Mammal

Sugar gliders are small marsupials that live their lives in trees, rarely (if ever), touching the ground. A glider will launch himself from a tree, spreading his limbs to catch air with the membrane that runs from his wrists to his ankles. This serves to slow their descent as they fall and they can even… Read More

Chinchillas are a small rodent native to the Andes Mountain Range in Chile, South America. Prized for their luxurious soft fur, they were hunted and captured to almost extinction before a protection ban was put on them in the 1900s. In 1923, Mathias F. Chapman was given special permission by the Chilean Government to bring… Read More

Ferrets have had a very long history beside man, possibly even dating back to 450 BC, although they only became popular as common pets within the last 100 years. The term ‘ferret’ is one we use to describe clearing a hole or rummaging through a space, both of which are attributes to these domesticated polecats.… Read More

Striped skunks are nocturnal and they are the most common skunk in North America. Like all skunks, they have an incredible defense system: skunks spray a foul-smelling liquid that clings to their assailants for days. They often aim for the eyes which cause pain and temporary blindness to their potential predators, allowing the skunk to… Read More

The cougar has the greatest natural distribution of any mammal in the Western Hemisphere (with the exception of humans). They can be found roaming from Canada all the way to Patagonia. In some areas, they are threatened due to habitat loss. Cougars are extremely agile and can leap to great heights; a cougar may leap… Read More

There are 2 subspecies of brown bears. The grizzly lives throughout the mainland of Alaska, throughout Canada, and in a couple of isolated populations of the lower 48 states. Brown bears were extirpated by the late 1930’s in Oregon. The Kodiak only lives on the Kodiak Archipelago. Grizzlies usually weigh between 800 and 1200 pounds.… Read More

Gray wolves come in many shades of color, despite their name. They can have coats colored from pure white, cinnamon, black, brown, sandy, and gray, but they all have a thick layer of insulating gray fur next to their skin. In the wild, wolves live in family units of 8 to 12 individuals; however, there… Read More

A member of the family Mustelidae, North American badgers have a reputation for being quite ferocious. While they are rarely instigators of aggression, they can certainly be very defensive. They have very few predators because of this, and have even been observed defending their territory from much larger predatory animals like bears! Badgers are quite… Read More

River otters belong to the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, badgers, martens, ferrets, wolverines, and mink. River otters are excellent swimmers and divers. They are able to stay underwater for up to eight minutes, using their specially adapted ears and nose which they can close to keep water out while they’re submerged. River otters… Read More