Opossum Adaptations 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Opossum Adaptations 1. Play dead when threatened. 2. Only marsupial (pouched animal) in North America 3. Have long, prehensile (gripping) tales to help them climb. 4. Have opposable thumbs that help them climb. Virginia Opossum Mallard Duck Duck Adaptations 1. Have webbed feet for swimming. 2. Baby ducks are able to feed themselves shortly after hatching. 3. If a predator is lurking nearby, a mother mallard will pretend to be injured to distract it from her brood (babies). Bluegill Fish Adaptations 1. Have gills for breathing underwater. 2. Have fins and a tail to help them swim. 3. Most fish have a swim bladder that allow them to stay at a certain depth in the water. Striped Skunk Skunk Adaptations 1. They lift their tails and spray predators with a bad smelling spray. They can spray 10-15 feet away. 2. Their fur has warning colors to keep predators away. 3. They have a great sense of smell for finding food. American Beaver Beaver Adaptations 1. Webbed back feet for swimming. 2. Long sharp front teeth for chopping down trees. 3. Flat tail for swimming and scaring away predators. 4. Clear eyelids that act like swim goggles. 5. Thick waterproof fur for staying warm. Bat Adaptations Little Brown Bat 1. Nocturnal (come out at night) to help them avoid predators. 2. Only mammal capable of true flight to help them hunt. 3. Use echolocation where sound waves bounce off of objects, to find food and fly safely. 4. Have long arms and fingers that are connected to their legs with a membrane to form wings for flight. Whitetail deer Whitetail Deer Adaptations 1. The fawns (babies) have spots to help them camouflage while the mom looks for food. 2. They flash their white tail to warn other deer of danger. 3. Males have antlers to fight other males. 4. They have large ears that they can turn all directions to listen for predators. Least Weasel Adaptations 1. Their fur changes color to blend in with the season. 2. In the winter, the black tip on their tail helps them absorb the suns heat to keep warm. Winter 3. There narrow body allows them to go into underground burrows to hunt. Least Weasel Summer .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Moose Foraging in the Temperate Forests of Southern New England Author(S) :Edward K
Moose Foraging in the Temperate Forests of Southern New England Author(s) :Edward K. Faison, Glenn Motzkin, David R. Foster and John E. McDonald Source: Northeastern Naturalist, 17(1):1-18. 2010. Published By: Humboldt Field Research Institute DOI: 10.1656/045.017.0101 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1656/045.017.0101 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non- commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder. BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. 2010 NORTHEASTERN NATURALIST 17(1):1–18 Moose Foraging in the Temperate Forests of Southern New England Edward K. Faison1,2,*, Glenn Motzkin1, David R. Foster1, and John E. McDonald3 Abstract - Moose have recently re-colonized the temperate forests of southern New England, raising questions about this herbivore’s effect on forest dynamics in the region. We quantiﬁ ed Moose foraging selectivity and intensity on tree species in rela- tion to habitat features in central Massachusetts.
[Show full text]
Mammals of the Finger Lakes ID Guide
A Guide for FL WATCH Camera Trappers John Van Niel, Co-PI CCURI and FLCC Professor Nadia Harvieux, Muller Field Station K-12 Outreach Sasha Ewing, FLCC Conservation Department Technician Past and present students at FLCC Virginia Opossum Eastern Coyote Eastern Cottontail Domestic Dog Beaver Red Fox Muskrat Grey Fox Woodchuck Bobcat Eastern Gray Squirrel Feral Cat Red Squirrel American Black Bear Eastern Chipmunk Northern Raccoon Southern Flying Squirrel Striped Skunk Peromyscus sp. North American River Otter North American Porcupine Fisher Brown Rat American Mink Weasel sp. White-tailed Deer eMammal uses the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for common and scientific names (with the exception of Domestic Dog) Often the “official” common name of a species is longer than we are used to such as “American Black Bear” or “Northern Raccoon” Please note that it is Grey Fox with an “e” but Eastern Gray Squirrel with an “a”. Face white, body whitish to dark gray. Typically nocturnal. Found in most habitats. About Domestic Cat size. Can climb. Ears and tail tip can show frostbite damage. Very common. Found in variety of habitats. Images are often blurred due to speed. White tail can overexpose in flash. Snowshoe Hare (not shown) is possible in higher elevations. Large, block-faced rodent. Common in aquatic habitats. Note hind feet – large and webbed. Flat tail. When swimming, can be confused with other semi-aquatic mammals. Dark, naked tail. Body brown to blackish (darker when wet). Football-sized rodent. Common in wet habitats. Usually doesn’t stray from water. Pointier face than Beaver.
