1By: Patrick Troyer, Education Specialist
It goes without saying that we have some amazing wildlife that call Ohio home. With bears, turkeys, beavers, coyotes, foxes and so much more, Ohio is truly the heart of it all when it comes to wildlife! In my previous installment, we looked at the deer and the wild turkey learning about their habitats, diet, and behavior. For this article, we look at yet two more of nature’s creatures, the beaver and the fox.
Let’s first look at the fox. In Ohio, there are two species of fox that call our state home which are the gray fox and the red fox. As you can imagine, they both are named based on their color. The red fox is more of a reddish-orange with white from its below to its underside. The gray fox has an overall gray color but has a lot of black and white mixed in giving it a salt and pepper-like appearance. Besides the color differences, one notable difference between the two-fox species comes to looking at the tail. The red fox will have a white tip to its bushy tail while the gray fox will have a skinnier tail with a black tip.
Foxes are nocturnal animals which means that they are primarily active during the nighttime hours when they hunt for their food and generally sleep during the day. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), the Red Fox is a solitary creature during the fall and early winter months and generally only will roam a one to two-mile range in search for food. Some primary staples in the Red Fox diet would be mice, rats, rabbits, birds, insects, eggs, fruits, and acorns. The red fox generally is the one people tend to think of when they hear the word fox due to is rusty colored fur.
The gray fox and the red fox have a lot of similarities between them. One of the main things comes to reproduction with foxes being monogamous breeders. What does this mean exactly? According to ODNR, this means that the fox will only have one mate through their entire life time with peak breeding taking place from February to March for the gray fox and January to February for the red fox. Foxes will only have one litter per year and can have anywhere from 4-6 kits in every litter.
Female red foxes sometimes must make their own dens from scratch. ODNR writes that females that must do this will pick out a location that has a loose, sandy soil that has a southern exposure for warmth. Dens will be dug to depths of about four feet deep. Did you know that foxes are related to your pet dog? Foxes, just like your dog, are members of the “Canidae” or Canine family. Another interesting fact with the fox is that they do not hibernate through the winter months compared to other animals.
To say the least, the beaver is quite an amazing animal primarily due to all the adaptations that it has to best live in its environment. The beaver is the largest rodent found in North American weighing an average of 60 lbs. and measuring a length of 25 to 30 inches long. One thing is for sure with the beaver, they sure love the water! They love it so much that within just 24 hours of being born, the young called kits are already actively swimming! Kits are generally born between April to July with 1 to 4 kits being born with every litter.
Beavers generally prefer ponds that are surrounded by forests to build their homes known as dams. Among some of their favorite woods to eat are poplar, birch, and maple trees. Let’s talk a little bit more about their homes which can have some differences depending on where they are built. For the most part, beavers are quite crafty when it comes to the construction of their dam such as building the entrances underneath the water. Why an underwater entrance you ask? Well for one, they love the water and two it is one of the mechanisms they use to protect themselves from predators who are left wondering how to get into the dam.
According to National Geographic, the inside of their homes features a living quarter built above the water with wood chips on the floor to absorb excess moisture along with a vent at the top to allow for air circulation. Beaver dams are built using the wood that they have chopped up with their large teeth along with mud to hold everything together.
So, let’s now talk about the many amazing adaptations of the beaver. What is an adaptation? An adaptation is a modification of an organism or its parts which allow it to better survive its environment. Among their adaptations, beavers have webbed feet, waterproof fur, adapted lungs, ear adaptations, clear eye lids, rudder-like tails, and their large teeth. The waterproof fur makes sense given that the beaver loves to swim in the water. According to National Geographic, beavers use oil glands to keep their fur wet and slippery and rub this on their fur. This is reapplied on a regular basis to ensure the fur stays wet. The fur also is good at trapping body heat to keep the beavers warm.
If a beaver is underwater all the time, how do they see? Beavers have clear eyelids that allows them to see through, so they have their own built in goggles! National Geographic writes that beavers also can stay underneath the water for as long as 15 minutes due to their specially adapted lungs. Do you like getting water in your ears or nose when you swim? Beavers don’t either! They have small flaps of skin in their ears and nose that close when they are underneath the water!
Now to those beaver teeth! According to National Geographic, beavers have long sharp teeth known as incisors which are great for gnawing wood. The teeth are continually growing, which makes it important for beavers to keep their teeth sharpened by chewing on wood. Another adaptation of the beaver is their webbed feet. The webbed feet are like flippers that divers will wear when deep see diving. Their webbed feet between their toes come in handy when they are swimming through the water.
Lastly, is the beaver’s tail. They have a large tail shaped like an oar that comes in handy as a steering mechanism and to defend themselves from predators. They will slap their large tail on the water to scare off predators! Hopefully now you have a good understanding of the beaver and foxes found in Ohio. Stay tuned for the next installment which will feature more great Ohio animals!
