The Animal of October: the Coyote!

The coyote, with its keen hunting skills and cleverness, can be found in the continent's forests and mountains. This omnivorous member of the dog family will eat almost anything. They eat rabbits, fish, rodents, frogs, and even deer. They will also eat insects, fruits, snakes, and grass. Coyotes will also hunt livestock, sheep, and other pets, so they are considered pests to farmers.



Coyotes can run up to 40 mph when they are hunting. In the winter and fall, coyotes form packs to hunt more efficiently. Coyotes weigh 20 to 50 pounds.



Fast Facts
1. Omnivores
2. Weight: 20 to 50 lbs
3. Range: most of North America
4. Did you know? Coyotes are very good swimmers

Squirrels

Did you know that there are more than 200 species of squirrel that live all around the world? The squirrel is common to almost everyone. The squirrels that live in your back yard or in parks are usually tree squirrels. Like other rodents, squirrels have four front teeth that never stop growing so that they're teeth wont wear down from all of the gnawing. Squirrels eat nuts, leaves, roots, and other seeds.Squirrels are omnivores, and weigh anywhere from 0.5 to 4 lbs. A group of squirrels is called a scurry or dray.

The Animal of September: The Bottlenosed Dolphin!

With a familiar smile and a silly personality, the Bottlenosed dolphin is an intelligent aquatic mammal that can swim over speeds of 18 miles an hour. Dolphins are very social animals that live in groups known as pods. They communicate in various different sounds of whistles. Dolphins are carnivores, eating fish, shrimp, and squid. These sneaky critters are also seen sometimes following fishing boats to see if there is anything left over to eat.



Bottlenosed dolphins are found in the warm tropical waters all around the world. Dolphins were once hunted for meat and oil, but are now protected and dolphin fishing is limited. The average lifespan of a bottlenosed dolphin is 45 to 50 years. They can grow to be about 10 to 14 ft long, and weigh about 1,100 lbs. Dolphins can jump 16 ft out of the water and land with a big splash on their side or their back.



The Fast Facts
1. Carnivore
2. Average lifespan in the wild: 45 to 50 years
3. Weight 1,100 lbs
4. Group name: a pod
5. marine mammal

The Animal of August: The Mandrill!

Being the largest of the monkeys, the mandrill is a shy animal that live only in the rain forests of equatorial Africa. They are 3 ft tall omnivores, eating fruits, nuts, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. They weigh 77 pounds, and they live in troops. The troops are lead by males, and include a dozen or so females and their young. Mandrills have a way of being cute and creepy all at the same time!

Mandrills do not fall in the category of endangered, yet they are a threatened species. They are hunted for bushmeat, as many Africans consider them a delicacy.

Fast Facts!

1. Omnivores

2. Lifespan in the wild: 20 years

3. Group: troop

4. Size: 3ft tall, 77 lbs

5. Protection status: threatened

The Animal of July: The Sea Otter

The carnivorous aquatic member of the weasel family spends most of his time in the water. The sea otters will eat, rest, and socialize in the water. They live in groups in the water and are very playful. They eat things such as clams, shellfish, sea urchins, crab, squid, octopus, and fish. They weigh about 65 pounds, and live up to 23 years in the wild. Sea otters were once to the point of extinction in the early 20th Century, with only about 1,000 to 2,000 otters left. Now, with protection laws, there are about 100,000 to 150,000 otters in the wild.



Fast Facts
1. Carnivores
2. Weigh about 65 pounds
3. about 4 ft tall

Random Fact of the Day

American bison weigh about 2,200 pounds!

Animal of the Month: The Mountain Lion

The huge 136 pound mountain lion roams America. The mountain lion is also known as a puma, cougar, and catamount. Mountain lions are carnivores, preying on deer, porcupine, coyotes, and raccoons. They tend to prey at dawn or dusk.


Mountain Lions once roamed all of America, but that was reduced in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. Hunters treasured these mountain lions, while farmers despised them for killing their livestock. Does that sound familiar? Remember back in January, the animal of the month was the wombat. Farmers didn't like wombats for destroying their fields, and farmers don't like mountain lions for killing their cows.

Mountain lions are very quiet and shy animals, rarely seen by humans. They need a lot of space to roam and live. Now, based on that information, why do you thing mountain lions will sometimes attack humans?

If you live in Pleasanton, you might remember the mountain lion spotting near Mohr Elementary School back in 2006, and then again in 2009. This endangered species has no place to roam anymore, being forced into rural areas, which then leads them to be killed because of "threatening" people, while most of the time they don't even harm anyone. It's just wrong. Here is the link for PleasantonWeekly.com on the mountain lion spotting in 2009 http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=1959

Fast Facts!
1. Carnivore
2. They weigh 136 lbs
3. Endangered
4. Live in the Western parts of America






Thanks to National Geographic Animal Facts: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/mountain-lion/