B) Physical Description:
Cougars are tawny or greyish-brown in colour and are unspotted as adults. 2 Their short fur is tan in the summer and greyish in winter. 3 Their throat, chest, chin, and whiskers are white. 3 They have long tails with a black tip, which can grow to a length of 90 cm. 2 They have rounded and short ears which are light-coloured on the inside and black all around. 3 Cougars are known for their large front paws and powerful hinds, which allow them to be good at jumping. 2 Their average weight is 60-100 kg for males and 35-60 kg for females. 2 Their length can vary anywhere from 5 to 9 feet. 3 Cougars can be mistaken for wild bobcats, fishers, and coyotes. 3 Best way to recognize a cougar is by checking it's tracks: 2
-Their tracks have 3 lobes at the back (Dogs & coyotes have 1 indent)
-Their toes are shaped similar to teardrops (Dogs & bobcats' are oval-shaped)
-Their tracks are about 3-3.5 inch wide (Bobcat tracks are obviously smaller)
-The rarely have visible claw marks (Dogs & coyotes have visible claw marks)
C) Habitat:
A variety of habitats that cougars use include coniferous, deciduous, and tropical forests, grassland, swamps, and semi-desserts. They can be found anywhere from sea level, to altitudes of 4500m. They prefer habitats with plenty of cover and prey. They share many habitats with the Jaguar Panthera onca. The Eastern Cougar is a carnivore (tertiary), and feeds on many different types of organisms.
D) Ecological Importance:
They are the top predators in their ecosystems. 2 They aid in controlling populations of large hoofed mammals. 2 Without cougars, herbivores, such as deer, reproduce at a fast and high rate and pose a threat of consuming all vegetation, which would then drive out oth...
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...avioral adaptations that helps them in survival. Some physiological adaptations include their sense of hearing, and sight. Their ability to hear high frequencies aids in catching mice as prey, even when they are hidden under leaves or snow. Their large eyes aid in sighting prey, as they can see up to 285 degrees. The retina of the cougar’s eyes has more rods than cones, portraying a sign of night vision. Some morphological adaptations include, sharp canine teeth, used for tearing apart meat. Long back legs, used for jumping and running at speeds of 40 miles per hour, as well as, claws used for climbing tress. Behavioral adaptations include, being quiet will hunting and catching its prey, and burying its unfinished kill for later consumption. These characteristics show that the eastern cougar is not only a physically powerful animal, but an intelligent one as well.
Now even though these bears help the environment so will other bears. The Grizzlies are just another species of the many species of bears why are these bears more important than other bears. As we find from the GNWT: “Grizzly Bears in the NWT occur primarily in open alpine or tundra habitats, but they can also be found in forested areas. They have large home ranges relative to most other bear species. On average, a male’s range can exte...
The tar pits were surrounded by grasslands, shrubby areas and pine forests. Sabertooth cats fed off of herbivores so they often times lived in areas like this because many of the plant-eating animals sabertooth cats relied on lived in these areas. Smilodons also preferred to live in closed habitats so that it was easy to ambush it’s prey while hiding in bushes. Fossils show some evidence that Sabertooths were social, perhaps even living in groups to care for one another. Fossil records also suggest that they lived in icy lands, as they lived during the end of the Dinosaurs and during the Ice Age.
The North American Whitetail is typically 3 1/2 to 4 feet tall at the shoulder, and can range from 100 to 220 pounds. The size of the deer depends on the area you find the deer and how much food there is in that area. The males (or bucks) typically have antlers that they shed seasonally. The females (or does) usually do not have antlers, but can on rare occasions. There are some very definite qualities that make it easy to distinguish the white tail from one of its close relatives, like the mule deer. The whitetail is a reddish brown color in the summer and a grayish brown color in the winter. If you ever see a whitetail in the wild, you will quickly see how they got ...
In many areas, the deer have adapted to eat primarily agricultural crops (crops grown by humans). In many parts of the country, a deer’s diet may consist of up to 50% farm grown corn. Obviously the deer eat some native foods, such as some trees and bushes, particularly buck brush and rose, but along with small amounts of dogwood, chokecherry, plum, red cedar, pine, and many other species of plants. Forbs, particularly sunflowers, are important, however grasses and sedges are used only briefly in spring and fall.
