10. Animal Descriptions
Cut apart and put on backside of index card
Animals That Adapt
Barn Owl
To survive cold winters, Barn Owls need to hunt successfully,
and cannot survive long if they do not catch prey often enough.
Snow cover is a big problem for Barn Owls trying to make it through winter.
Too many days of snow cover means not enough chances to find food. Mild
winters help the Barn Owls to avoid starvation
Beaver
The under fur is very dense and traps a layer
of air next to the skin for insulation.
To survive during the winter beavers eat the
inner bark of trees.
Fox
During the winter a fox will grow a thicker layer of hair
to help keep them warm.
A fox will change what it eats during the winter. While
the fox eats fruits and grasses in the spring and summer,
during the winter when those are not available a fox eats
small rodents.
11. Squirrel
Squirrels build nests out of leaves, twigs and other materials
that they find in their surroundings. The nests provide homes
and help to keep them warm.
Squirrels gather food and stash it in hidden locations close to
their nest, to be eaten later. Before winter comes, they fatten
themselves up by eating a lot, and they grow a thicker fur coat.
When winter comes, they keep warm in their nest, and mostly
rely on their hidden stash of food for nourishment. If the weather
is really cold, squirrels may share nests with one another in order
to share body heat and keep warm.
Deer
During the winter deer eat woody plants because that is all
that is available. Sometimes deer will dig under the snow to
find grasses to eat. If winter lasts a long time than often
starvation will kill the deer because of a lack of nutrient rich trees.
During the winter deer grow a thick coat of hair. Each individual hair
is hollow. This is important because the hair acts as an insulator
trapping the body heat that the deer generates.
Hawk
Hawks grow warm winter feathers to survive the winter. They continue to
hunt for small rodents and often feed off of the carcass of dead animals.
Some hawks will actually migrate south if the winter becomes to snowy
because it becomes difficult for them to catch the prey.
Turkey
In the winter turkeys will continue to roam in search of food. However,
their diets change depending on what foods are available. During the winter
months turkeys will eat whatever is available including plants, weed seeds,
waste grains.
12. Mink
During the winter a mink will grow thick layers of insulating fat
and has specialized fur that helps it keep warm.
They eat more fish in the winter out of small streams or rivers that
are not completely frozen because the fish are slower and easier to
catch.
Rabbit
Rabbits grow a thicker layer of fur to help keep warm in the
winter.
Rabbits spend the winter looking for moss, twigs, bark, and leaves
to eat.
Rabbits find shelter under houses, garages, brushy swamps, or bushes
during the winter months to keep warm and hide from predators.
Animals That Hibernate
Turtle
Most turtles go deep into a pond and snuggle down into mud and
leaves at the bottom for the winter. While at the bottom the let
themselves get cold so their bodies slow down. Once this happens
they don’t need to eat anymore. Their heart slows down so that
it only beats once every few minutes and they stop breathing
through their lungs. They get the small amount of oxygen they
need from the water.
Frog
Terrestrial frogs- frogs that primarily live on land- dig deep
burrows in the soil below the frost line to hibernate in for the
winter.
Many frogs will actually freeze during the winter months and
Look frozen and dead. However, frogs have a high concentration
Of glucose in their organs that prevents the organs for freezing.
When it begins to warm up again a frogs frozen portion will
thaw and its heart and lungs will resume activity.
13. Black Bear
Black bears sleep for up to 7months without eating, drinking, or
going to the bathroom.
Black bears are able to sleep for long because of their thick
insulative pelt or fur. Their thick pelt helps to maintain a body
temperature of 88 degrees which is only 12 degree different
from their summer body temperature.
Jumping Mouse
Jumping mice put a large layer of fat in the fall to
Prepare for the winter. They spend from October to
April in an underground moss/grass/leaf nest.
Jumping mice wake every two weeks to stretch and go
to the bathroom.
Brown Bear
To hibernate, brown bear dig beneath the roots of a
large tree to create their dens by chewing up obstructing
roots and throwing out rocks and dirt.
