Large Mammals

White-Tailed Deer

White-Tailed DeerHabitat: adaptable creatures

Feeding Habits: herbivores, forbs, browse, shrubs, acorns, fungi, grasses

Life cycle: 1. Rut- October to November, dominant buck mating several does2. Bucks establish territory3. After 7 months, does give birth, normally May or June4. Fawns are spotted at birth, with almost no odor5. Usually spend their entire life within a 1-square-mile area6. Average life expectancy is around 8 to 10 years, can live up to 16 years. 7. Mortality is high during first 6 months

Elk

ElkHabitat: semi-open forest areas in mountains, mountain meadows, and

foothills; found in higher elevations

Feeding Habits: herbivores, grasses, forbs, brush and bark

Life cycle: 1. Rut- September2. Bulls “bugle” or call to attract cows to advertise their presence3. Gather herds of cows, polygamous4. Cows gestation is 8.5 months, giving birth in May or June, twins are

rare5. Calves are hidden for two weeks6. Average life expectancy is around 8 to 10 years, can live up to 14 years.

Moose

Moose

Habitat: bogs, swamps, river bottoms, and other water sources

Feeding Habits: herbivores, mainly aquatic plants

Life cycle: 1. Rut- early fall2. Bulls are very aggressive and mate with as many cows as

possible3. Calves, often twins, are born in the spring, do not have spots4. Calves remain hidden for several days5. Adults are vulnerable in winter, when snow limits mobility

Caribou

Caribou

Habitat: Northern tundra of Canada and Alaska

Feeding Habits: herbivores, grasses, lichens, shrubs, fungi

Life cycle: 1. Rut- September, Bulls breed as many cows as possible2. Bulls gather harem of a dozen so cows guard them jealously

from challengers3. Single calves (sometimes twins) are born in late May or June4. Calves are not spotted5. Rarely exceed 6 to 8 years of age

Bison

Bison

Habitat: North America, found in largest numbers on open plains

Feeding Habits: herbivores, grazer of various grasses

Life cycle: 1. Breeding season is July and August2. Bulls fight furiously over cows and breed as many as

possible3. Single calves (twins are rare)4. Calves are not weans for 6 to 7 months of age.5. Bison may live 10 to 20 years in the wild and 30 in captivity.

Pronghorn

Pronghorn

Habitat: Prairies and Plains

Feeding Habits: herbivores; browse and graze on sagebrush and a variety of grasses

Life cycle: 1. Breeding Season is October to November2. Dominant bucks gathering a harem of does3. Does give birth to one to three young, often twins in May or June4. Fawns are able to follow their mothers shortly after birth until

they can outrun the coyotes at 3 to 4 weeks of age5. Average life span is 5 years

Mountain Goat

Mountain Goat (antelope)

Habitat: most inaccessible mountain tops in North America

Feeding Habits: herbivores; graze and browse on scrubs, grasses, sedges, and lichens

Life cycle: 1. Breeding in November2. Fights with other Billies3. One to two kids are born in late April, May, or June4. Young are capable of running within an hour of their birth 5. Follow their mother back to the herd in 3 to 4 days6. Life span in the wild is about 10 years

Black Bear

Black Bear

Habitat: swamps, bogs, forested areas, and mountains, rarely found in open areas

Feeding Habits: Omnivorous, very opportunistic, insects or berries or grasses

Life cycle: 1. Solitary animals except when a female is in estrus2. Young are born in January, weighing 8 ounces, 1 to 33. Stay with their mothers for 2 years4. Life span is 12 to 15 years

Mountain Lion

Mountain LionHabitat: Forests, mountains, swamps, and deserts

Feeding Habits: carnivores, feeds heavily on white-tailed deer and mule deer. Also feed son smaller mammals, such as dogs and livestock

Life cycle: 1. Solitary animals, except when females are receptive to male’s advances2. Require vast areas of largely uninhabited space in which to survive. 3. Young are born in April or May, although cats are capable of breeding anytime

of the year4. Two to five spotted kittens, dependent on mothers for two years5. Females raise a litter every other year6. Males sometimes kill kittens, so females are very protective of their young7. Can live up to 20 years in captivity, but 10 to 12 in the wild

Gray Wolf

Gray WolfHabitat: Open forests and tundra

Feeding Habits: carnivores, eat anything from mice to a moose, as well as ripe fruit and berries on occasion

Life cycle: 1. Very social animals.2. Mate for life3. The dominant males and female in the pack produce all the offspring.4. Raising the young is a community affair5. 4-6 pups are born in a den selected by the female6. Young are helpless7. Young are on their own after about 1 year of age, though they may live 15

years, 10 years is more common in the wild.

American Pine Marten

American Pine Marten

Food: Voles, mice, squirrels, rabbits, small birds, nuts, fruitsHabitat: Mature forests of dense evergreens or conifer hardwood

mixLife Cycle:1. Young Martens or kits are born around April. 2. They will each adult size about three to four months of age

although they don't really mature until they are about two years old.

3. The mother will have two to three kits each time she has her babies.

4. When they are born, the kits are naked, blind, and deaf.5. Life span: may reach 10 years or more in the wild

River Otter

River OtterFood: Fish, crayfish, birds, small mammalsHabitat: Rivers, streams and lakes; Creates dens in stream banks with

underwater entrance or builds den in hollow logsLife Cycle:1. Delayed Implantation2. Mating January-March3. Males do not help raise young otters. 4. Females retreat to their underground dens to deliver litters of 1 to 6

young which are 5 ounces and don’t open their eyes until they are 4 weeks old.

5. When the young are only about two months old, they get an advanced swimming lesson—their mother pushes them into the water.

6. Otters are natural swimmers and, with parental supervision, they soon get the hang of it.

7. Live 15 to 20 years in captivity and 8 to 9 in the wild

Fisher

Fisher

Food: Snowshoe hares, voles, squirrels, carrion, mice, porcupines

Habitat: Forest of dense conifers or mixed deciduous and conifer forests

Life Cycle:1. Fishers mate in March and April. 2. The female gives birth ten to eleven months after mating.3. She has one to six babies in a nest in a hollow tree. 4. The babies are blind at birth. 5. If the nest is disturbed, the female will move her babies.

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lion-with-cub-94_13_498.html&docid=gj6YecGxi9NRJM&imgurl=http://www.brucefarnsworth.com/data/photos/498_1mountain_lion_cub_a33974.jpg&w=1784&h=1216&ei=-zTiUM_EFoGCrAGFooHYAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=2&vpy=265&dur=214&hovh=185&hovw=272&tx=135&ty=144&sig=109154165638188548617&page=2&tbnh=133&tbnw=189&start=27&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:55,s:0,i:340

• http://www.cosmostv.org/2011/07/environmentalists-government-debate.html