American Badger Length: 24 - 30 inches Weight: 19 - 25 pounds (males) 15 - 19 pounds (females) Life Span: 10 years (wild) 26 years (captivity) Diet (Wild): small burrowing mammals, snakes, ground-nesting birds, some plants Diet (Zoo): small vegetables, "Carnivore Diet" (ground meat, bones) Indviduals: Chase (male) Reproduction: approximately 56 days gestation 16 months to maturity (males), 12 months (females) In Pocatello: Yes The American badger (Taxidea taxus jeffersoni) is a carnivore native to the hils and plains of Idaho and North America. It is widely spread across North America, and has retained the vast majority of its historic range. The jeffersoni subspecies, native to Idaho, is endangered in Canada due to hunting and extermination of its prey. Everyday Behavior: The American badger is a fossorial carnivore: it hunts by digging and lives by burrowing. The American badger is nocturnal: it is active around dusk and after dark. It sleeps in shallow burrows that it may take from other animals. The American badger is not a fast runner, so it hunts its prey in their burrows. When it finds a burrow, it digs rapidly with its front claws until it unearths its prey and kills it with its claws and teeth. The American badger is solitary except in mating season. A badger has a territory from 0.8 to 4.7 square miles. Males have a larger territory than females. The American badger does not hibernate, but it does enter into a torpor for several months in the winter, reducing its caloric consumption. Life Cycle and Reproduction: Both male and female American badgers expand their range during breeding seasons: males' territory can grow more than twice as big. The American badger typically mates in the late summer. Implantation occurs from December to February, and birth occurs in early spring. The young badgers are called cubs. They are born in a grass-lined den in the mother's burrow. Their mother nurses them for two to three months. They typically leave their mother at five to six months. The males do not aid in the rearing of the young.
Diet (Wild): small burrowing mammals, snakes, ground-nestingbirds, some plants
Diet (Zoo): small vegetables, "Carnivore Diet" (ground meat, bones)
Indviduals: Chase (male)
Reproduction: approximately 56 days gestation16 months to maturity (males), 12 months (females)
In Pocatello: Yes
The American badger (Taxidea taxus jeffersoni) is a carnivore native tothe hils and plains of Idaho and North America.
It is widely spread across North America, and has retained the vastmajority of its historic range. The jeffersoni subspecies, native to Idaho,is endangered in Canada due to hunting and extermination of its prey.
Everyday Behavior:
The American badger is a fossorial carnivore: it hunts by digging andlives by burrowing. The American badger is nocturnal: it is active arounddusk and after dark. It sleeps in shallow burrows that it may take fromother animals.
The American badger is not a fast runner, so it hunts its prey in theirburrows. When it finds a burrow, it digs rapidly with its front claws until itunearths its prey and kills it with its claws and teeth.
The American badger is solitary except in mating season. A badger hasa territory from 0.8 to 4.7 square miles. Males have a larger territorythan females.
The American badger does not hibernate, but it does enter into a torporfor several months in the winter, reducing its caloric consumption.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Both male and female American badgers expand their range duringbreeding seasons: males' territory can grow more than twice as big. TheAmerican badger typically mates in the late summer. Implantationoccurs from December to February, and birth occurs in early spring.
The young badgers are called cubs. They are born in a grass-lined denin the mother's burrow. Their mother nurses them for two to threemonths. They typically leave their mother at five to six months.
The males do not aid in the rearing of the young.
Olympian Feats:
The American badger is a championshiprattlesnake hunter. The badgers hide and fur areso thick that a snake bite rarely penetrates it. If asnake does happen to penetrate the hide of thebadger the toxin that is released from the snake onlygets between the hide and the flesh. This way thebadger absorbs the toxin gradually instead of allat once, keeps the badger out of danger.
The American badger is also a championshipdigger. They have very powerful legs, partiallywebbed toes and their front claws can be up to 2inches long. The front claws grow at a highlyaccelerated rate compared to their back ones, whichkeeps them fresh for digger.
It is said that when threatened they can dig fastenough to bury themselves in one minute.
Fun Facts:
When threatened, badgers release a foul-smellingmusk much like that of a skunk. This, unfortunately,doesn’t qualify as an Olympic feat (especially whencompared to the skunk).
The American badger has few predators besidesman. Wolves and golden eagles have been knownto attack it, but the badger does not form a large partof their diet. The badger's powerful claws and sharpteeth make it a fearsome prey.
The American badger often hunts with the coyote -or rather, the coyote tags along and waits as thebadger digs. If the badger fails to catch its prey inthe burrow, the coyote is often able to catch thebadger's prey as it tries to run away. The badger isgood at digging, and the coyote is good at running.When the coyote tags along a badger, few prey canescape. This is an example of a commensalrelationship between two species: the coyotebenefits, and the badger is unaffected.
After being impregnated, the female badger candelay the implantation of fertilized eggs in heruterine wall for up to seven months if conditions aresuboptimal. Thus, she is pregnant for far longerthan she gestates.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has one American badger,named Chase. He is male. Chase was acquired onJune 1, 1991. He was born in the wild. ThoughAmerican badgers are territorial and dangerous,Chase is old enough that he has becomeaccustomed to and friendly with his keepers.
Chase has become even more friendly with theramp in the back of his exhibit. You will occasionallyfind him pleasuring himself upon it. You may explainthis matter-of-factly if your audience is entirely adult,but if there are children listening, please explain thathe is "scratching himself."
Conservation:
The American badger subspecies (Taxidea taxusjeffersoni) that is endemic to the Intermountain Westis listed as endangered in Canada.
Overall, though, the American Badger is rated as of"Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List (seeChapter VII for more information on the Red List).
Threats to the American badger includeextermination of its prey by humans, who considermany of the badger's prey to be pests. Poisoning itsthem poisons the badgers that eat them as welland deprives them of a vital food source.
Hunting and habitat destruction are also causes ofconcern for the American badger.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• American Badger, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_badger.• Spacing and Ecology of North American Badgers (Taxidea Taxus) in a Prairie-Dog (Cynomys Leucus)
Complex, John M. Goodrich and Steven W Buskirk, Journal of Mammology.• Taxidea taxus, American Badger, Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology,
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taxidea_taxus.html.• Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, http://www.commons.wikimedia.org, and the Pocatello Zoo.
Reproduction: approximately 285 days gestation6 years to maturity (males) 2 - 3 years (females)
In Pocatello: No
The American bison (Bison bison bison) is a herbivore native to theplains of Idaho and North America.
It is scattered in isolated herds across the western half of North America,some of them used as livestock. It has lost the vast majority of itshistorical population and range due to hunting and habitat loss.
Everyday Behavior:
The American bison lives in the open prairie. Historically, bisonmigrated many miles between the summer and the winter; now, thisbehavior is constrained by habitat loss to farmland and cities.
The American bison typically lives in herds segregated by sex. Malesmay live alone. In each herd, there is a dominant bull or cow.
The American bison is a grazing animal. It eats grasses and sedges.The American bison typically does not eat down to the roots. In winter,bison use their horns and head to clear snow from vegetation.
The American bison is diurnal: it is active during the day. It eats in themorning and the evening, and sleeps at night.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Single-sex bison herds do not have contact with each other until themating season in August and September. Then the male and femaleherds mingle.
The dominant bull in the mixed herd mates first. American bison pullsare polygamous. They will mate with multiple cows, "tending" each one.When the female is ready to mate, she will roar back.
The calves are born in the early summer of the next year. The motherwill go to an isolated spot to give birth. The calf is weaned after aboutseven months. The bulls do not aid in rearing the young.
Olympian Feats:
The American bison is the most dangerous animalin Yellowstone National Park. The American bison isthe largest land mammal in North America, and isincredibly speedy for its size. Bulls stand up to 6 feetat the shoulder, are 10 feet long and can weighmore than a ton. They can reach speeds of 35 mphand are incredibly agile. At one time they were ratedonly second to the Alaskan Brown Bear as danger tohumans.
The bison’s head with its massive skull can be useda battering ram, but its main weapons are its horns.
Fun Facts:
The American bison is considered to be a keystonespecies: it has a disproportionate effect on theenvironment and plays a crucial role in maintainingthe structure of an ecological community.
The American bison is divided into two subspecies:the Plains Bison (native to Idaho) and the WoodBison (native to the forests of eastern NorthAmerica).
American bison cows can produce fertileoffspring with domestic cattle bulls, but domesticcattle cows can only rarely produce fertile offspringwith American bison bulls.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has seven bison. The five namedbison are Blue Eyes, a female, acquired inDecember 1987; Perfect Horns, a female, acquiredMay 21, 1990; Bully, a male, born at the ZooSeptember 15, 1995; Bubba, a male, born at theZoo October 23, 1996; and Sassy, a female, born atthe Zoo December 3, 1996. Two young femalebison, born around May 1, 2009, have been namedSho and Ban.
