ANIMALS

Animals depend, either directly or indirectly, on plants for their survival. Each major vegetation region thus has its own characteristic kinds of animal life. In the Arctic areas and regions of mountain tundra are found burrowing marmots, ground squirrels, cold-water fish such as grayling and trout, and an occasional bear. Alaskan coastal waters are the habitat of a number of large mammals, including walrus and fur seals. Caribou and elk spend summers on the tundra but migrate into the conifer forest for winter. Many birds migrate even farther, going from the polar regions to the Tropics each winter. The mountainous western states, especially Alaska, are the last refuges in the United States of most big-game animals. Here may be found elk, pronghorn, moose, deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, timber wolves, and, in a few remote areas, brown bears. The Kodiak bear, the largest carnivore in North America, is found in Alaska.

The hardwood forests of the eastern United States contain moose, black bears, deer, foxes, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, and a diversity of small birds. Along the Gulf of Mexico coast live larger and more colorful birds such as pelicans, flamingos, and green kingfishers, as well as alligators and warmwater fish such as catfish. Several varieties of venomous snakes are also found here.

Bison (buffalo) are popularly associated with the grasslands, although in fact they once ranged over most of eastern North America before being nearly exterminated by hunting; they now exist only in captivity or in protected areas. Gophers, rabbits, prairie dogs, ferrets, ants, and other burrowing creatures are best suited to the grasslands, which were once swept by fires.

The deserts have few plants, fewer small animals, and almost no large animals. Kangaroo rats, lizards, and wide-ranging birds are typical animals in this harsh region.

The animals of Hawaii include many endemic species (those not found elsewhere), but many of these have been driven to near extinction by human alteration of the habitat and by competition from introduced animals. Hawaii’s only indigenous mammal is the bat.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1068