Coyotes and bears are a common sight in the woods. These animals, along with others, are predators that help to control deer population but also decrease the amount of land allowed to the deer. In Western NC, deer rates have fallen and bag limits have been reduced. In Pennsylvania, biologists have conducted a lengthy study to determine fawn mortality and predation. Predators killed 46% of fawns, (Hart). A study about coyotes in Ohio found that even though they kill numerous fawns, the population of deer continues to grow, (Hart). It would be critical to maintain...
People today use hunting as a sport. Of course, not everyone agrees with hunting, but those who like to hunt justify their actions by saying that they are helping with the overpopulation of animals, like deer. The truth is that we are affecting the population of animals. Animal overpopulation can be due to the loss of an animal’s natural predator. Predators are extremely important in an ecosystem, and they are nature’s way of controlling the animal population. In William Stolzenburg’s book, Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators, he addresses the importance of predators in an ecosystem. He discusses an experiment done by a zoologist named Robert T. Paine. Paine decided to do an experiment to see what happens when one disrupts an ecosystem. He conducted his experiment on rocks along the shore in which a species of starfish was the top predator. Paine’s experiment consisted of grabbing the starfish off the rocks and throwing them into the ocean. His results showed that one single species has a tremendous effect on its ecosystem. After getting rid of the top predator, about half of the species that
Grizzly bears live in a variety of environments .All of which includes dense forests, subalpine meadows, open plains and arctic tundra . In the past though, they could be found from Alaska to Mexico, and from California to Ohio. Though Nowadays there are efforts trying to make it so grizzly bears can make a comeback and the wild, and all of their efforts are proving to be working, there are 4 times as many grizzlies in the wild as there were in 1975, at
In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,
“The animals are reducing the number of trees and seedlings and affecting which species will survive, forestry experts say” (NBC news). A wildlife professor estimated that deer cause at least $750 million in damage to the timber industry. This becomes a big impact on the economy. “We view it as problem of our own making,” said Laura Simon, field director of urban wildlife and sanctuaries program for the Humane Society of the United States. “We have created an ideal landscape for deer.” (NBC news). Deer are said to eat anything and everything, this is especially proven when farms have their crops
First, hunters are the biggest contributors to those wildlife agencies that are designed to help the wildlife
(1) Most Field and Stream enthusiasts know that cougars are a fast and agile animal that can live for many years with no real predator other than humans. Another name for the cougar is the well used mountain lion which many Eastern states have named stores, schools, and even sports teams after. The distinction that the Mississippi river stops cougars from traveling into Eastern states can’t be proven because there are many animals in the West that are in the East. In Craig Springer’s "A Rumor of Cougar" article posted in the Field and Stream magazine depicts falsehood due to three interesting fallacies, a fallacy of distraction and two causal fallacies. [SS-1]
The biggest animal in the world is also the largest carnivore in the world. That is the blue whale which can grow up to 100 feet long and weigh up to 200 tons (Bradford, 2016). The largest carnivore on land is the polar bear, which can weigh around 1,300 pounds (Geo, n.d. ). At the top of the food chain they keep prey in check. Carnivores will usually eat herbivores, but they will and can eat omnivores. And occasionally other carnivores (NorthWestern n.d.). Animals that eat other animals, like carnivores and omnivores are important to an ecosystem. They keep other species from getting overpopulated and since carnivores have to hunt down and kill other animals they need to take in a large amount of calories to sustain their lives (NorthWestern
The fur is generally a medium grey, darker on the hind part of the back where the black-tipped hair becomes wavy. Legs, paws, and the back of the ears are more yellowish in color; the throat, belly, and the inside of the ears are whiter. The tail, is darker on top and lighter on the underside. The color also depends of the season, and healthiness of the coyote. The coyote's fur is long and soft and well suited to protect it from the cold.
The fur of the Siberian tiger is long, thick and yellow with dark black stripes running through it. The coat of this animal is reddish colored in the summer months. The underside of the Siberian tiger is bright white, and the tail area is white and black.
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.