The bison at the Zoo tend to stick together in aloose herd, though at times the two young bisonmay wander off on their own.
All bison at the Zoo were all captive born. All of heZoo's bison have been chemically or permanentlysterilized.
Conservation:
The American bison's range has contracteddramatically since the 19th century. Its populationhas increased in recent decades, but its wild habitatremains constricted.
Overall, the American bison is rated as "NearThreatened" on the IUCN Red List (see Chapter VIIfor more information on the Red List).
American bison were nearly driven to extinction bythe late 19th century. Railroads blocked theirmigration routes, farmers and ranchers claimedtheir grazing lands for agriculture, and hunters shotmillions of them for their meat, bones, and hides.
The current bison population is approximately350,000 animals. Of these, 250,000 are used aslivestock. The historical bison population wasapproximately 80,000,000 animals. The populationin 1889 was approximately 831 animals.
Today, the American bison is threatened by thegenetic effects of inbreeding due to theirpopulation bottleneck in the 19th century, and bydiseases that run in their herds, such asbrucellosis.
Furthermore, many American bison today carrydomestic cattle DNA. Of the total population ofAmerican bison, only four herds have not interbredwith domestic cattle. This is a serious problem forthe behavior and characteristics of the species.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• America Bison, Wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bison.• American Bison, Natureworks, http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/americanbison.htm.• The Extermination of the American Bison, William Temple Hornaday, Bibliolife,
http://books.google.com/books?id=__oYikPbW5oC.• Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, http://www.commons.wikimedia.org, and the Pocatello Zoo
Reproduction: approximately 235 days gestation2 -3 years to maturity
In Pocatello: Rarely
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is an omnivore native toIdaho and to North and Central America.
The black bear occupies much, though not all, of its former range.Agriculture and urban development have reduced its available habitat,and overhunting has contracted its range.
Everyday Behavior:
The American black bear is very adaptable, though it prefers to live inmountainous, forested terrain. It is a territorial and solitary animal. Theblack bear's feeding schedule varies according to its location and diet.
85% of a black bear's diet is vegetation: berries, young shoots, nutsfrom squirrel's caches, and roots. The black bear prefers softer to hardervegetation. The majority of the black bear's animal diet consists ofinsects and insect byproducts, such ants, bees, their larvae, and theirhoney. The black bear's thick fur protects it from stings and bites.Occasionally, the black bear has been known to attack larger prey, suchas mule deer, but this is rare. In more urban environments, the blackbear will forage for food from campsites and garbage cans.
The black bear typically slows down around in the late fall and wintermonths. It spends more time sleeping, but does not truly hibernate.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
The American black bear's breeding season lasts from June to July.The female American black bear can delay implantation of its fertilizedeggs until feeding conditions become good enough for the egg to attachand begin to gestate.
The gestation period lasts roughly 235 days. The mother gives birth inJanuary to February. At birth, the cubs weigh 10 - 16 ounces. They areweaned within eight months and strike out on their own within 18months. The males do not aid in rearing the young.
Olympian Feats:
The American black bear is a championship uphillrunner. They can run approximately 30 mph and donot lose speed going uphill. Black bears are alsovery good climbers and will scale a tree to pursuefood or to avoid predators they cannot outrun.
The American black bear also has excellent vision.It can see in color, and seems particularly sensitiveto blue and green wavelengths. They have binocularvision, but are nearsighted: they can see hard timeseeing far away. Black Bears have a reflective layeron the back of the eyeball that improves night visionby reflecting light back through the retina.
The American black bear also has excellent smell.Their sense of smell is 7 times greater than abloodhound's. They also have a Jacobson’s Organ- an auxiliary organ in the roof of their mouth - thatfurther enhances their sense of smell, particularly forthe pheromones and scents of other black bears.
Fun Facts:
The American black bear is the most common bearin the world, having a population at least twice thatof all other bears combined.
The American black bear is divided into numeroussubspecies across its range. These subspeciesrange in color from near-white in British Columbia tobrown to pure black in New York and WashingtonState.
Two subspecies are native to Idaho: Ursusamericanus altifrontalis, whose range extends toIdaho's northern tip, and the Cinnamon bear (Ursusamericanus cinnamomum), whose range extendsacross most of Idaho. If you see a black bear inIdaho, it is most likely a Cinnamon bear.
The black bear fights over kills with both cougarsand wolves. Wolf packs have been known to killblack bears without eating the carcass, while 24% ofcougar kill sites are visited by black bears looking topoach a meal.
The black bear loves honey. It will climb a tree andwill gnaw through wood to get to it.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has one American black bear. Heis male. His name is Porky. He was acquired by theZoo on August 30, 1991. He was born in the wild.
Porky is a Cinnamon Bear (Ursus americanuscinnamomum).
Conservation:
The American black bear has maintained awidespread distribution and large population sizedespite threats to its survival from habitat loss andhunting.
Overall, the American black bear is rated as of"Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List (seeChapter VII for more information on the Red List).
As urban centers expand and more people come tovisit areas where black bears live, tensions usuallyrise. Because black bears are excellent foragers,they can associate humans with garbage - andtherefore, with food.
In some cases, declines in salmon runs due tohydroelectric dams and overfishing have causedblack bear populations to decline and to seek morefood from human areas.
Despite these threats, the population and range ofthe black bear has expanded in recent decadesthanks to improved conservation and reducedhunting.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• American Black Bear, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_black_bear.• American Black Bear Conservation Plan,
http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/000ADOBES/Bears/Bears_IUCN_ActionPlan/bearsAP_chapter8.pdf.• Hinterland Who's Who: Mammal Fact Sheets: Black Bear, http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=83• Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, http://www.commons.wikimedia.org, and the Pocatello Zoo
American Elk
Length: 6.5 - 8 feet
Weight: 700 - 1000 pounds500 pounds (females)
Life Span: 13 years (wild)20 years (captivity)
Diet (Wild): grasses, woody plants, young shoots, almost any plantspecies (when available)
Diet (Zoo): hay, alfalfa, grass in exhibit, grain (in winter), browse
Individuals: Schroeder (male), Freeda (female)
Reproduction: 240 - 262 days gestation2 - 4 years to maturity (males), 2 years (females)
In Pocatello: Yes
The American elk (Cervus Canadensis) is an herbivore native to Idahoand North America.
The American elk has suffered significant losses of its range andpopulation since the 19th century. Hunting, deforestation, and habitatloss led to population declines for most subspecies.
Everyday Behavior:
The American elk lives in open forest and wetlands areas. Theytypically keep to a regular range. In the spring, American elk move tohigher elevations. In the fall, they migrate to lower elevations. TheAmerican elk is crepuscular: it is most active in the morning and evening.
The American elk typically lives in herds of up to 20 individuals. Itsherds are typically segregated by sex. In each herd, there is a dominantbull or cow. A herd of elk requires from 4 to 16 square miles of habitat.More habitat is required in drier areas such as Idaho.
The American elk eats from 15 to 20 pounds every day. It is more of agrazer, like the buffalo, than a browser, like the Mule Deer. It eats a widevariety of soft plant tissue.
The elk's main predators are wolves, cougars, and coyotes.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Elk males enter the rut from August to December. The rut is the elk'smating season and lasts for approximately three months. Males livealone during the rut, following a herd of females and mating with themaggressively. This herd of females is called his harem.
The calves are born approximately 250 days later. They weigh about 30pounds at birth. The mother gives birth alone. After about two weeks,they rejoin the herd. The calves leave their mothers after a year.
The bulls do not aid in rearing the young. After the rut, the bull's antlersfall off and they rejoin a male herd.
Olympian Feats:
Male elk don't need laurel wreaths from any Olympicevent: they make their own! The largest antlers onan American elk can be more than four feet long oneach side and weigh more than 40 pounds. Evenmore amazingly, they shed and grow these antlersanew every year!
Their size varies by individual: you cannot tell theage of an elk by the size or number of prongs on itshorns.
Their horns serve as a mating display, as a defenseagainst predators, and as a means to fight othermales.
Fun Facts:
Elk, like cattle, have a four-chambered stomach.This allows them to eat a wider variety of food thandeer and moose.
Elk's antler formation is testosterone-driven. Oncetheir testosterone levels drop after the rut, theirantlers fall off.
Forest fires help provide food for elk by burning offold plants and providing new shoots with the space,light and nutrients they crave. Elks prefer eating newshoots to old plants because they are more nutrientand calorie rich and easier to digest.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has two American elk. One ismale and one is female. The male's name isSchroeder. He was born June 30, 1996 at the Zoo.The female's name is Freeda. She was acquiredJune 4, 2009. She was born in the wild, but washand-reared at the Zoo.
Schroeder has undergone a vasectomy. If he wereto undergo other neutering methods, he would nolonger grow his horns. This makes him aggressiveduring the latter half of the year (see the Life Cycleand Reproduction section).
