Camels
Camels are herbivores; they eat desert vegetation, such as grasses, herbs, and leaves.
How do camels adapt to their environment?
Camels have many adaptations that allow them to live successfully in desert conditions. Deserts are hot and dry. Winds blow sand all around, so a camel has long eyelashes. It has nostrils that can open and close.
Why do camels have long eyelashes?
The long eyelashes keep sand out of the camel's eyes.
Thick eyebrows shield the eyes from the desert sun.
Why does a camel have nostrils which can close?
A camels nostrils can close so it doesn't get sand up its nose.
Other Adaptations:
1. A camel can go a week or more without water, and they can last for several months without food. They can drink up to 32 gallons (46 litres) of water at one drinking session!
2. Camels store fat in the hump, not water. The fat can be metabolised for energy.
3. Unlike most mammals, a healthy camel's body temperature fluctuates (changes) throughout the day from 34°C to 41.7°C (93°F-107°F.) This allows the camel to conserve water by not sweating as the environmental temperature rises.
4. Camels feet are wide so they can walk on sand more easily. Their huge feet help them to walk on sand without sinking into it.
5. Camels have thick lips so they can eat the prickly desert plants with out feeling pain.
6. The colour of their bodies helps them to blend into their environment.
7. Camel's ears are covered with hair, even on the inside. The hair helps keep out sand or dust that might blow into the animal's ears.

ELEPHANTS | ENVIRONMENTAL Adaptations |

| | | ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATIONS | | 1. | Elephants eat enormous amounts of vegetation daily , but the digestive system only uses about 40 percent of the intake. It is estimated that nearly 60 percent of elephant feces is undigested or partially digested vegetation. This poor absorption of nutrients is one of the reasons why elephants are considered a keystone species. The undigested or partially digested vegetation generates new plant growth as it is deposited on the elephant's travels. Keystone species play a key role in an ecosystem. Their presence or absence affects many other species. | | | | | Two African elephants browsing on vegetation in Kenya. | | | | 2. | Elephants are a keystone species in the savannah ecosystem because many plant species require seeds to go through a digestive system before germination. It is estimated that at least one—third of tree species in West Africa rely on the elephants' digestive system for germination. Many savannah species, including elephants, benefit from the new vegetation growth for food and shelter. | | | 3. | Elephants are non—ruminants, meaning the food is fermented after it has been digested by the stomach (hindgut fermentation), and is pushed through the gut at a rapid rate. Because the contact time the fermented food has with the absorptive surfaces of the intestines is limited, non—ruminants are not able to extract as many nutrients from the food. These animals compensate the nutrient loss by eating greater quantities and are capable of eating lower quality vegetation. | | | 4. | Elephants are capable of consuming vegetation that is too fibrous and protein—deficient for ruminants to consume. Ruminants are foregut fermenters, that consume lower quantities of higher quality vegetation. Elephants are capable of thriving in a wide range of habitats due to the digestion of lower quality vegetation. | | | | | Elephants are capable of consuming fibrous vegetation. | | | | 5. | Elephants impact the environment in numerous ways. During migration elephants use the same paths, creating trails that other animals and humans use to travel. The tusks are used to dig wells, generating multiple water sources throughout the habitat. As elephants traverse through the environment, the large size helps bring down vegetation, which then become accessible to smaller species. | |