In late October or early November the brown bear will enter
its den and will get no water or nourishment for the next
5 to 6 months.
In order to survive the winter months the brown bear must
eat enough food in order to store huge amounts of fat on
their body.
Chipmunk
During the summer months, chipmunks store enough food
to last them through the winter. They wake up periodically
to eat their nuts or seeds.
Chipmunks live in underground burrow during the winter to stay
warm.
14. Snake
To survive the winter some snakes head underground to
hibernate, while others gather together in a sheltered
place like a log.
Snakes increase their food intake before hibernating
and because they are cold blooded their metabolism
slows down drastically.
Bat
Bats hibernate in caves, building, old mines, or hollow trees.
They build up fat during the summer so that they can
live throughout the winter.
Bats often hibernate in groups. They hang upside down
alone or in groups.
When a bat hibernates, its body temperature drop until
It is about the same temperature as it is outside.
Badger
Badgers hibernate but go into temporary hibernation which
means they have a few awake times during the winter to
eat food from their burrows.
Badgers live in underground burrows during the winter.
In the fall badgers will eat more so they can sleep for
weeks at a time without waking up.
Skunk
Skunks hibernate in dens that are lined with leaves. They
plug up the opening of the den so that their heat stay in
and some of the cold stays out.
Often times, on a warm day skunks will wake up and look
for food and then return to their den.
15. Animals That Migrate
Loon
Loons travel between 1,300 and 1,700 miles to migrate.
Some loons can travel as much as 572 miles in just 3
days.
Loons spend the winter season along the Atlantic,
Pacific, and Gulf Coasts.
Robin
Robins migrate in search of food rather than changing
temperatures. Fruit, earthworms and insects are the
robins main source of food. They will return when
their food sources become available.
Robins fly south for most of the winter.
Monarch
Monarchs migrate to Mexico each year in order to survive.
They cannot live in cold temperatures.
Monarchs fly up to 2,500 miles to a warmer climate.
They are the only insect that can fly that far.
Goldfinch
Migrate primarily to Texas and Florida in the cold months.
They migrate because of the cold weather and also because
of food sources. Goldfinches eat seeds, grasses, and wildflowers.
Salmon
Salmon travel thousands of miles to migrate. Millions of them
migrate together entering the Gulf of Alaska from nearby
rivers.
Scientists are not exactly sure why salmon migrate.
16. Caribou
Caribou travel to the Boreal Forest or other wooded areas
to migrate. Although the weather is also cold in these areas
there is much less snow and the tree cover provides shelter to
the caribou.
Thousands of caribou travel hundreds of miles together in
search of food sources.
Bluebird
Bluebirds migrate south for the winter in search of better food.
They feed on berries which are scarce in the northern regions of
the U.S. during the winter months.
Some bluebirds travel as far as Texas when migrating.
Beluga Whale
The Beluga Whale migrates both north and south. Some whales
travel thousands of miles. Many migrate in the fall when the ice
pack begins to advance.
Red-Headed Woodpecker
The Red-Headed Woodpecker migrate south during the cold
months of the year in search of food. Their primary food
source is acrons and beech nuts which are not found in the
northern parts of the U.S. in the cold months.
They will often travel hundreds of miles in search of food.
17. Question Cards
Print and cut apart questions and glue them onto index cards
Adapt –Print 4 copies
1.How do you know your animal
adapts to its environment?
2. What do you do you think your
animal does to adapt to its environment?
-Check the back of your card for information
3. What is another animal that adapts
to its environment in the same way your
animal does?
4. Talk to other group members and ask
them about their animal.
18. Migrate –Print 4 copies
1.How do you know your animal
migrates during the winter?
2. Where do you think your animal
migrates to during the winter?
-Check the back of your card for information
3. What is another animal that
migrates during the winter?
4. Talk to other group members and ask
them about their animal.
19. Hibernate –Print 4 copies
1.How do you know your animal
hibernates during the winter?
2. What does your animal do
in order to hibernate in the winter?
-Check the back of your card for information
3. What is another animal that
hibernates during the winter?
4. Talk to other group members and ask
them about their animal.