Freeda, because she was hand-reared, is used tobeing around people. Unfortunately, she is not usedto being so large, and so should be considereddangerous. The Zoo is trying to acclimate her toSchroeder as of February 2010.
Conservation:
American elk have maintained a widespreaddistribution and large population size despite threatsto its survival from habitat loss and hunting. Four ofsix American elk subspecies survive today.
Overall, the American elk is rated as of "LeastConcern" on the IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII formore information on the Red List).
Prior to European colonization, there were anestimated 10,000,000 elk in North America.
Two subspecies of American elk, Eastern elk andMerriam's elk, have been extinct since the late19thcentury due to overhunting. There areunsubstantiated reports of a herd of Eastern elk inOntario, but more documented efforts have focusedon transplanting surplus elk from YellowstoneNational Park back to territory of the Eastern elk inPennsylvania.
Three other subspecies narrowly survived the 19thcentury. Conservation efforts from these elk werepartially responsible for creating America'smodern system of national parks and forests,especially Olympic National Park in Washington.
The last subspecies of elk, the Rocky Mountain elk(Cervus canadensis nelsoni), has remainedcommon. Its population is estimated at around800,00 animals. This elk is the subspecies mostcommonly seen in Idaho.
Current threats to elk include hunting, afragmented habitat, and overgrazing due tooverpopulation due to lack of predators.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• American Elk, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk.• American Elk, Fish and Wildlife, ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/WHMI/WEB/pdf/amerELK.pdf.• Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, http://www.commons.wikimedia.org, and the Pocatello Zoo
Life Span: 12 - 15 years (wild)up to 32 years (captivity)
Diet (Wild): rats, mice, squirrels, insects, hares, young deer (rarely)
Diet (Zoo): "Feline Diet" (ground organs, hair, and fur of cattle andhorses), dead rats and mice and rabbits
Individuals: Kotter (male), Josephine (female)
Reproduction: 60 - 70 days gestation2 years to maturity
In Pocatello: Yes
The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a carnivore native to the forests andmountains of Idaho and North America.
Everyday Behavior:
The bobcat is very adaptable. It is a territorial and solitary animal. Thebobcat's population density is dependent on available food, but anaverage bobcat's territory is roughly five square miles. In places andperiods of high prey abundance, this territory can be much smaller. Itmarks its territory with feces, urine, and claw marks.
The bobcat is crepuscular: it is most active during the dawn and dusk.The bobcat may become diurnal, or active during the day, in the wintermonths, following the patterns of its prey.
In most of its range, the bobcat has a primary prey species from whichthe majority of its diet comes. This is the snowshoe hare in Idaho, butthe bobcat will eat almost any meat it will catch: it prefers prey likerabbits and hares (and other animals of a similar size), but will eatanything from young deer to insects
The bobcat's hunting strategy is based on ambush and surprise, waitinguntil prey is within 20 to 35 feet to pounce. It grabs prey with its clawsand then biting it in the throat. If a bobcat kills something larger than itcan eat in a meal, it cache it - hides its kill until it is ready to finish eating.
The bobcat has few natural predators, though wolves and cougars areknown to kill adult bobcats, and eagles, coyotes, foxes, and otherbobcats are known to kill young bobcats.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
The bobcat's mating season is usually in late winter. Cubs are born inthe early spring. There are one to six cubs in each litter. The cubs staywith their mother for approximately one year before leaving.
Males do not aid in the rearing of the young.
Olympian Feats:
The bobcat is a championship fighter, or "mixedmartial artist." The bobcat has been known to huntand kill deer (see the Fun Facts section, below).Deer are more than twice its size. It leaps on theirbacks and bites them until exhaustion and bloodloss allow them to bite its throat. Swipes from itspaws, its claws, and its teeth are all used to bringdown its prey over time.
The bobcat is also extremely fast. It can run at up to30 miles per hour for short distances.
The bobcat can jump eight feet vertically. It can jump12 feet horizontally.
Fun Facts:
The bobcat is often confused with the Canadianlynx! The two share many characteristics, but thebobcat can be distinguished by its smaller size andsmaller paws.
The bobcat is an opportunistic predator. It huntslarger prey like deer mainly when food is scarce, andsmaller prey when its primary prey is abundant.
The bobcat is so widespread that it has 11subspecies. These subspecies diverge wildly intheir primary prey, territory sizes, and tolerance forhuman activity.
One subspecies of the bobcat is considered themajor predatory threat of the endangeredWhooping crane. The bobcat is responsible for alarge share of the cranes' deaths.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has two bobcats. One is maleand one is female. The male's name is Kotter. Hewas acquired on January 22, 1995. The female'sname is Josephine. She was acquired onSeptember 3, 1994.
Because bobcats are solitary and territorial, they arekept in separate cages. They must be handled withextraordinary care, but they recognize specifickeepers and are more friendly with them.
Conservation:
The bobcat has maintained a healthy population andretained much of its historical range. It is consideredendangered in Ohio, Indiana, and New Jersey, butnot elsewhere.
Overall, the American elk is rated as of "LeastConcern" on the IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII formore information on the Red List).
There were between 700,000 and 1,500,000bobcats in 1988, with the population and range bothincreasing.
A boon to the bobcat population has been thereforestation of New England. As agriculture hasshifted elsewhere, the forests of New England havereturned. In the 19th century, only 28% of Vermontwas forested. Today, more than 80% is. This createsnew habitat for bobcats, and supports more preybesides. Because the bobcat is an opportunisticpredator, it can survive on the more diverse rangeof prey found in second-growth forest.
Hunting is the primary threat to bobcat populations.
Another threat is the expansion of urban areas. Asurban centers increase in size, bobcats come intocontact with humans a great deal more. Thisfrequently causes tensions on for both bobcats andhumans. Bobcats are often considered a nuisance,and may be trapped and killed in response to theirpredations on human-related activities.
www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/wildlife/pdf_files/outreach/.../bobcat.pdf.• Forest Cats of North America, Jerry Kobalenko, Firefly Books 1997.• Whooping Crane Flock Status, http://www.whoopingcrane.com/FLOCKSTATUS.HTM.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Diet (Zoo): "Feline Diet" (ground organs, hair, and fur of cattle andhorses), dead rats and mice and rabbits
Individuals: Dakota (female), Lacey Ann (female)
Reproduction: 63 - 74 days gestation1 year to maturity (males), 2 years (females)
In Pocatello: Rarely
The Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis Canadensis) is a feline predatornative to the forests of Idaho and North America.
It is widely spread across eastern Idaho, the lower 48 states, andCanada and Alaska. Its range has contracted due to habitat loss andhunting in the lower 48 states, but has remained stable in parts north.
Everyday Behavior
The Canadian lynx prefers to live in mountainous, forested terrain, rarelygoing beyond 300 feet of a forest. It is a territorial animal, and coversabout 1.5 to 3 miles of its territory every day in search of food. ACanadian lynx usually lives alone. It is crepuscular: active around dawnand around dusk. The Canadian lynx sleeps in trees and burrows.
The Canadian lynx prefers to hunt snowshoe hare. The two specieshave a roughly equal top speed (about 30 miles per hour), so theCanadian lynx tries to capture and kill its prey within five 6-to-10 footleaps. It has a 10% to 30% chance of catching a hare. It knocks its preyoff-balance with its paw, and then bites the back of its neck, killing it.
The Canadian lynx hunts every day or two, and eats about 1.5 poundseach meal. (A snowshoe hare is about 3 pounds.) If a Canadian Lynxkills more food than it eats, it caches it - hides its kill to finish it later.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Mating takes place between February and early April. A female willurinate on the borders of a male's territory, then scream until he arrives.She may mate up to six times in one hour, but with only one male eachseason. The male may mate with multiple females.
The cubs are born 63 to 74 days later. The cubs weigh only 12-13ounces when born. The mother nurses them for the first month. Withinsix months, they can hunt on their own, but they stay with their motherfor up to a year. The male is not involved in raising the cubs.
Olympian Feats: Snow Shoeing
The Canadian lynx is a champion at both jumpingand snowshoeing. It can jump fifteen feethorizontally, and eight feet vertically.
It can sprint up to 30 miles per hour.
Canadian lynx are champions at running across thesnow. They have large feet with a thick cushion ofdense coarse hair that enables the feet to act likesnow shoes. This enables the lynx to walk easilyand silently on the surface of the snow in which preyflounders. Their paws support twice the weight onthe snow than bobcats.
Some animals, like bison, can push their waythrough the snow. Other animals, like mice, are lightenough to run across it. The lynx is heavy enough tosink in the snow, but its magnificent paws keep itafloat.
Fun Facts:
The Canadian lynx is a close relative of the bobcat- so close that they can interbreed, though thishappens only rarely and the young are not fertile.These infertile hybrids then compete with purebredCanadian lynx.
The bobcat has been supplanting the Canadian lynxwhere the two species are sympatric: in the placeswhere both species live, the bobcat has beenoutcompeting the Canadian lynx for prey.