GIRAFFE | The giraffe is the tallest mammal on Earth. Long, long ago, it was thought to be a cross between a camel and a leopard. Thus the giraffe's scientific name of Giraffa camelopardalis. Giraffes can be found in the savannas of central, eastern and southern Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. There they roam freely among the tall trees, arid land, dense forests and open plains. Giraffes live in loosely organized herds of 12 to 15 members. Each herd is led by an adult bull and consists of cows, calves, and young males. Giraffes have chestnut brown blotches against a buff background; no two giraffes have the same pattern of spots. These markings blend in well with the dappled shadows of tree branches. | | | | | Giraffes have a keen sense of smell and hearing and an outstanding sense of sight. These along with their height (the male is almost 16 feet high), make it easy for them to watch for predators. They can reach speeds of up to 30 mph, and can often out run any danger. Humans, lions, crocodiles, hyenas, and wild dogs are their chief predators. If attacked, they will protect themselves by kicking with their large, sharp, heavy hooves. A giraffe's feet are the size of a dinner plate—12 inches across. | | | Like most mammals, the giraffe has seven vertebrae in its neck. The vertebrae are greatly elongated and the neck muscles are highly developed to support the giraffe’s long neck. Ball and socket joints give the giraffe flexibility. Because the giraffe’s heart is so far from its head, its vascular system is equipped with unusually elastic blood vessels and special valves to make sure that sufficient blood reaches the giraffe’s brain. This helps offset the sudden buildup of blood when the head is raised, lowered or swung quickly. Otherwise the giraffe might pass out. This long neck allows the giraffe to reach high into acacia trees. The leaves of the thorny acacia tree are the giraffe’s main food source. They also eat other leaves, twigs and acacia bark. The giraffe is a ruminant and has a stomach with four compartments that digests the leaves it eats. When giraffes aren't eating, they are chewing their cud. After they swallow the leaves the first time, a ball of leaves will travel all the way back up the throat into the mouth for more grinding. | | | | | Its long, prehensile tongue (up to 21 inches long) and its muscular upper lip are used to rip the leaves from the branches. They also have thick, sticky saliva that coats any thorns they might swallow. It is thought that the dark color of their tongues protect them from getting sunburned while reaching for leaves on trees. Because giraffes get their food and most of their moisture from the acacia leaves, they can go for over a month without drinking, They also do not have to migrate during the dry seasons. The few times they do drink, they must spread their long forelegs widely to reach the water. This makes them vulnerable to attack. For this same reason giraffes rarely graze grass and usually sleep standing up. | | | Giraffes have long, full lashes that help protect their eyes. They swish the fringe at the end of their tails to keep flies and other pests away. | | | | | During mating season males vie for females by butting with their heavy necks and heads. Giraffes have small "horns" or knobs on top of their heads that grow to be about five inches long. These knobs are used to protect the head in fights. After about 15 months the mother will have a single baby, which can stand 20 minutes after birth. A giraffe’s life span is 15 to 25 years. Once heavily hunted for their thick, leathery skins, giraffes are now protected. |

The Koala

The koala is not a bear at all, but a small tree-dwelling mammal that lives in eucalyptus forests in Australia. Koalas are 26 - 32 inches tall and weigh 15 - 30 pounds. The females are smaller than the males. Their fur is light grey to brown, with patches of white on the chest and neck, inside of the arms and legs, and inside the ears. Koalas live in societies, just like people. Each Koala has their own territory, made up of a number of ‘home range trees’ and ‘food trees’. The Koala spends most of its’ life in the trees. For safety, it comes to the ground only to move from one tree to another. These trees provide the koala with food, shelter and places for social contact. Each koala’s home range overlaps with those of their neighbours. It is in the shared, overlapping trees that most of the social interaction takes place. These are very important trees.

The Koala is well suited to life in the trees. They have an excellent sense of balance, a lean, muscular body, and long, strong limbs that support its weight when climbing. Its paws have rough pads that help it grip tree trunks and branches. Each paw has long sharp claws and five digits (like our 5 fingers). On the front paw, two fingers are opposed to the other three. This would be like having 2 thumbs and 3 fingers on each hand and allows the koala to grip more securely. They also have a thick woolly fur which protects them from both high and low temperatures. It also acts like a 'raincoat' to repel moisture when it rains. They don’t need to build a nest like squirrels do. The fur on the koala's bottom is densely packed to provide a 'cushion' for the hard branches it sits on, and has a 'speckled' appearance which makes koalas hard to spot from the ground. The Koala feeds mainly on eucalyptus leaves so the trees are a great place for them to live. They will also sometimes eat from a wattle or tea tree. Eucalyptus leaves have a high water content, so koalas normally don't need to drink. But they are also very fibrous and low in nutrition. Most animals couldn’t digest the oils and poisons in the eucalyptus leaves, but the Koala has adaptated to its’ unique diet. The Koala's large nose is one of its most important features. Its’ highly developed sense of smell helps it tell the type of gum leaf (some have more poison in them) and find the best leaves to eat. Their sharp front teeth (incisors) nip the leaves from the branches and their back teeth (molars) are shaped to cut the leaves rather than crush them. A gap between the incisors and the molars, lets the tongue move the leaves around the mouth. Koalas have a very slow metabolic rate that lets them eat less and retain food in their digestive system for a longer period of time. That way they can get most of the energy out of it and can detoxify the poisonous chemicals in the leaves. It also means that the Koala will sleep for up to 18 hours each day to conserve energy.

