BELUGA WHALES

BASIC FACTS ABOUT BELUGA WHALES

Adult beluga whales are easily distinguished by their often pure white skin, their small size and their lack of dorsal fin. Belugas have a broad, rounded head and a large forehead. They are well adapted to their arctic and sub-arctic environment, with a five-inch-thick layer of blubber and a tough dorsal ridge that helps them travel through sea ice waters. Belugas are toothed whales. They have broad, paddle-like flippers and notched tails.

ZEBRA

BASIC FACTS ABOUT ZEBRAS

Closely related to horses and donkeys, the zebra (subgenuses Hippotigris and Dolichohippus) is best known for its black and white striped body. In fact, zebra stripe patterns are unique to each individual. These stripes are believed to be camouflage devices that help zebras hide well in the grass.

© Paul Higham

Diet

Zebras are herbivorous and primarily eat a variety of grasses. They are also known to eat shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves and bark.

RED FOX

BASIC FACTS ABOUT RED WOLVES

The red wolf is a smaller and a more slender cousin of the gray wolf. It is gray-black, with a reddish cast that gives it the color for which it is named.

© John & Karen Hollingsworth / USFWS

Diet

The red wolf’s diet consists primarily of small mammals such as rabbits and rodents. Also known to eat insects, berries and occasionally deer.

WALRUS

BASIC FACTS ABOUT WALRUSES

The walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) is a large Arctic marine mammal with flippers, a broad head, short muzzle, small eyes, tusks and whiskers. Scientists recognize two subspecies of walrus – the Atlantic walrus and the Pacific walrus.

Walruses are cinnamon brown in color. They are able to turn their hind flippers forward to aid in movement on land. Their front flippers are large and each has five digits. Males have special air sacs that are used to make a bell-like sound.

FLORIDA MANATEES

BASIC FACTS ABOUT FLORIDA MANATEES

The Florida manatee, Florida’s state marine mammal, is a large aquatic relative of the elephant. They are grayish brown in color and have thick, wrinkled skin on which there is often a growth of algae. Their front flippers help them steer, or sometimes crawl, through shallow water. They also have powerful, flat tails that help propel them through the water. Despite their small eyes and lack of outer ears, manatees are thought to see and hear quite well.

Like other grazing animals, Florida manatees play an important role in influencing the plant growth in the shallow rivers, bays, estuaries, canals and coastal waters they call home.

WOLVERINES

BASIC FACTS ABOUT WOLVERINES

Called "skunk bear" by the Blackfeet Indians, the wolverine (Gulo gulo) is the largest terrestrial member of the weasel family and currently roams the rugged and beautiful Rocky Mountains and North Cascades in the western U.S.

A larger cousin to otters, weasels and mink, the wolverine has a broad head, small eyes and short rounded ears with dark brown fur, and often has a lighter-colored face mask and stripe running down both sides of its body. Typically weighing less than 35 pounds, the wolverine is powerfully built and has short legs with wide feet for traveling across the snow.

Did You Know?

Wolverines have unique coloration patterns on their face, neck, and chest that can allow researchers to identify individual animals based on photos showing the patterns.

These animals are a vital part of ecosystems in northern climes, and a great ambassador of the wild places they inhabit and the melting snow they require. Wolverines are also exceedingly rare, with scientists estimating that fewer than 300 wolverines may live in the lower 48 states, possibly fewer.

BATS

BASIC FACTS ABOUT BATS

Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. With extremely elongated fingers and a wing membrane stretched between, the bat’s wing anatomically resembles the human hand. Almost 1,000 bat species can be found worldwide. In fact, bats make up a quarter of all mammal species on earth!

Diet

70% of bats consume insects, sharing a large part of natural pest control. There are also fruit-eating bats; nectar-eating bats; carnivorous bats that prey on small mammals, birds, lizards and frogs; fish-eating bats, and perhaps most famously, the blood-sucking vampire bats of South America.