The Canadian lynx differs in appearance from thebobcat by its larger size, and by its diet.
The Canadian lynx differs in behavior from thebobcat: it is a specialist predator of snowshoe hare,while the bobcat will eat many different foods.
The Canadian lynx's population trails closely with thepopulation of snowshoe hares. About five years aftera boom in snowshoe hares, the Canadian lynx'spopulation will grow up to ten times larger than itspopulation low. The snowshoe hare population willthen collapse, and the Canadian lynx population willrun out of food and collapse as well after a couple ofyears. This is a classic example of the predator-prey cycle.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has two Canadian Lynx. Both ofthem are female. Their names are Dakota andLacey Ann. Dakota was acquired on May 13, 1998.She was born in captivity, and was hand-raised.Lacey Ann was acquired on December 15, 1999.She was born to a wild-born mother.
Because lynx are highly territorial, the Zoo keepsthem in separate cages at all times.
Conservation:
The Canadian lynx is a Threatened Species in thelower 48 states.
Overall, though, the Canadian lynx is rated as of"Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List (seeChapter VII for more information on the Red List).
The Canadian lynx's range has contracted since the19th century. It was once common across all Idaho,but trapping, hunting and habitat destruction haveconfined its range to eastern and northern Idaho.The majority of the species lives in Canada.
Current threats to the Canadian lynx includepoaching, inadvertent trapping, and habitat lossfor both itself and the snowshoe hare to agriculture,deforestation, and urban growth.
The species is being reintroduced to Colorado.Several of the introduced animals have been shotand their bodies removed from their radio tracking
collars, suggesting illegal hunting and skinning
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Forest Cats of North America, Jerry Kobalenko, Firefly Books 1997.• Canadian Lynx, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_lynx.• Mammals of the Intermountain West, Samuel Zeveloff, University of Utah Press, 1988.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Diet (Zoo): Dog food, "Carnivore Diet" (ground meat, bones),animals in cage (skunks, marmots)
Individuals: Odie (male), Kai (female)
Reproduction: 60 - 63 days gestation12 months to maturity
In Pocatello: Yes
The coyote (Canis latrans) is a predator native to Idaho and North andCentral America.
Its range and population have expanded since historical times to replaceland formerly dominated by wolves.
Everyday Behavior:
The coyote lives in a wide variety of terrain. It is a territorial animal, andis typically a pack animal. It was once diurnal - active during the day -but has adapted its behavior to that of its prey and that of its hunters(when it is being hunted by man, it is largely nocturnal).
The coyote prefers to eat mammalian prey. Up to 90% of a coyote'sdiet is mammals such as prairie dogs, rabbits, hares, and mice.When prey is scarce, the coyote will eat smaller things such snakes,insects, larvae, and small birds, larger things such as sheep, livestockand deer, as well as fruits and vegetables. In urban areas, coyotes willprey on cats and dogs, and will scavenge from garbage cans.
Coyotes tend to live in loose packs, each with a dominant male and adominate female, but they are also known to live alone.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Coyote females are monoestrous: they have only one mating seasoneach year. This can vary by region, but is usually between January andMarch. When she is ready to mate, she selects a single male.
The pups are born 60 - 63 days after mating. The pups weigh about nineounces at birth. The average litter is six. After 35 days, the pups areweaned. Male pups leave after six to nine months. Female pups tendto stay with their mothers' pack. The males aid in rearing the young.
Coyote pairs are monogamous each year: each male will mate with onefemale, and vice versa. Pairs may reunite each year, but not necessarily.
Olympian Feats:
The coyote is a championship survivor. It hassurvived where other predators have been driveninto extinction.
Over the past two hundred years, the coyote hasexpanded its range into places where grey wolves,bobcats, and lynxes have been extirpated.
There are several causes for this survival: its huntingtraits, its growth rates, and its reproductionbehaviors.
The coyote is an adaptable hunter. It can hunt inpacks to bring down large prey, exhibiting wolf-likebehavior, it can hunt alone on the snow for mice, orit can scavenge for food from garbage cans.
The coyote is also a quick grower. The coyotereaches sexual maturity at one year of age,compared to two years for the grey wolf.
The coyote is also an adaptable breeder. The morethe coyote is hunted, the larger its litters tend to be.Litters can be up to 19 coyote pups.
Fun Facts:
There are 19 recognized subspecies of coyoteacross North America.
There are an estimated 2,000 coyotes in the greaterChicago area.
The coyote can produce fertile offspring both withdomestic dogs and with wolves.
Grey wolves and coyotes often fight over prey andterritory. Both will kill the others' pups if they can.
The grey wolf is also a large predator of coyoteswhere their ranges overlap. The wolf will activelyhunt coyotes.
When wolves were reintroduced to YellowstoneNational Park, coyote populations there fell by50%. Additionally, coyotes were driven from optimalhunting grounds in the flats and meadows and intosteeper, less bio-rich terrain.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has two coyotes. One is maleand one is female. The male’s name is Odie. Thefemale's name is Kai. Odie is captive-born, and wasacquired by the Zoo April 21, 2006. Kai is alsocaptive-born, and was also acquired by the Zoo April21, 2006. They live in the same exhibit.
Odie is dominant over Kai. Often, she will wait toapproach visitors until he signals that it is okay. Ifshe approaches without his "permission," he maysnarl.
Odie can be distinguished from Kai by a slightlydarker coat and a thicker build.
Conservation:
The coyote's numbers and range have expandedsignificantly since historical times (see the OlympianFeats section).
Overall, the coyote is rated as of "Least Concern"on the IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII for moreinformation on the Red List).
The primary threat to coyote populations is huntingand - when their activities interfere with human life -planned extermination.
Other threats to coyotes include competition andpredation by wolves and lead poisoning frombullets embedded in their preys’ flesh.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Coyote, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote.• The Urban Coyote Problem in Los Angeles County, Robert H. Howell,
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=vpc10.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Desert Cottontail Rabbit
Length: 13 - 17 inches
Weight: approximately 3 pounds (both males and females,females larger)
Life Span: 1 - 3 years (wild)up to 10 years (captivity)
Diet (Wild): grass (primarily), seeds, cacti
Diet (Zoo): lettuce, carrots, soft vegetables, chopped fruit (rarely)
Individuals: Popcorn
Reproduction: 28 - 35 days gestation12 weeks to maturity
In Pocatello: No
The Desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) is an herbivore native todesert regions of North America, particularly the southwest. It is notgenerally native to Idaho.
The Desert cottontail’s range and population have contracted due tohunting, habitat loss, and desertification due to climate change.
Everyday Behavior:
The Desert cottontail lives in open plains and arid areas. It iscrepuscular: active around dawn and dusk. It sleeps to avoid the heat ofthe day and the cold of the night. It ranges in territories of eight acres forfemales to as much as several square miles for males.
The Desert cottontail spends most of its days foraging for foods in coverand in open areas near cover.
The Desert cottontail is usually tolerant of other Desert cottontails, but itis not social like European rabbits.
The Desert cottontail is prey for many creatures: hawks, eagles,badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and wolves all hunt it. When the Desertcottontail feels threatened, it will retreat to the cover of thick brush or theabandoned burrow of a badger or skunk. When the Desert cottontail ischased, it will run up to 15 miles per hour towards cover.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Mating can occur year-round, usually from April to September. Theyoung are born 30 to 36 days after mating. There are two to six embryos,though the female may reabsorb some of these during her pregnancy.The young are ready to leave the nest after about 21 days. Females canproduce several litters of young every year if she has access to enoughfood.
Females may mate with multiple males. After mating, the female willviolently attack the male and drive him from her territory.
The male does not assist in the rearing of the young.
Olympian Feats:
The Desert cottontail is not a championship runner.It is a championship dodger.
The Desert cottontail maximum speed is around 15miles per hour - faster than a badger, but less than abobcat, coyote, hawk, or eagle. Its legs are shorter,and it has less reserves of energy to run longdistances than many of its predators.
The Desert cottontail relies instead on its ability tochange directions quickly. When startled, it willrun away in a zig-zag pattern. Its mass means it hasless momentum than its larger predators, whichmakes its body easier to change direction. Its largerfeet (relative to body mass) give it lots of friction witheach jump, making it less likely to slide when itchanges direction.
The Desert cottontail is even able to dodge in threedimensions - they have been known to climb trees toevade predators and acquire food.
Fun Facts:
The Desert cottontail rarely needs to drink. It getsmost of its water from the plants and seeds that iteats.
The Desert cottontail is coprophagic: it reingestsand redigests its own feces. This allows morenutrition to be extracted from a single meal, andreduces water loss besides. (Feces secretion is aloss of water to a Desert cottontail.)
Desert cottontails can produce up to five litters peryear, under optimal conditions.
The female Desert cottontail has the ability toreabsorb embryos when it is pregnant if its foodsupply declines.