Koalas are mostly nocturnal animals, so they are most active during the night and at dawn and dusk. During these cooler hours they are less likely to lose precious moisture and energy than they would during the hotter daylight hours. They will move around the tree during the day and night to catch the warm sun or a breeze. During colder times, they curl up in a ball to conserve body heat. Koalas communicate by marking their trees with their scent. They also use a range of sounds to communicate with one another over large distances. There are gentle grunts to signal displeasure or annoyance, deep grunting to express aggression (although they rarely fight), and mothers and babies make soft clicking, squeaking sounds and gentle humming or murmuring sounds to one another. All koalas share one common call of fear, which sounds just like a baby screaming.

The Koala is a marsupial. In a marsupial, the newborn baby develops in a pouch on the mother's abdomen. A female Koala has one baby a year. The tiny baby, called a "joey", looks rather like a pink jellybean. It is totally hairless, blind and has no ears. It climbs to the pouch and stays there for seven months, living off milk from its’ mother, slowly growing and developing eyes, ears, fur etc. At about 22 weeks, its' eyes open and it begins to peep out of the pouch. It then begins to feed on a substance called "pap" (rather like a human baby is fed "mushy" food). Pap is a rich source of protein and micro-organisms which are needed for the digestion of eucalyptus leaves. The joey eventually grows too big for the pouch and rides on its’ mother’s back or belly and will begin eating eucalyptus leaves when it is 1 year old. The average life span of the Koala Bear is about 10 years. Captive Koalas can live up to 20 years. In the wild, Koalas suffer from loss of habitat, predators, and disease. Many are killed by dogs when they climb down to change trees. Although they aren't really bears, they do remind us of cute teddy bears. It is easy to see why the Koala is one of Australia's favorite mammals. THE CHEETAH Cheetahs are found scattered through eastern Africa and a region of southwestern Africa; They roam 9,600 square miles of Serengeti ecosystem - made up of grassland, thorn scrub and scattered patches of trees. Cheetahs are carnivorous; they hunt gazelles, antelopes, impala, young zebra and other small animals. They must kill and eat a little over 6 pounds of food every day, but only need to drink water about every 4 days. They are listed as endangered and only live for 7-8 years in the wild and are the only members of the big cat family that cannot roar. Instead they purr like house cats, especially when grooming or resting together. Cheetahs can purr, bark, growl, and hiss. They can even chirp, mimicking some bird sounds, perhaps to attract them.

In the Hindi language "cheetah" means "spotted one" and they are the fastest animal on land. Adult cats have medium to small black spots on a yellowish gray or tawny background. Like giraffes, no two cheetahs have the same arrangement of spots. There may be a small amount of white on their chests and under the chin. From behind, cheetahs coats look completely black. They have small rounded ears, set far apart and black tear-shaped streaks extend from the corner of their eye to their upper lip. Cheetah cubs are born with a special coloration to camouflage them in the bush where they will stay hidden for two months. They have a heavy mantle of long silver hairs on their head and back while the lower half of their bodies is darker. The mane disappears about three months after weaning. The cheetah is diurnal, hunting in early morning and late afternoon. It is dependant on sight rather than smell to find its prey. Cheetahs chase down their prey, swat them off balance with their front paws, pounce on them, and clamp their jaws down on their victim’s throat until they suffocate. Cheetahs have a slight build with long, thin legs and a deep, narrow chest. Their streamlined bodies are built for speed and they can reach speeds of up to 80mph. In addition, the cheetah has non-retractable claws and hard ridged paw pads that provide great traction and help the cheetah make quick turns. When their prey breaks or turns sharply, the cheetahs pads and claws act like cleats - digging into the ground aiding in traction. They can easily stay on the tail of their turning, twisting victims. Their small heads offer little wind resistance and their tails act like stabalizing rudders. Even their eyes have been adapted for speed: the retinal fovea is elongated, giving the cheetah a sharp, wide-angle view of its surroundings. The dark tear marks underneath each eye may also help by minimizing glare from the sun.

