Minnesota — Home of the Elusive Gray Wolf
Whether you visit an animal track or see wildlife in nature, interacting with mammals is a thrill. With Stan Tekiela’s Mammals of Minnesota famous field guide, you have the perfect tool to discover and correctly identify these amazing animals.
Minnesota is one of the few places in the world where you can see magnificent mammals such as the elusive gray wolf. The state also has a small population of elk and an expanding population of Canadian lynx. Bobcats and fleet-footed snowshoe hares make their homes in the coniferous forests of northern Minnesota while flying squirrels and tree-climbing gray foxes are found in deciduous forests in various parts of the state.
Check out Stan’s expert insights about three of the many amazing mammals of Minnesota:
The Eastern Spotted Shunk is an extremely uncommon species of special concern in Minnesota. Considered by some to have the finest and softest fur in the animal world. While this small skunk is protected from hunting and trapping, populations are severely declining in the state and may even be extirpated. If seen, the location should be reported to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This skunk is a semi-social animal but also very secretive. Fast, agile, and adept at climbing trees, it is an expert mouser that, like a house cat, is good at controlling small mammal populations around farms.
The Woodland Jumping Mouse: One might conclude from its common name that this mouse jumps to get around. It usually walks on all four feet or moves in a series of small jumps. The common name comes from its ability to leap up to 4 feet (1.2 m) when startled or to escape predators. The mouse jumps several times and then will often stay perfectly still to blend into the environment.
The only member of the genus Napaeozapus, this mouse rarely leaves the forest. A full one-third of its diet consists of fungi, with seeds and insects comprising the rest. Feeding on fungi provides the mouse with much-needed water. The mouse deposits fungi spores through its excrement, which benefits the fungi. Like the meadow jumping mouse, the woodland jumping mouse is a hibernator, gaining up to 100% of its body weight in fat each fall. It is a true hibernator, not active until springtime, with most entering hibernation in October. Males emerge in April, females in May. Apparently many do not survive winter. Some studies indicate only half the population emerges the next spring.
The Short-tailed Weasel is a small weasel with a big attitude, capturing and killing animals several times its own weight. Chases, pounces, then kills prey with one bite to the base of the skull, severing the spinal cord. Like other weasels, it usually laps up blood from prey before eating it, giving rise to the myth that the weasel kills just to suck blood from its victims. Occasionally, it catches and kills more than it can eat and caches the extra food. Always on the move, mainly hunting on the ground, but the weasel can climb trees. Excellent sight and smell. Rarely seen more than one at a time except when the female is teaching her offspring to hunt.
It is also known as a stoat during summer when it is brown. Like the long-tailed weasel, it is referred to as an ermine during winter, when it is all white.
About the author: Naturalist, wildlife photographer, and writer Stan Tekiela has published more than 175 field guides, nature books, children’s books, wildlife audio CDs, puzzles, and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers, and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 30 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs.
Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, Stan’s syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers, and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations. Stan can be followed on Facebook and Twitter. He can be contacted via www.naturesmart.com.
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