Large bull snakes and rattlesnakes have beenknown to feed on Desert cottontails.
The Desert cottontail closely resembles the Easterncottontail, but is paler, smaller, and has more thinly-haired ears.
The Desert cottontail may take over the burrows ofother animals for itself, such as badgers, skunks,and prairie dogs.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has one Desert cottontail. She isa female. Her name is Popcorn. She was wild-born,and was acquired by the Zoo on June 10, 2007.
She has demonstrated the ability to evade Zoo stafffrequently. She is faster than they, moremaneuverable, and is able to jump over theirshoulders just when they think they finally have thatrabbit cornered.
Lately, with patient training from Mimi Arcand, shehas calmed down significantly and allows herself tobe handled by with whom people she is familiar.
When she is afraid, she breathes rapidly and thewhites around her eyes show.
Conservation:
The Desert cottontail has maintained a healthypopulation and range in the face of growing threats.
Overall, the Desert cottontail is rated as of "LeastConcern" on the IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII formore information on the Red List).
Threats to the Desert cottontail include largerpopulations of wolves and coyotes, urbandevelopment, overuse of its habitat by livestock,and global climate change.
The Desert cottontail's habitat typically receives littlerainfall, but enough to maintain a semi-aridenvironment. Climate change has the potential toalter the weather patterns that maintain these levelsof rainfall. If this happens, the Desert cottontail mayfind itself short of food in its favored habitats.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Desert Cottontail, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Cottontail.• Rapid Decline of a Grassland System and Its Ecological and Conservation Implications, Gerardo
Ceballos et al., Plos One, http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0008562.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Reproduction: approximately 180 days5 years to maturity
In Pocatello: Not anymore
The Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) is an omnivore native toeastern Idaho and North America.
Everyday Behavior:
The Grizzly bear prefers to live in productive forests with plenty ofopen areas, such as temperate rainforests, by the coasts, and by rivers.It is solitary and territorial, though it may live and forage peacefullynear other Grizzly bears when food is plentiful. It tends to be diurnal.
The Grizzly bear requires enormous amounts of habitat to survive. Malesmay range across 1,500 square miles in marginal areas.
The Grizzly bear's diet is 80 - 90% vegetation, depending on the placeand time of year. It spends much of its day foraging for food. The Grizzlybear prefers to eat fatty foods when it can, such as salmon or humangarbage. It will also hunt large mammals when they are available, up tobison and moose.
The Grizzly bear may gain up to 400 pounds before winter. Then theywill find a den to sleep through the winter. They do not truly hibernate;they merely enter into deep sleeps from which they awaken periodically.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Grizzly bear mating season is between May and July. Each male maymat with multiple females. Females delay implantation of a fertilizedegg until the winter. If the female has not eaten enough food, the egg willbe aborted.
The female gives birth to from one to four cubs, with an average oftwo. She cares for them for up to two years. After they leave, she maydelay having cubs again for more than three years.
The male is not involved in raising the cubs.
Olympian Feats:
The Grizzly bear is a championship prizefighter.One-on-one, it is more than a match for any otherpredator in North America except a human, whenthat human is properly equipped.
Grizzly bears fight with their arms and their teeth.Their arms are powerful enough to shatter treetrunks, and they can bite through steel plates.
When Grizzly bears are menaced by a pack ofwolves, they will often sit down to avoid presentinga tempting target from the rear. These conflicts aretypically started over an animal that has been killedby wolves.
Fun Facts:
Grizzly bears are the second largest predator inNorth America, just behind the Polar bear.
The Grizzly bear is a subspecies of the Brownbear. The Brown bear is spread across NorthAmerica, Europe, and Asia. It has three mainsubspecies: the European Brown bear, the Kodiakbear, and the Grizzly bear. The Kodiak and Grizzlybear are both native to America. The Kodiak bear isdistinguished from the Grizzly bear by its larger size.
Grizzly bears are larger where their diet has morefats and proteins (like salmon) and smaller wheretheir diet has more carbohydrates and sugars (likefruits and vegetation). Coastal Grizzly bears may beas much as twice as large as their inland kin, suchas the bears of Idaho.
The Grizzly bear is a predator of the Americanblack bear. It will steal its kills when it comes uponthem. The Grizzly bear will prey the American blackbear when it can.
However, the Grizzly bear tends to live at higherelevations than the American black bear. This helpsthe two species to avoid contact.
Grizzly bears help the ecosystems in which they livein many ways. Waste from the bear fertilizes thesoil and helps carry seeds, digging by the bearwhile foraging helps aerate the soil and introducesnitrogen, and Grizzly bears may carry salmoncarcaesses as far as 1,000 feet from the stream inwhich they caught them.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has one Grizzly bear. She is afemale. Her name is Stripes. She was wild-born.The Zoo acquired her on XXXX.
The Zoo previously had another Grizzly bear. Hewas a male. His name was Charlie. He was wild-born. The Zoo acquired him on XXXX. He died inSeptember of 2009. He was the Zoo's mascot.
Conservation:
The Grizzly bear is listed as threatened in thecontiguous United States. In Alaska, it can stil belegally hunted.
Overall, the Grizzly bear is rated as "Vulnerable" onthe IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII for moreinformation on the Red List).
Threats to the Grizzly bear include habitatfragmentation resulting in local inbreeding,hunting, and global climate change.
Grizzly bears do not range near populated ordeveloped areas. As climate change alters theirhabitats, they may not be able to move to new,more suitable habitats.
Grizzly bears once ranged across the entirewestern United States, ranging even deep intoMexico. Today, there are less than 1,000 Grizzlybears in the United States outside of Alaska. Theseare concentrated around Yellowstone National Parkand in Montana and northwest Washington. Overall,Grizzly bears live in less than half of their formerrange.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Grizzly Bear, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_Bear.• Grizzly Bear, US Fish and Wildlife Service, http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Diet (Zoo): "Feline Diet" (ground organs, hair, and fur of cattle andhorses), dead rats and mice and rabbits
Individuals: Missy (female)
Reproduction: 91 days gestation1.5 - 3 years to maturity
In Pocatello: Yes
The puma (Puma concolor) is a carnivore native to a wide range ofhabitats in Idaho, western North America, Florida, and South America.
Everyday Behavior:
The puma prefers to live in densely wooded areas, but it is highlyadaptable: it can live in deserts, plains, mountains, and can evenventure into urban areas.
They are solitary and territorial. Their territories range up 100 squaremiles, though they are often smaller where prey is more numerous.Males have a larger territory than females. They are crepuscular -active in the mornings and evenings. They rest in the nights and days.
The puma stalks and ambushes its prey, rather than running it downoutright. It kills its prey by grabbing it and biting its throat, eithersuffocating it or breaking its neck. Its front paws are larger than its backpaws, allowing it to grab onto is prey more easily. Their maximum speedis approximately 35 mph, though only over short distances.
Pumas typically kill a large mammal every two weeks. When feedingkittens, a female puma may make a large kill once every three days.Pumas typically bury their kill while they are eating it.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Pumas have no fixed breeding season. Their menstrual cycle isroughly every 23 days. Pumas are polygynous - males mate with morethan one female. Pumas average a litter every two to three years.
Pumas give birth to from one to six kittens. The kittens are completelydependent on their mothers for the first few weeks of their lives; they areeven born blind. Kittens are weaned after about three months, and staywith their mothers for approximately two years.
Males are not involved in the rearing of the young.
Olympian Feats:
The puma is a championship jumper. It can justfifteen feet high, and more than 40 feet forward.
The puma is also a championship faller. It can dropup to 50 feet from a vantage point onto its preywithout injury.
The puma is also a championship in eyesight. It hasboth diurnal and nocturnal eyesight, because it iscrepuscular.
Fun Facts:
The puma is one of the most widely-spread largepredators in the world. Because of this, it hasmany names: puma, mountain lion, mountain cat,cougar, panther, painter or catamount are allcommon across parts of its range. It has more than83 names in total!
Unlike the tiger or African lion, the puma cannotroar. It does not have the larynx and hyoid structureof other large. It produces a high-pitched screaminstead.
Like most cats, the puma has retractable claws.These help it move silently as it stalks its prey on theforest floor.
Pumas come into Pocatello occasionally. Usually,this is in response to poor hunting conditions in theirhome territories.
The further a young puma must range to find aterritory of its own, the more likely that puma is todie.
Pumas' populations have been more robust thanwolves' because of their lower population density,their versatility in seeking food sources, andbecause they are typically silent, unless fightingwith other pumas.
No species preys upon adult pumas in the wildexcept humans, though wolves and bears may preyon their young.
Despite this, the puma often competes for killswith Grizzly bears, Black bears, Grey wolves,jaguars (in South America) and alligators (inFlorida).
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has one puma. She is female.The female's name is Missy. Missy was acquired onFebruary 13, 2008. She is wild-born.