The cheetah’s shoulder isn’t in a socket like ours, it is held by a series of strong muscles. This, along with a very flexible skeleton, gives the cheetah’s legs a wider range of motion, making the cheetah’s stride much longer (up to 23 feet) and helping it move faster. Their spine acts like a giant spring, that can release energy in explosive surges. The cheetah's enlarged heart, lungs, and liver all help to deliver the bursts of oxygen and energy the cheetah needs to catch its prey. Although super fast, the cheetah can only maintain its top speed for about 300 yards. The cheetah chases its prey for about 3.5 miles at an average speed of 45 mph and will try to get within 50 yards of its prey before the final super acceleration. Full sprints last about 20 seconds and almost never exceed 1 full minute. This super speed takes a lot out of the cheetah - so catching their victims is really important. If they miss, they would need to rest before exerting that much energy again. Even if successful, they still have to rest before eating. Their bodies must return to a normal state after expending so much energy in the chase. This need to rest often costs them their dinner. They are not good fighters (speed is their only defense), and their size makes them quite vulnerable. If a lion comes along while they are resting, they have no choice but to give up their kill to the stronger predator.
Cheetahs are fast and beautiful big cats, and it is hoped that their endangered status improves. Giant Panda
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus and species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Geographic Distribution:
Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. They once lived in lowland areas, but farming, forest clearing, and other development now restrict giant pandas to the mountains.
Habitat:
Giant pandas live in broadleaf and coniferous forests with a dense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year characterizes these forests, often shrouded in heavy clouds.
Physical Description:
The giant panda, a black-and-white bear, has a body typical of bears. It has black fur on ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some speculate that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage into their shade-dappled snowy and rocky surroundings. The panda's thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. Giant pandas have large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo. Many people find these chunky, lumbering animals to be cute, but giant pandas can be as dangerous as any other bear.
Size:
About the size of an American black bear, giant pandas stand between two and three feet tall at the shoulder (on all four legs), and reach four to six feet long. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 250 pounds in the wild. Females rarely reach 220 pounds.
Status:
The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Species. There are about 1,600 left in the wild. More than 300 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world, mostly in China.
Life Span:
Scientists aren't sure how long giant pandas live in the wild, but they are sure it's shorter than lifespans in zoos. Chinese scientists have reported zoo pandas as old as 35. The National Zoo's Hsing-Hsing died at age 28 in 1999.
Diet:
A wild giant panda’s diet is almost exclusively (99 percent) bamboo. The balance consists of other grasses and occasional small rodents or musk deer fawns. In zoos, giant pandas eat bamboo, sugar cane, rice gruel, a special high-fiber biscuit, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes.
Social Structure:
Adult giant pandas are generally solitary, but they do communicate periodically through scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings. Offspring stay with their mothers from one and a half to three years.
The giant panda has lived in bamboo forests for several million years. It is a highly specialized animal, with unique adaptations.
Feeding Adaptions:
Millions of Zoo visitors enjoy watching giant pandas eat. A panda usually eats while sitting upright, in a pose that resembles how humans sit on the floor. This posture leaves the front paws free to grasp bamboo stems with the help of a "pseudo thumb," formed by an elongated and enlarged wrist bone covered with a fleshy pad of skin. The panda also uses its powerful jaws and strong teeth to crush the tough, fibrous bamboo into bits.
A giant panda’s digestive system is more similar to that of a carnivore than an herbivore, and so much of what is eaten is passed as waste. To make up for the inefficient digestion, a panda needs to consume a comparatively large amount of food—from 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo each day—to get all its nutrients. To obtain this much food means that a panda must spend 10 to 16 hours a day foraging and eating. The rest of its time is spent mostly sleeping and resting.
Water:
Wild giant pandas get much of the water they need from bamboo, a grass whose contents are about half water. (New bamboo shoots are about 90 percent water.) But giant pandas need more water than what bamboo alone can provide. So almost every day wild pandas also drink fresh water from rivers and streams that are fed by melting snowfall in high mountain peaks. The temperate forests of central China where giant pandas live receive about 30 to 40 inches of rain and snow a year. Charleston, West Virginia—a city with a similar temperate climate—receives about the same amount of rain and snow: an average of 42.5 inches a year.
Reproduction:
Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between four and eight years of age. They may be reproductive until about age 20. Female pandas ovulate only once a year, in the spring. A short period of two to three days around ovulation is the only time she is able to conceive. Calls and scents draw males and females to each other.
Female giant pandas give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. Although females may give birth to two young, usually only one survives. Giant panda cubs may stay with their mothers for up to three years before striking out on their own. This means a wild female, at best, can produce young only every other year; in her lifetime, she may successfully raise only five to eight cubs. The giant pandas’ naturally slow breeding rate prevents a population from recovering quickly from illegal hunting, habitat loss, and other human-related causes of mortality.
Development:
At birth, the cub is helpless, and it takes considerable effort on the mother’s part to raise it. A newborn cub weighs three to five ounces and is about the size of a stick of butter. Pink, hairless, and blind, the cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. Except for a marsupial (such as the kangaroo or opossum), a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother's size.
Cubs do not open their eyes until they are six to eight weeks of age and are not mobile until three months. A cub may nurse for eight to nine months. A cub is nutritionally weaned at one year, but not socially weaned for up to two years. Read more about panda cub develoment.
Lifestyle:
A wild panda spends much of its day resting, feeding, and seeking food. Unlike other bears from temperate climates, giant pandas do not hibernate. Until recently, scientists thought giant pandas spent most of their lives alone, with males and females meeting only during the breeding season. Recent studies paint a different picture, in which small groups of pandas share a large territory and sometimes meet outside the breeding season. Much remains to be learned about the secret lives of these elusive animals, and every new discovery helps scientists in their battle to save this species.