[Show full text]
Mammals of the Rincon Mountain District, Saguaro National Park
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Mammals of the Rincon Mountain District, Saguaro National Park Natural Resource Report NPS/SODN/NRR—2011/437 ON THE COVER Jaguar killed in Rincon Mountains in 1902, photographed at saloon in downtown Tucson. Photograph courtesy Arizona Historical Society. Mammals of the Rincon Mountain District, Saguaro National Park Natural Resource Report NPS/SODN/NRR—2011/437 Author Don E. Swann With contributions by Melanie Bucci, Matthew Caron, Matthew Daniels, Ronnie Sidner, Sandy A. Wolf, and Erin R. Zylstra Saguaro National Park 3693 South Old Spanish Trail Tucson, Arizona 85730-5601 Editing and Design Alice Wondrak Biel Sonoran Desert Network 7660 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite 303 Tucson, AZ 85710 August 2011 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service’s Natural Resource Stewardship and Science oﬃ ce, in Fort Collins, Colo- rado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the informa- tion is scientiﬁ cally credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner.
[Show full text]
Virginia Opossum
Virginia Opossum Status ☑ Bites ☑ Carries internal & external parasites ☑ Can transmit pathogens on its body ☑ Often infested with fleas that can vector pathogenic bacteria, the cause of flea-borne typhus Opossum tracks. Right front foot (left), right hind foot (right). Note the lack of a claw on the inner toe of the hind foot. General Information What Do They Look Like? The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is a hairy, heavy- Opossums are marsupials, primitive mammals whose young bodied, cat-sized mammal with a large white head, a long complete their development in a pouch on the lower portion narrow snout, black hairless ears, and a long rat-like tail. It of their mother’s belly. The marsupial group includes familiar walks and climbs with all four limbs and uses its tail to grasp animals such as koalas, kangaroos, and wallabies. Marsupials as if it were another hand. Its body fur is gray, about an are native to the Australian region, and South, Central, and inch long, and is interspersed with much longer white and North America. This is the only marsupial found in the wild in gray hairs (about 2.5-3 inches long). It was introduced into North America. California from the southeastern U.S. many years ago and has spread to most coastal and foothill areas of the state. It The head and body of an adult Virginia opossum totals about is now a common resident throughout urban and suburban 74 cm (29 inches) long, but ranges from 35 to 94 cm (13-37 areas of Orange County and is rarely seen in wilderness areas.
[Show full text]
Virginia Opossum Didelphis Virginiana
MAMMALS OF MISSISSIPPI 1:1-8 Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) BRITTANY L. WILEMON Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, 39762, USA Abstract.—Didelphis virginiana is a small marsupial more commonly known as the opossum. Found primarily in the eastern United States, it is a very hardy mammal that is usually gray with a lighter shade in the north and a darker shade in the south. Known for its opposable tail and its ability to feign death, this primarily nocturnal mammal prefers wooded and moist areas. Didelphis virginiana is a species of little concern, with populations expanding to the north and west. Published 5 December 2008 by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi State University Virginia opossum spectrum. Weight ranges from 1.9 to 2.8 kg Didelphis virginiana (Kerr, 1792) (McManus 1974). Average life expectancy is approximately 1.5 years. The length of the CONTEXT AND CONTENT tail is relatively large compared to the body Order Didelphimorphia, Family Didelphidae, length. The tail is usually around 90 percent of Subfamily Didelphinae, Genus Didelphis. Four the body length (McManus 1974). The tail is subspecies are recognized. hairless and scale like. The ears are hairless • Subspecies virginiana and are dark gray or black in coloration. The • Subspecies californica adult dental formula (Fig. 2) of the Virginia • Subspecies pigra opossum is i 5/4, c 1/1, p 3/3, m 4/4, 50 total • Subspecies yucatanensis (McManus 1974). • GENERAL CHARACTERS DISTRIBUTION The Virginia opossum ranges in color from The Virginia opossum has been noted as one a light gray in the north to a dark gray in of the most successful mammal species in the southern part of the range.