One puma died in May of 2010. His name wasScrooge. Scrooge was acquired on December 3,1992. He was wild-born
Scrooge was an old puma, and was showing his ageuntil the introduction of Missy, a young female puma.
Conservation:
The puma has maintained much of its former range,even as its numbers have dropped due to hunting.
Overall, the puma is rated as of "Least Concern" onthe IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII for moreinformation on the Red List).
The puma once ranged across most of NorthAmerica, but hunting in colonial times hasreduced its range to the western half of NorthAmerica.
The reforestation of New England and the decline oftargeted puma hunting there has resulted in newsightings of pumas in eastern North America,and it is thought they may even have established abreeding population.
Threats to the puma include hunting, leadpoisoning from bullets in their prey, competitionfrom the reintroduction of Grey wolves, and loss ofhabitat, particularly in South America.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Cougar, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar.• Mammals of the Intermountain West, Samuel Zeveloff, University of Utah Press, 1988.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Reproduction: 190 - 200 days gestation1 year to maturity
In Pocatello: Yes
The Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is an herbivore native to Idahoand western North America.
Everyday Behavior:
The Mule deer tends to live in densely to moderately forested habitatsaway from urban areas and close to mountains and to water.
The Mule deer is not solitary or territorial, though individual groups havewell-defined ranges. Females and family groups tend to stay togetherfor a year or more. Males tend to live alone or with other males. It iscrepuscular, though it may be nocturnal in agricultural areas or under afull moon. It sleeps in regular beds that it may return to repeatedly.
The Mule deer eats vegetation. The Mule deer is a browser, more thana grazer: it does not just eat grass, it will sample almost anyvegetation it comes across. In the summer, it eats leaves, grasses,and berries. In the winter, it eats the bark and twigs of coniferous plants.Its metabolism slows in the winter.
Mule deer have different ranges for the summer and the winter. Summerranges are usually higher in elevation and consist of montane fields andforests. Winter ranges are typically of lower elevation and near water.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
The mating season of the Mule deer, called the rut, is from Novemberto December. Males will follow groups of females and mate with asmany of them as they can. To determine if the female is menstruating,the male will smell her urine - even prompt her to urinate.
Females give birth in the late spring or early summer. Fawns are bornwith spots and are almost odorless, to help them hide from predators.Fawns stay with their mothers for the first year of their lives. After 60 -75 days, the fawns are weaned. After a year or so, they are living ontheir own. The male does not aid in the rearing of the young.
Olympian Feats:
The Mule deer is a championship jumper, for adeer. A Mule deer can cover up to 20 feet in asingle bound.
The Mule deer is also a championship breeder. 95%of does will grow up to have fawns, and one buckmay successfully fertilize twelve to thirteen does.
If a doe does not mate during the regular matingseason, she may pursue a male and actively seek tomate with him.
Fun Facts:
A Mule deer is very similar to a Whitetailed deer.They can be distinguished by the Mule deer'sshorter, all-white tail with its dark spot at theend, and also by their way of running: theWhitetailed deer runs in a "fluid, flowing lope," whilea Mule deer runs with a "unique, stiff-legged gait."
The Mule deer's range intersects with that of allother deer species in North America.
Mule deer males are called bucks. Mule deerfemales are called does. Mule deer young are calledfawns.
Mule deer eat more than 700 different plantspecies. More than half of these are herbaceousplants, a quarter are trees and shrubs, and a quarterwere grasses and sedges.
Mules deers are ruminants: they have four-chambered stomachs, just like cows. This helpsthem digest their wide variety of foods.
A buck's antler tips appear when he is roughly oneyear old. They are triggered by increasing levels ofsunlight each year. When the shorter days of wintercome again and the Mule Deer's mating seasonpasses, they fall off.
A buck's antlers grow in larger each year for the firstfive or six years of the buck's life. After this, theystart to grow progressively smaller antlers.
Mule deer can withstand extremes of temperature.They live in habitats that can range from -40° F tomore than 90° F.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has five Mule deer. Four arefemale and one is male. The first female's name isWinnie. She was acquired December 9, 2003. Sheis wild-born. The second female's name is Gidget.She was acquired June 15, 2006. She is wild-born.The third female's name is Bunter. She is wild-born.She was acquired June 22, 2006. The fourthfemale's name is Baby. She was acquired June 15,1992. The male's name is Thumper. He wasacquired September 30, 2004.
Thumper is the least affectionate deer of the Zoo,and one of its most dangerous animals. He hasundergone permanent contraception, but it stillaggressive. He will often approach the fence andsnort. He can be distinguished by his horns in thesecond half of the year.
Conservation:
The Mule deer has maintained much of its rangeand population since historical times.
Overall, the Mule deer is rated as of "LeastConcern" on the IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII formore information on the Red List).
Threats to the Mule deer include overgrazing due tothe removal of their natural predators. Predatorswere removed from the ecosystem of the KaibabPlateau in the early 1900's. Deer populationsexploded from 3,000 to 30,000. They denuded theplateau of vegetation, and then many died ofstarvation.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Mule Deer, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule_deer.• Mule Deer: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, Erwin A. Bauer, Voyageur Press 1995.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
North American Porcupine
Length: 30 - 46 inches (with tail)
Weight: 12 - 35 pounds
Life Span: 15 years (wild)20 years (captivity)
Diet (Wild): leaves, shoots, soft vegetation (in the summer); bark,soft wood, coniferous needles (in the winter)
Diet (Zoo): vegetables
Individuals: Cuddles (male)
Reproduction: 7 months gestation6 months to maturity
In Pocatello: Yes
The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is an herbivorenative to Idaho and western North America.
Everyday Behavior:
The North American porcupine prefers to live in a wide variety offorested terrain. In the desert, it may live in high rocky places. It isprimarily nocturnal.
The porcupine is typically solitary and territorial. It is arboreal - itspends most of its time in trees. This is where most of its food is, and aswell as offering a great deal of protection from predators.
The porcupine eats new leaves, twigs, and other vegetation in thesummer. The porcupine will chew through tree bark to reach the softwood below in the winter.
The porcupine has few natural predators due to its quills, but somepredators have developed strategies for hunting porcupines. Fishers,wolverines, coyotes, and mountain lions have been known to prey onthem. Usually, predators try to flip them on their backs to expose theirstomachs, which are free of quills.
For more discussion on porcupine quills, see the Olympian Featssection.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
The breeding season of the North American porcupine is fromSeptember to December. The male emits a high-pitched squeal whensearching for mates. The female will squall in return. When they meet,they rub their noses. Porcupines tighten their skin to make their quills lieflat while they mate. This helps prevent injury.
The young are born after about seven months. There is usually onlyone born each breeding cycle. Their quills have usually hardened insidean hour. They start to eat solid food after two weeks, and are fullyweaned after five months. The male is not involved in rearing the young.
Olympian Feats:
Porcupines would be disqualified from manyOlympic events because they have drugs in theirsystem. The quills of a porcupine have antibioticproperties that reduce infections.
Quills are modified hair with microscopic barbson the tip. Quills can present a danger to theporcupine… they commonly fall out of trees and canimpale themselves with their own quills. Theadaptation of antibiotic properties in their quillshelps the porcupine if he does happen to impalehimself.
Porcupines can have as many as 30,000 quills.They have quills all over their body except for theirstomachs and the soles of their feet. The quills arelongest on their lower backs and shortest on theircheeks.
When the porcupine is attacked, it will turn its backtowards its attack, raise its quills, and startlashing its tail. Body heat makes quills expand andbecome more embedded into the skin.
Porcupines can re-grow quills they have lost.Porcupines cannot shoot their quills, but the quillseasily detach when touched.
Fun Facts:
The North American Porcupine is a rodent. It is thesecond largest of all rodents, after the capybara ofSouth America.
The porcupine does not have any hairs on the solesof its feet. This helps it climb trees.
The porcupine is a good swimmer, in part due to itsquills. They are filled with air at the end. This helpskeep it afloat while swimming.
The porcupine has four toes on its front feet, andfive toes on its back.
Porcupines typically crave salt. The porcupine isoften considered a pest because it may feed onsofter woods used in construction during the winter,especially wood that has been treated with salts.Porcupines will also chew animal bones and antlersfor additional salt.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has one North Americanporcupine. He is a male. His name is Cuddles. Hewas acquired by the Zoo on February 26, 2002. Hewas born at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.
He often spends time atop the tree in his exhibit.
Conservation:
The North American porcupine has maintainedmuch of its range and population since historicaltimes.
Overall, the North American porcupine is rated as of"Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List (seeChapter VII for more information on the Red List).
The biggest danger to the North American porcupinetoday is hunting, poisoning, and trapping due totheir image as pests to agriculture, silviculture (thecultivation of trees), and urban development.
Porcupines are slow-moving, and may have adifficult time crossing busy interstates. This couldcause genetic isolation in individual populations, andeventually inbreeding.