Mountain Goat -
Genus: Oreamnos
Species: americanus | | Mountain Goats can be found in the mountains of northwestern regions of North America, where they seem to cling and move around on the impossibly steep slopes. Mountain Goats have two beige colored horns that curl back and reach a length of about twelve inches. Mountain Goats weigh about 100 to 200 pounds. They are 4.5 feet long and their shoulder height is about 36 to 48 inches. The females are smaller than the males by almost 30%. They have very round | bodies which protect them from the cold.
Their legs are about 20 inches long. Their hooves are adapted to the rugged slopes by being flexible, like rubber, so they can jump from rock to rock. Their coloring is white and their fur is very fluffy and every strand of hair is about 2 inches long. The Mountain Goat has eight teeth in front so it can easily grab big patches of grass.
The Mountain Goat breeds yearly between November and January. Gestation periods last at least 150 to 180 days and the babies are usually born in the spring. This is a beneficial time for the goat's babies, or kids, to be born because it is easier to survive in the warmer weather. Also, there is more food in the summer which the mother can make milk from. When she is ready to give birth, the mother hides in the cliffs in her home territory so that she is safe from predators. The kids are very independent a couple weeks of after birth. The babies stop getting milk from their mother after 3 to 4 months and they stay with her until she reproduces again. Both sexes reach sexual maturity after 30 months.
The Mountain Goat changes its social groupings seasonally. They live in big groups in the winter, and smaller groups, or alone in the summer. The male goats are dominant during breeding season. However during the non-breeding season, the adult females are dominant. Mountain Goat hierarchies are determined early by the kids' playing behavior. The stronger more dominant kids become the leaders of their group. The Mountain Goats' habitat also changes from season to season. They migrate between lowland winter areas, and high elevation summer ranges.
Some adaptations that help a Mountain Goat to survive are its horns, jumping ability, its hooves, and its teeth. Their horns help to defend them from predators. Mountain Goats have a lot of strength in their hind legs that allow them to jump great distances. Their hooves have a slit in the middle to make them more flexible. They have eight teeth on the top and bottom for an easier way to grab big patches of grass. Mountain Goats' diet is basically grass, woody plants, and moss. They get most of their water from their food.
Mountain Goats are prey to coyotes, mountain lions, and bobcats, so they have to be careful where they go. Mountain Goats help the environment by their droppings which add nutrients to the quality of the soil.
Mountain Goats are very close to being on the endangered species list. Biologists are trying to stop hunters from killing these herds. Pacific Walrus
Scientific Name: Odobenus rosmarus
Home: Edge of the Arctic Ice SheetAlaskan and Chukchi Sea, Bristol Bay, and the Bering Sea