[Show full text]
Effigy Mounds- Yellow River Forest
___Hooded Merganser* ___Hudsonian Godwit ___Acadian Flycatcher* ___Bohemian Waxwing ___Dark-eyed Junco ___Brewer’s Blackbird ___Common Merganser ___Marbled Godwit ___Alder Flycatcher ___Cedar Waxwing* ___Common Grackle* ___Summer Tanager ___Red-breasted Merganser ___Semipalmated Sandpiper ___Willow Flycatcher* ___Brown-headed Cowbird* Effigy Mounds- ___Lapland Longspur ___Scarlet Tanager* ___Ruddy Duck ___Least Sandpiper ___Least Flycatcher* ___Orchard Oriole* ___Snow Bunting ___Northern Cardinal* ___White-rumped Sandpiper ___Eastern Phoebe* ___Baltimore Oriole* ___Northern Bobwhite* ___Rose-breasted Grosbeak* Yellow River Forest ___Baird’s Sandpiper ___Great Crested Flycatcher* ___Ovenbird* ___Gray Partridge* ___Blue Grosbeak ___Purple Finch ___Pectoral Sandpiper ___Eastern Kingbird* ___Worm-eating Warbler* ___Ring-necked Pheasant* ___Indigo Bunting* ___House Finch* ___Dunlin ___Louisiana Waterthrush* ___Ruffed Grouse* ___Loggerhead Shrike* ___Dickcissel* ___White-winged Crossbill ___Stilt Sandpiper Bird Conservation Area ___Northern Waterthrush ___Wild Turkey* ___Northern Shrike ___Red Crosbill ___Short-billed Dowitcher ___Golden-winged Warbler ___Bobolink* ___Common Redpoll ___Common Loon ___Long-billed Dowitcher ___White-eyed Vireo* ___Blue-winged Warbler* ___Red-winged Blackbird* & ___Pine Siskin* ___Wilson’s Snipe* ___Bell’s Vireo* ___Black-and-white Warbler* ___Eastern Meadowlark* ___American Goldfinch* ___Pied-billed Grebe* ___American Woodcock* Audubon Globally ___Yellow-throated Vireo* ___Prothonotary Warbler* ___Western Meadowlark*
[Show full text]
Wildlife Flock to Backyards for Food from People 26 October 2020, by Laura Oleniacz
Wildlife flock to backyards for food from people 26 October 2020, by Laura Oleniacz abundance and variety of mammals compared with wild areas. "There's this idea that nature and humans don't coexist well," Kays said. "But what we've been finding is that when it comes to mammals, especially in North America, they actually do pretty well around people. You end up with high abundance. You expect there to be fewer animals, and there's actually more." Researchers wanted to know why that is. To test whether food and shelter are attracting animals, A new study used camera traps to study what might be researchers set up cameras in the backyards of 58 drawing wildlife to people's backyards. Credit: eMammal. homes near Raleigh, Durham, and outside of The photo was cropped and shared Creative Commons Chapel Hill, as well as in nearby forests in rural and Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International urban areas nearby for comparison. The study was License. conducted in collaboration with scientists at the University of Montana. By analyzing the pictures they found, researchers To see wildlife in the Triangle, sometimes you discovered seven species -squirrels, gray and red need go no further than your own backyard. A new fox, Virginia opossum, eastern cottontail rabbits, study helps explain why some animals are woodchucks and eastern chipmunks—were more sometimes more often found in suburban areas frequently seen in yards compared to forests. than wild ones: because people are feeding Eleven species, such as white-tailed deer, squirrels them—sometimes accidentally—and to a lesser and raccoons, were more common in suburban degree, providing them with shelter.
