Can you name some mammals?
Beavers in the Bear Creek watershed often build homes or dig burrows
along the side of stream banks, not as dams across the stream. Woody
plants are food for beavers and if you see peeled sticks in the stream
or gnawed trees and shrubs, you can be sure beavers are near.
Beavers are the official state animal of Oregon. To keep them warm, beavers
have thick fur which people used to hunt them to obtain.
Raccoons are very
adaptable and have
learned to live closely
among humans.
What does it
mean for an
animal to adapt?
Black bears are
common in the
forested parts of the
Bear Creek watershed.
Sometimes, they can
even make their way to
town.
Bears frequently come
to the orchards of the
Bear Creek valley in
the late summer and
fall to eat fruit.
Deer
Male deer grow antlers in the summer and shed them in the
early winter. Fawns are born in spring.
Do you know the difference
between horns and antlers?
Gray Fox
The Gray Fox is
usually shy and
nocturnal. It feeds
on small mammals
but also fruits,
nuts, grains, large
insects, carrion,
and small amounts
of herbs. The Gray
Fox prefers
woodland and
brushy habitats.
What are Reptiles?
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Cold blooded
Dry scaly skin
Claws
Lay eggs with leathery shells
Western Fence Lizard
Fence lizard are commonly called “blue bellies”
because male lizards have especially bright blue
undersides. The lizards use this coloration to
communicate to each other.
What do lizards communicate?
Alligator Lizard
Though they are small animals, alligator lizards are not afraid
to bite humans who catch them. Most lizard species can lose
their tail when they are caught, but losing a tail is still very
damaging to the lizard as is takes a lot of energy to re-grow a
new one and they store energy in their tail to use when
needed.
Lizard eggs are
often buried in
sand or gravel.
Western Pond Turtle
Western pond turtles are the only native
turtle in Oregon. These shy animals can
be seen warming themselves on logs at
ponds or other quiet water. These turtles
are threatened by lose of habitat and the
introduction of bullfrogs which
often eat baby turtles.
What are Amphibians?
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Cold blooded
Damp skin
No claws
Lay jelly like eggs, usually in water
Pacific Treefrog
These small frogs are common native frogs and are usually
less than two inches long with a dark eye stripe. These frogs
are commonly heard in wet areas croaking to communicate to
other frogs.
What do frogs communicate to each other?
Rough-skinned Newt
These salamanders like cold, clear water. Their bright orange
underside is an important field mark and reminds predators that
the newt’s skin is very poisonous and can be deadly to eat.
Always wash after handling these newts.
What is the difference between a newt and a
salamander?
Newts are a subgroup of salamanders. All newts
are salamanders, but not all salamanders are
newts.
Pacific Giant Salamander
These large salamanders can
grow to 14 inches long
and need cold clear
streams to live.
If bothered, they may
produce a sharp, low
pitched yelp (similar to a
dog’s bark). They may also
attempt to bite and are
capable of inflicting a
painful cut.
What are Insects?
• Invertebrates in the Arthropod group: having a hard
exoskeleton, a segmented body and legs in pairs
• An adult stage characterized by a well-defined
segments, including a head, thorax, abdomen, two
antennae, three pairs of legs, and usually two sets of
wings
• Because insects are small, they can use habitats
within habitats: under logs, in streams, in the air, in
tree tops.
There are many groups of animals
(called orders) within the Insect class.
These include many you know:
Beetles
Butterflies & moths
Flies
Bees & Wasps
Some insects in the Bear Creek watershed are
unique to this area and some are very common.
Can you think of some insects you know?
Photo: Maya Cross-Killingsworth
Beetles
• Beetles have hard wing
coverings. And comprise nearly
a quarter of all the described
species on Earth.
• Many people know that
ladybugs help humans by
eating crop pests like aphids.
But did you know that many
native ladybug species are
disappearing, possibly due to
the release of non-native
species for crop pest control
decades ago.
A native insect: Nine-spotted Ladybug
Different beetles have many
different kinds of jobs.
Ground Beetles are usually black and
shiny and often found under logs and
rocks. Most ground beetles are active
predators, hunting for prey items on the
forest floor, in trees and vegetation and
within the soil itself. However, not all are
entirely predatory and a number of species
are scavengers.
Bark Beetles are tiny beetles whose larvae can tunnel under
the bark of conifers. Wildfire, drought, disease, and land
management practices can weaken trees and attract bark
beetles that can then overpopulate and kill many trees in a
forest.
Photo: Edward H. Holsten, USDA Forest Service
Bees
• Bees and wasps have very thin “wasp waists”
European Honey Bees are not
native, but are now critical for
pollinating most of our food
crops.
There are several local species of Yellowjacket Wasps.
Some species are native, some are not, but they are
common and prey on other insects as well as scavenge
(like at your picnic). These colonial insects build paper
nests which can house thousands of individuals.
Franklin’s Bumble Bee
Southwest Oregon
including the Bear
Creek watershed is
one of the few places
on earth this Bumble
Bee is found and it
may be extinct. One
of the last live
Franklin’s Bumble
Bee was found on Mt.
Ashland in 2003.
Butterfly
• Butterflies & moths belong to the order
“Lepidoptera” which means scale wing.
Oregon Swallowtail
The Oregon Swallowtail lives in
the Columbia River watershed
and was designated the official
Oregon State Insect.
Oregon Swallowtail
- Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest; Mountain Press;
Bill Neill-
Mardon Skipper
Mardon Skipper
is a small tawny –
orange colored
butterfly found in
grasslands. One
of the few places
it lives on the west
coast is in
Jackson County.
True Bugs
• Have an “X” shape made by their wings and
wing coverings.
Box Elder Bug or
Maple Bug
These common bugs overwinter as adults in
protected areas such as
garages and cracks and
crevices in homes. Their
favorite food: maple and
box elder trees.
There are many animals to discover in the
habitats of the Bear Creek watershed.
Emigrant Lake & Bear Creek watershed
Photo by Brandon Goldman
Now, get outside and explore!
Note to user:
• Objective of presentation: Brief introduction to common and
interesting mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects found in
Bear Creek watershed.
• Most appropriate for: Ages 6 and up
• How to integrate this presentation into other activities:
– Go outside and look for animals or their signs. Do not overlook what
can be found in schoolyards, undeveloped land, or parks. A close
search can often yield evidence of animals, especially insects.
– Use field guides and other materials to learn more about animals.
– Read literature about wild animals (see list following)
– Write animal stories including elements such as where animals live
(habitats) and what they need.
– Draw or paint animals in habitats.
Children’s Wildlife Literature
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Albert, Richard E. Alejandro's Gift.
Allsburg, Chris Van. Just a Dream
Arnosky, Jim. Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats
Bunting, Eve. Secret Place
Brown, Ruth. Toad
Fleming, Denise. Where Once There Was a Wood
MacLachlan, Patricia. All the Places to Love
Yolen, Jane. Owl Moon
Other Wildlife Resources
• USFWS “Let’s Go Outside” www.fws.gov/letsgooutside/
• USFWS “Endangered Species” Kid’s Corner
www.fws.gov/endangered/kids/index.html
• Project WILD - www.projectwild.org/
• National Wildlife Federation - www.nwf.org/kids/
• North Mountain Park, Ashland OR: www.northmountainpark.org/