Imagine an 11 foot long, 2000 pound seal, tusked like an elephant, with the bristly muzzle of a giant otter, the peg-like teeth of a manatee, and the bellow of a buffalo. You’ve got it - a walrus. To the old Norse they were the whale-horse, "hval-hross." So you can see how the Walrus got its name. Walruses spend half their time in below freezing Arctic waters and the other half lounging on ice floes and shorelines. They have to be able to survive the constant cold. On land, they love to sunbathe on the beach and will lie close together in herds of over a thousand animals. Not only is there safety in numbers but it also helps retain their body heat. In the water their body has adapted to help them stay warm. Walruses deposit most of their body fat into a thick layer of blubber (up to 6 inches thick) that lies just underneath their thick skin (up to one and a half inches thick). This helps cushion their chest and stomach when they walk around on land and protects them from the cold wind and icy water when lying out on the ice or swimming. It also acts as an energy reserve and streamlines the body, helping them swim and dive (sometimes as deep as 300 feet). Another adaptation to the cold is that Walruses have no external ear. It is just a small hole which is hard to see with all of their wrinkles. Just think of your own fingers, toes and ears in the winter. By reducing the number of external appendages, the walruses stay warmer.

Walruses are slow swimmers, averaging only about four and a third miles per hour. But, if they are startled they can swim up to 22 miles per hour. Their forelimbs and hindlimbs are sleek and webbed, like oars. The bottoms of the flippers are bumpy so the walrus can grip the ice and they are able to turn their hind flippers forward to aid in movement on land. They also have special air sacs in their throats that act like life preservers (holding up to 50 liters of air) and let their heads stay above the water - they can even sleep upright in the water this way. Special muscles prevent water from entering the trachea (the tube that carries air to the lungs) when the walrus opens its mouth below water. They can even close their nostrils when resting. Walruses are carnivores, feeding mainly on invertebrates found at the bottom of the sea. They eat several different kinds of clams, snails, crabs, shrimps, worms, and occasionally seals. Like most marine mammals, they have special physiological adaptations for diving and food gathering. Walruses need about one minute of breathing at the surface for every five to eight minutes of underwater activity, but can remain submerged for as long as ten minutes. To conserve oxygen while it is below water the walrus can slow down their heartbeat while diving. They can also divert blood away from parts of the body that can withstand low levels of oxygen (like their skin and stomach) to the heart and brain where more oxygen is needed. Twelve percent of their body weight is blood ( humans are only 7 percent) which allows them to carry more oxygen. In addition, their oxygen carrying red blood cells are exceptionally large. Their muslces have a lot of the protein called myoglobin, which helps transport and store oxygen in their muscle tissue.

Walruses may look like they have a mustache, but the 700 or so hairs packed on their snout are called vibrissae. They use these sensitive whiskers (up to 11 inches long) to feel their way through the sand and look for food. When prey is detected the walrus will stop and swish its’ head back and forth to dig it out. It uses its vibrissae like ‘chop sticks’ to manipulate its food. If the shellfish is too far below the surface, the walrus has a cool way of uncovering it. It takes in a big mouthful of water and squirts it forcefully, like a water drill, through its tongue at the ocean floor. This moves the sand out of the way exposing a tasty morsel like a clam or worm. Their narrow mouths, strong thick lips, and piston-like tongues allow them to create a strong suction, and rip the fleshy parts of their food away from the shell. A walrus can find and eat a shellfish in about six seconds. This speed allows the walrus to consume plenty of food on a dive. Walruses are among the strangest living mammals. Their large tusks (averaging 20 inches) make them unlike any other marine animal. These tusks are used in fighting for territory and mates, but they also serve other functions. Tusks can be used for cutting through ice, hooking over ice for stability while sleeping, anchoring themselves on the ocean bottom while digging for clams, and to get a grip when climbing out of the water onto ice. They are often refered to as tooth walkers.

Walruses communicate to each other with knocks, clacks, and whistles, The males use the air sacs at their throats to make a loud bell-like sound during breeding season. Females usually have one baby, which can swim as soon as it's born. At birth the babies weigh 99-165 pounds. Moms are extremely protective of their calves. They will defend and protect the calf and may shelter it under their chest between their foreflippers. Calves often ride on their mothers' backs in the water. Walruses live about 16 to 30 years.