Porcupines are very particular about the trees fromwhich they eat. Deforestation reduces theiropportunities to feed.
Porcupines were historically hunted by humans fortheir meat, particularly by Native Americans inCanada. This practice has declined.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• North American Porcupine, NatureWorks, http://www.nhptv.org/NatureWorks/porcupine.htm.• North American Porcupine, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Porcupine.• Animal Bytes: Porcupine, San Diego Zoo, http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-porcupine.html• North American Porcupine, WAZA, http://www.waza.org/en/zoo/pick-a-picture/erethizon-dorsatum• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Reproduction: 235 - 252 days gestation15 - 16 months to maturity
In Pocatello: Yes
The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana americana) is an herbivorenative to the plains and hills of Idaho and western North America.
Everyday Behavior:
The pronghorn prefers to live in an open, prairie habitat. Pronghorn donot have a fixed time of activity, though they are slightly more active inthe morning and evening.
Pronghorn are herd animals. In the spring and summer, pronghorn livein small herds segregated by sex. Dominant males three years old orolder will mark territories with urine and defend them against othermales. In the fall and winter, mixed herds of up to 1,000 animals canform of all ages and sexes.
The pronghorn can migrate more than 160 miles between summer andwinter (including through Idaho) ranges. They are one of the few largeNorth American mammals that still migrate north-south.
Pronghorn eat grasses and other flowering plants of the plains anddeserts, including cacti. In the spring and summer, they will feed acrossan area of up to half a mile each day. In the fall and winter, this areagrows to up to 6 miles each day. Pronghorn will dig through snow withtheir hooves to reach food in winter.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Pronghorn mating season is a three-week period from September toOctober, though it can occur earlier in the southern part of their range.
Pronghorn males will mate with more than one female if they can.Individual males defend their territories during mating season, whilegroups of females move freely among territories.
The young, called fawn, are born after approximately seven to eightmonths. Females give birth to between one or two fawns are born eachbreeding season. At four days old, a pronghorn fawn can outrun ahuman. The fawns start to be weaned at three weeks. They are sexuallymature at 15 to 16 months, but males typically do not mate until they areat least three years old. Males do not aid in the rearing of the young.
Olympian Feats:
The pronghorn are championship runners. They arethe fastest land animals in North America. They cansprint up to 60 miles per hour, and can sustainspeeds of 30 - 40 miles per hour for miles.
The pronghorn is widely-thought to have evolved inresponse to now-extinct predators. Its ability tosustain high speeds over long distances allows it toeasily outdistance any predator now existent.
Up to about 12,000 years ago, however, anAmerican cheetah existed that was probably able tomatch the pronghorn's speed.
Fun Facts:
Both male and female pronghorn have horns, toughmales' horns are larger.
Pronghorn are poor jumpers despite their speed.They prefer to crawl under fences rather than jumpover them.
Pronghorn have different gaits to carry themselvesforward at different speeds. One of these is thepronk, which involves jumping off the ground with allfour feet at once. This method is slower than itsother gaits, and may signal the animals' fitness toother pronghorn.
Pronghorn often eat noxious weeds and otherinvasive plants that other herbivores will not.Pronghorns are ruminates, like cows, and so havefour-chambered stomachs. This helps them digesttough vegetation.
Pronghorn do not have to drink water unless theirfood is unusually low in it.
The pronghorn is often erroneously thought of asan antelope. Though pronghorn and antelopes arein the same infraorder, they are in different families(see Chapter VII for more information on animalclassification).
The pronghorn is in the family Antilocapridae;antelopes are in the family Bovidae. Pronghorn arenative to the New World. Antelope are native to theOld World. Pronghorns are the only livingrepresentative of the family Antilocapridae.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has three pronghorn. Two arefemales and one is male. The first female's name isAnnie. She was acquired by the Zoo on March 7,2003. She was born in captivity. The secondfemale's name is Rosemary. She was acquired bythe Zoo on November 6, 1996. She is wild-born. Themale's name is Nut. He was acquired by the Zoo onJune 10, 1999. He was born at the Pocatello Zoo.
Conservation:
Pronghorn populations and habitat havedeclined significantly since historical times, andpronghorn habitat and populations have becomeisolated from each other.
Overall, the pronghorn is rated as of "LeastConcern" on the IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII formore information on the Red List).
40 - 50 million pronghorn lived in North America inhistorical times. By 1908, hunters had reduced thepronghorn population to around 20,000 individuals.Their population today is estimated at between500,000 and 1,000.000.
Threats to pronghorn include localized disease inherds, and predation by cougars, coyotes, wolves,and bobcats.
Another threat is inbreeding due to isolation ofindividual populations because of habitatfragmentation. Protected pronghorn habitats areusually isolated from each other, allowing littlegenetic migration between populations.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Pronghorn, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronghorn• The Holocene History of Pronghorn (Antilocapra armericana) in Eastern Washington State, R. Lee
Lyman, http://faculty.missouri.edu/~lymanr/pdfs/2007Pronghorn.pdf• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Diet (Zoo): Dog food, "Carnivore Diet" (ground meat, bones),vegetables
Individuals: (one male)
Reproduction: 53 days gestation10 months to maturity
In Pocatello: Yes
The Red fox (Vulpes vulpes macrourus) is a carnivore (though it will eatplant matter) native to the forests, plains, mountains, and urban areas ofIdaho, North America, Eurasia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Everyday Behavior:
The Red fox is very adaptable. It can live in forests, plains,mountains, and urban areas. It prefers to live in "edge" habitats, wheretwo habitats meet, like a river in a desert. The Red fox is crepuscular,though it can be nocturnal in areas with a great deal of human activity.
The Red fox is solitary and territorial. Its territory may be as large as19 square miles or as small as 5 square miles. It will pair up in winterwith a member of the opposite sex.
The majority of the Red fox's diet comes from invertebrates such asinsects, worms, and crayfish. It will also eat small mammals andbirds, as well as fish and reptiles. In places, it will attack prey larger thanitself, such as deer fawns and cranes. It will also attack small livestock.
The Red fox hunts smaller prey by holding still and listening andwatching until it locates its prey. Then they will leap high into the air andbring their forelimbs straight down, pinning their prey to the ground.
The Red fox will hunt even when it is full. It will hide the food it doesn'teat under leaves.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Red foxes mate in January to February. The young, called kits, areborn less than two months later. There are four to five kits in a litter. After10 weeks, they are fully weaned. After five months or so (by theautumn of the year they are born), they leave their mother.
The male brings food to the female during her pregnancy and afterwards,but will otherwise leave the female and the kits alone.
Olympian Feats:
The Red fox is a championship listener. Their largeears help them pick up and locate the source ofsmall low-frequency sounds, like mice diggingunderground. They can hear a mouse up to 150feet away, with a directional accuracy of up to 1°.
Fun Facts:
The Red fox has several different colors. It rangesfrom a fiery red with a white belly to black with silvertips to a fiery red with a white belly and a browncross on its back.
Red foxes typically die early. Males will typically onlymate once in their lives. Females will typically raiseonly two to three litters. Causes of death includestarvation, predation by larger animals, and beingrun over.
The Red fox in North America consists of a nativefox and a European variety introduced from Englandin the 1600s by colonial settlers for fox hunting. Thespecies expanded quickly across eastern NorthAmerica, and may have interbred with the nativeRed foxes already living here. The Red foxpopulation in eastern North America is primarilydescended from the European introduced foxes,while the population in northern North America islargely descended from the Red fox native to NorthAmerica.
Red foxes will often have mulitple dens - one mainone for sleeping and raising their kits, and severalothers for storing food or sleeping while patrollingtheir territories. Dens are typically in a high placewith a commanding view of the surrounding terrain,like a cliff face or a riverbank.
Red foxes are occasionally sympatric withcoyotes - meaning that they share the same range.The Red fox will avoid coyotes when this is the case.
The Red fox is typically monogamous, but it hasbeen observing both polygyny (a male having morethan one mate) and polyandry (a female havingmore than one mate) in parts of its range.
Sister foxes have been known to aid each other inthe rearing of their kits.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has one Red fox. He is a male kit,recently brought in after a car ran over his leg. Hewill be on exhibit in 2010.
He will typically found sleeping on a platformattached to a tree in the back of her exhibit.
Conservation:
Red foxes are one of the most dispersed species inthe world. They are found on every continent exceptSouth America and Antarctica.
Overall, the Red fox is rated as of "Least Concern"on the IUCN Red List (see Chapter VII for moreinformation on the Red List).
Red foxes were introduced to Australia; they havesince become an invasive species there, as theyhave no natural predators.
Threats to the Red fox are predominantly fromhunting, poisons and traps laid by humans.
Red foxes are also susceptible to disease,particularly rabies.
Fox hunting as an organized activity has been onthe decline for several hundred years. It is nowoutlawed in England.