[Show full text]
Virginia Opossum Didelphis Virginianus Background the Virginia Opossum Is the Only Member of the Order Marsupialia (Pouched Animals) J
WILDLIFE IN CONNECTICUT WILDLIFE FACT SHEET Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginianus Background The Virginia opossum is the only member of the Order Marsupialia (pouched animals) J. FUSCO © PAUL found in Connecticut. In fact, it is the only marsupial found north of Mexico. A marsupial is an animal with a pouch. The opossum has been around since the age of the dinosaurs (for at least 70 million years) and it is one of the earth's oldest surviving mammal species. Opossums were not found in Connecticut prior to the early 1900s. Due to their ability to adapt to different habitats and food sources, opossums have been able to expand their range from the southeastern United States to the Northeast during the 20th century and are now found throughout New England. Range Opossums are found in the eastern United States and along streams, ponds, lakes, swamps, and marshes. southeastern Canada, south through Central America. Farmland and woodlots are preferred over extensively forested areas. Opossums also are commonly found Description living in residential areas, making their homes in The opossum is a medium-sized animal that measures backyards and under sheds and other outbuildings. between 15 and 20 inches long (not including the tail) The opossum is both a scavenger and an omnivore and weighs between 4 and 12 pounds. It has long, which feeds primarily at night. It uses its keen sense of coarse, grayish-white fur. Black, brown, and albino smell to find food. The diet consists mainly of insects, opossums have been found, but are very uncommon. worms, carrion (dead animals), reptiles, amphibians, Opossums have a sharp-pointed and slender muzzle, birds and their eggs, crustaceans, berries, fruits, and prominent thin ears, and short legs.
[Show full text]
The New Anthology of Susan Morse's Essays For
THE NEW ANTHOLOGY OF CONTENTS SUSAN MORSE’S GENERAL TRACKING BOBCAT Declining Moose Populations: What Does ESSAYS FOR Canid versus Felid Bedside Stories the Future Hold? When a Wild Cat Kills a Deer Cat Communique MUSKRAT NORTHERN WOODLANDS Making Sense of Scent Marking Bobcat Betrothals The Resourceful Muskrat A Scent Message from an Arizona Jaguar Bobcat Scrapes OPOSSUM Scratch Back CANADIAN LYNX Virginia Opossum Raised-Leg Urination Is the Lynx Missing? PORCUPINE What’s the Scoop on Poop? The Missing Lynx Porcupine Signs of Spring Clods, Wedgies and Imprints Scratch and Sniff Shed Hunters Summers’s Other Nest Builders Form Follows Function Nip Twigs Hair! Hair! Looking for Lynx RACCOON BOTANY AS IT RELATES TO WILDLIFE Lynx in Love Raccoon Ramblings Soft Serve: Autumn’s Unheralded Mast Species COUGAR Raccoon or Otter? High-Hanging Fruit: Boom and Bust Seed Crops Cougar Conundrum RIVER OTTER of Conifers COYOTE Twist or Spraint? A Seed’s Promise Omnivorous Coyote Slippery Business (or is it Pleasure?) Cavities are Good! FISHER Feet Make Tracks BEAVER Fisher Forays SNOWSHOE HARE Beavers at Work A Fisher’s Stash Snowshoe Hare Beavers at Home for the Winter True Grit SQUIRRELS – RED and GRAY BIRDS Getting on the Stick Sap Taps A Different Drummer Fisher or Otter? Red Squirrel’s Stashes, Cashes and Trash • More than 80 articles on wildlife Snow Angels FOXES: GRAY FOX AND RED FOX Gray Squirrel’s Caching and Feeding Sign and natural history — many ex- Snow Birds: Staying North for the Winter A Fox Meets its Match Putting Up Food panded from
[Show full text]
The Virginia Opossum: Our Only Native Marsupial
ALABAMA A&M AND AUBURN UNIVERSITIES The Virginia Opossum: Our Only ANR-1414 Native Marsupial he Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), also known as possum, is an animal that can T be both a benefit and a nuisance to landown- ers. Known widely for playing dead when frightened, the opossum is a creature with a unique place among Alabama’s wildlife. As other animals are vanishing from forests in the United States, opossums appear to be flourishing due to their remarkable ability to adapt. Characteristics T he Virginia opossum is a medium-sized mammal, weighing 4 to 13 pounds at adulthood. It has 50 teeth, which is more than most other mammals. Although they may live longer in captivity, opossums live only 1 to 3 years in the wild. The opossum’s face is white with a dark V-shaped marking, and its body is covered with dense gray underfur and long gray or black guard hairs. Opossums appear mostly white, gray, or black, depending on the color and density of these guard hairs. Cinnamon- colored and albino opossums have been documented as well. Opossums’ legs are usually covered with black hairs. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only They have hairless black ears and white, black, or pink marsupial native to the United States. hairless paws. Their tails are mostly naked except for a few bristly hairs. With a prehensile (gripping) tail between her hind legs. Only females have marsupia. and an opposable (grasping) thumb on the hind foot, In females that have not had a litter, the pouch is this animal is well equipped.