POLAR BEARS Polar bears are the largest land carnivores (meat-eaters) in the world and the largest members of the bear family.
Polar bears live only in the northern Arctic where they spend most of their time on ice floes. They are found in the US (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Greenland and Norway. These areas are viciously cold, with temperatures as low as minus 55 degrees Celsuis and wind speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.
By having a thick layer of fat (blubber) under their skin, the bears can stay warm in the cold environment. Polar bears are warm-blooded mammals, which means that they can regulate their body at the same temperature. Their skin is black, which helps to soak up as much heat from the sun as possible. What's more, their round and compact body shape helps to keep them warm. Polar bears don't have large ears or a long tail, because they lose warmth quickly. Instead they try to weigh as much as possible because large objects lose heat slowly, so the heaviest polar bear stays warmer longer.
Polar bears hunt seals, fish, seabirds and reindeer. They will also eat vegetation and berries in the summer. Polar bears do not need to drink water, as they get all the liquid they need from the food they eat. In order for polar bears to stay fat and warm they must eat a lot of food. Polar bears often eat 45 kilograms of seal blubber in one meal. About half of the food polar bears eat is used to keep them warm, which is the same for humans. So the colder the Arctic gets, the more they must eat to keep warm.
Polar bears have an amazing sense of smell, which means that they can smell a dead meal 20 miles away and a live seal one meter under the ice. They are very good swimmers, and use their fat and two layers of dense, oily, water repellent fur to help keep them afloat. They use their large feet as paddles when swimming and when on the ice, their feet are used as snow-shoes.
Polar bear cubs are no bigger than a rat when born.

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North American Porcupine - Erethizon dorsatum | Characteristics
Range
Habitat
Diet
Life Cycle
Behavior | Classification | Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Erethizontidae Genus: Erethizon | |
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CharacteristicsThe porcupine is a rodent. It has black to brownish-yellow fur and strong, short legs. It has hairless soles on its feet that help it climb trees. It has a round body, small ears and a small head. The most recognizable feature of the porcupine is its quills. A porcupine may have as many as 30,000 quills. The quills are hairs with barbed tips on the ends. Quills are solid at the tip and base and hollow for most of the shaft. The porcupine has quills on all parts of its body, except for its stomach. The longest quills are on its rump. The shortest quills are on its cheeks.

The porcupine uses its quills for defense. The porcupine cannot shoot its quills. When a predator approaches, the porcupine will turn its back, raise the quills and lash out at the threat with its tail. If the porcupine hits an animal with its quills, the quills become embedded in the animal. Body heat makes the barbs expand and they become even more deeply embedded in the animal's skin. If an animal is hit in a vital place it may die. The porcupine is not an aggressive animal. It will only attack if it is threatened. Some animals, like the fisher, are experts at attacking porcupines. RangeThe common porcupine can be found in most of Canada and the western United States south to Mexico. In the eastern United States, it can be found in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and New England. HabitatThe common porcupine lives in coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests. In the west, it can be found in scrubby areas. | | | | DietThe common porcupine is an herbivore. It eats leaves, twigs and green plants like skunk cabbage and clover. In the winter, it may eat bark. It often climbs trees to find food. It is mostly nocturnal, but will sometimes forage for food in the day. Life CyclePorcupines mate in late summer and early fall. Porcupines are very vocal during mating season. Males often fight over females. The male performs an elaborate dance and sprays urine over the head of the female. Seven months after mating the female gives birth to a single baby. When the baby is born, its quills are soft. They harden about an hour after birth. The baby is begins to forage for food after only a couple of days. The baby will stay with its mother for about six months. BehaviorThe common porcupine is a solitary animal, although it may den with other porcupines in the winter. It makes its den in caves, decaying logs and hollow trees. The common porcupine doesn't hibernate, but it may stay in its den during bad weather. The common porcupine is a good swimmer, its hollow quills help keep it afloat. It is also an excellent tree-climber and spends much of its time in trees. It is a very vocal animal and has a wide-variety of calls including moans, grunts, coughs, wails, whines, shrieks and tooth clicking. |