Interbreeding of European Red foxes with NorthAmerican Red foxes may also be reducing thegenetic purity of the North American variety.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Red Fox, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_fox.• Mammals of the Intermountain West, Samuel Zeveloff, University of Utah Press, 1988.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Life Span: 6 - 15 years (wild)15 years (captivity)
Diet (Wild): grass, seeds, berries
Diet (Zoo): hay, alfalfa, grass in exhibit, grain (in winter)
Individuals: Aries (female), Patricia (female), Zatara (male), male
Reproduction: 180 days gestation2 - 3 years to maturity
In Pocatello: Yes
The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis canadensis) is anherbivore native to the mountains and high places of Idaho and NorthAmerica.
Everyday Behavior:
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep live in montane and subalpine habitats- high on mountains, up to and even above the snowline. The RockyMountain bighorn sheep is diurnal - it is active during the day.
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are herd animals. They typically live insmall, sex-segregated herds for most of the year, except duringbreeding season. Mothers and their young will stay together, even if theiryoung are male.
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep migrate between summer and winterranges. Summer ranges are higher in elevation. Most of their lives arespent in montane and subalpine habitats, regardless of the climate ortime of year.
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep feed all kinds of vegetation, but prefergrass, seeds, and berries.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
The breeding season of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep occurs aroundNovember. Males enter the rut at this time and seek to establish adominance hierarchy with other males. This leads to males chargingeach other and clashing with their horns. These clashes can also occurearlier in the fall, as males seek to position themselves with the hierarchybefore the mating season.
The gestation period is approximately six months. Rocky Mountainbighorn sheep typically give birth to one young, called a lamb.Occasionally, two lambs are born. The lambs are weaned when they arefour to six months old.
The male is not involved in the rearing of the young.
Olympian Feats:
The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is achampionship jouster. Males show their dominanceby charging each other and ramming their hornstogether.
The two males can each reach more than 20 milesper hour. This means that they butt heads at morethan 40 miles per hour.
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep have a thick andbony skull that helps keep them from brain damage.
Male bighorn sheep employ three strategies duringthe rut: “tending,” where they guard a single femalefrom other suitors, “coursing,” where they forcecopulation with multiple females that they defend,and “blocking,” where they respond to challengesby other dominant males.
Fun Facts:
A Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep’s horns can growup to 30 pounds - heavier than all the rest of thebones in its body.
Females have horns as well, but they are smaller.
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are ruminants. Theychew their cud, like cows. This aids their digestionprocesses allows them to eat a wider variety of food.
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are very susceptibleto diseases carried by domesticated sheep, likescabies and pneumonia.
Another primary cause of death for bighorn sheep isfalling. This is a side-effect of the habitat in whichthey live.
Rearing a male lamb is more expensive for abighorn sheep than a female lamb. This is probablydue to the larger size of males.
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are more closelyrelated to true antelopes than are the pronghorn,an animal which superficially resembles antelopemore. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are alsoclosely related to goats.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has four Rocky Mountain bighornsheep. Two are male and two are male. The firstmale's name is Zatara. He was acquired on May 17,1999. He was born in the Zoo. The second malewas acquired on June 4, 2009. He is wild-born. Thefirst female's name is Aries. She was acquired onFebruary 12, 2009. She was born in the Boise Zoo.The second female's name is Patricia. She wasacquired on February 19, 2009. She was born in theBoise Zoo.
Conservation:
The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep has lost andrecovered much of its former range andpopulation since historical times.
Overall, the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is ratedas of "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List (seeChapter VII for more information on the Red List).
Historically, there were as many as two millionbighorn sheep in North America spread acrossCanada, the United States, and Mexico. Hunting,loss of habitat due to domesticated sheep ranches,and disease reduced this significantly. In 1900, therewere only a few thousand bighorn sheep left.Restrictions on hunting and the creation of nationalparks and forests have resulted in the populationexpanding its size and range into more and moreof its historical habitats.
Current threats to Rocky Mountain bighorn sheepinclude diseases introduced by domestic sheep,poaching, and loss of range due to overgrazing.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/rocky-mountain-bighorn-sheep.html.• Dry Cimmaron Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Management Strategy, NM Dept. of Game and Fish,
www.wildlife.state.nm.us/conservation/bighorn/documents/DryCimarronManagementStrategyJan09.pdf.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
Diet (Zoo): hay, alfalfa, grass in exhibit, grain (in winter)
Individuals: Three females, two males
Reproduction: 180 days gestation30 months to maturity
In Pocatello: No
The Rocky Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) is an herbivorenative to the Cascade and Rocky Mountains of Idaho and North America.
Everyday Behavior:
The Rocky Mountain goat prefers lives in montane, subalpine, andalpine habitats. It prefers areas with steep slopes, to allow it to escapedanger more easily. It is very adept at climbing. The Rocky Mountaingoat is crepuscular - it is primarily active in the mornings and theevenings. It may be active during the day and on bright nights.
The Rocky Mountain goat is a herd animal. It is territorial within theherd and will fight to protect its feeding area. Females usually live inlarge groups of up to 50, including their young. Males usually live in twosor threes. During the mating season in the late fall, the two sexes mingle.
The Rocky Mountain goat eats a wide variety of plants (over 170species, by one count). It needs all the food it can get, and plant life isoften scarce in its habitat.
Rocky Mountain goat males are called billies, females are callednannies, and the young are called kids.
Life Cycle and Reproduction:
Mating season for Rocky Mountain goats is from late October to earlyDecember. Nannies in a herd have a synchronized estrus - theybecome fertile at the same time. Billies will stare at their desired nannies,fight with each other, and dig rutting pits. Rutting pits are shallow pits inwhich the billy will urinate and then roll, to increase his odor. RockyMountain goats are polygamous - both males and females will mate withmultiple goats.
The nanny’s kids are born about six months later, in the late springbetween May and June. They can climb within hours of birth. They areweaned within a month. They accompany their nannies for the first yearof their lives before striking out on their own.
Males do not aid in the rearing of the young.
Olympian Feats:
The Rocky Mountain goat is a championshipmountain climber. They can walk up slopes assteep as 60°. This is because they have a numberof adaptations for living in high, steep places.
Their hooves are hard outside with a soft interior.This allows them to move within their hooves if theyare trying to stop, instead of their hooves movingacross the rock.
Additionally, the two toes of their hooves can spreadapart or come together, depending on which positionwould give the best grip, and the rear part of theirhoof (called the dewclaw) helps them control theirdescents.
The Rocky Mountain goat's extra-thick fur protects itfrom the cold of the mountains. It is divided into twolayers: a shaggy outer layer that helps deflect thewind and traps air around it, and a dense inner layerthat keeps the animal warm. Their coats help themsurvive temperatures lower than -40° F, in even theheaviest winds.
Fun Facts:
The Rocky Mountain goat is not a true goat! TheRocky Mountain bighorn sheep is in the samesubfamily as true goats, but it is in a separate genus:Oreamnos. Goats are in the Capra genus.
The Rocky Mountain goat actually prefers to live insteep environments. It is not as fast as its predators,wolves and cougars, nor as maneuverable. Its onlydefenses are its horns, which it mainly uses formating, and its exceptional ability to climb.
The Rocky Mountain goat lives at altitudes up to10,000 feet above sea level (and sometimes more).
Rocky Mountain goats grow and mature slowlybecause their diet is marginal and their environmentis severe.
Both male and female Rocky Mountains goats growbeards. A more reliable way to determine sex is bylooking at size and behavior.
Rocky Mountain goats molt their coats every spring,and have to rub them off on rough rocks.
Pocatello Zoo Specifics:
The Pocatello Zoo has five Rocky Mountain goats.Three are male and two are females.
The Zoo's Rocky Mountain goats are difficult to tellapart. The one with the broken horn, however, isthe dominant female. She lost the horn in a fightwith another female.
Conservation:
Rocky Mountain goat populations have declinedsince historical times. There are currentlyapproximately 40,000 to 100,000 Rocky MountainGoats in the wild.
Overall, the Rocky Mountain goat is rated as of"Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List (seeChapter VII for more information on the Red List).
The Rocky Mountain goat's preferred montaneenvironment has aided preserving its habitat.Development is difficult in the mountains for thesame reasons that that predation is: the terrain issteep, there is little food, and it can be very cold.
However, roads built for recreation and mining caneasily disrupt Rocky Mountain goat habitat, andhunting can quickly reduce their populations, oncethey are accessible.
Climate change also brings dangers to RockyMountain goats. Because they live in montaneenvironments, it is difficult for them to move to coolerhabitats.
Further Reading (and Sources):
• Mountain Goat, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_goat.• Mammals of the Intermountain West, Samuel Zeveloff, University of Utah Press, 1988.• Mountain Goat Fact Sheet, Woodland Park Zoo, http://www.zoo.org/animal-facts/mtngoat.• Photo credits: Pocatello Zoo and the Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