[Show full text]
Winter 2017 Website: E-Mail: [email protected]
TALES FROM THE TREE The Quarterly Newsletter of Ziggy’s Tree Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Volume No. 7 Issue No.3 Date Winter 2017 Website: www.ziggystree.org E-mail: [email protected] WELCOME HEATHER! While our primary focus as an organization has been the If you would like to invite Heather to a school or civic rehabilitation and successful release of orphaned and group program, please contact us by e-mail at injured wildlife, assisting our callers with tips on living in [email protected] or text 615-631-2205. harmony with their wild neighbors as well as determining when and if wildlife needs help is also part of our daily routine. We are excited to announce that our education program now includes our first non-releasable “Wildlife Amabassador” – Heather, the Virginia Opossum! We also plan to grow our education program to include a non-releasable small bird of prey, such as an American Kestrel or Eastern Screech Owl. We have secured some funding for this project, and are looking for cage building assistance. If you have construction skills or know an Eagle Scout that is looking for a project, please contact us Heather was injured when she was hit by a car as a via e-mail or by phone at 931-393-4835 or 931-841-9781 youngster. A well-meaning family rescued her, but (text). unfortunately did not get her to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility. While she survived her initial injuries, We are looking forward to continuing to expand our she was kept as a pet by the family and became too wildlife rehabilitation and conservation education habituated to people to be successfully released back to programs.
[Show full text]
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge: Wildlife List
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Valentine National Wildlife Refuge Wildlife List Wildlife Abounds Valentine National Wildlife Refuge Hackberry and Look for ducks and geese, especially in the Native (NWR), located 25 miles south of Pelican Lakes during the spring and fall. Watch for Prairie the town of Valentine, Nebraska, is pintail, mallard, ruddy, canvasback, 71,774 acres in size and was established and many more ducks. Take a walk in 1935 as a Refuge and breeding on the nature trail up to the old fire grounds for migratory birds and tower on the west end of Hackberry other wildlife. In fact, most of the Lake for a view of the Sandhills and wildlife present in historical times a look at grassland sparrows. This goose, are still present on the Refuge designed by J.N. today. Numerous wetlands, lakes, Duck Lake Look in the trees around the boat “Ding” Darling, wet meadows, and large expanses of ramp for they are an oasis for has become the native prairie attract a wide variety songbirds. Watch for warblers, blue symbol of the of wildlife. This brochure lists and black-headed grosbeaks, Lazuli National Wildlife 289 species of birds, 41 species of buntings, eastern bluebirds, and Refuge System. mammals, 16 species of reptiles, and many more. six species of amphibians that have been recorded on the Refuge. Check-list Key Sp Spring March – May S Summer June – August May, September, and October offer F Fall September – November good opportunities for observing a W Winter December – February variety of migratory birds. Spring migrants, including waterfowl and c common – present in large warblers, are most numerous in May.
[Show full text]