NAM*AN*IMALS - Pelts B

Cue Card

Pelts B
the "adaptations" pelts station
The pelts are very fragile! Please handle them gently and treat them with respect.

Mammals
What makes a mammal a mammal? All mammals have fur all over their bodies. Even humans, look closely! Mammals give birth to live young, and nurse their young in infancy. Mammals are warm blooded.

Red Fox and Coyote
Find the three types of fur on the red fox. Find the guard hair. What could this type of hair be used for? (acts as a raincoat and for protection) Find the under fur. What is this type of hair for? (warmth, insulation) Find the sensory hairs on the face. What are these hairs for? (feel when objects are close to the face, protect the senses on the face) What could the fox use its tail for? (communication, warmth when curled up) Why might the fox have large ears? What type of habitat would the fox's reddish coloration camouflage with? Based on the shape of the claws, can you tell if the fox is an herbivore or a carnivore? How can you tell?

Striped Skunk and Spotted Skunk
The skunks have a different type of coloration than camouflage. What does this coloration do? (acts as a warning for other animals) How do other animals know that black and white means danger? (they have to learn through experience; an animal has to be sprayed once by a skunk before it knows that a black and white animal is one to stay away from) What are the skunk's claws good for? (digging)

Beaver
How does the beaver fur feel different than the other animals? Can you tell where the beaver spends most of its time by how it feels? (it feels slicker, more waterproof, so it lives in the water). The beaver pelt has a rich history in the Northwest (there is a beaver on the back of the Oregon state flag). Beaver pelts were valuable and were traded like money. One beaver pelt was called a "beaver dollar" and you could buy something like a blanket for three and a half beaver dollars. If everyone could go out into the forest and hunt their own money, what do you think happened to many of the beavers?

Nutria
A nutria has almost the same niche as a beaver. They look almost the same, but a nutria has a tail like a rat, instead of the wide flat tail of the beaver. Nutria were imported from South America to replace the declining beaver population. Nutria pelts were never as popular as beaver pelts, however so they were not hunted as much. You can tell that the nutria spends much of its time in the water because of the way the fur feels.

River Otter
Feel the fur. Is this a water creature or a land creature? Look at the claws. Is it a carnivore or an herbivore? River otters hunt for their food in the water. They are long and skinny like a weasel, and their torpedo shape and muscular tail helps them to swim fast.

Weasel and Ermine
Look at the shape of the weasel and the ermine. Can you tell what animal they are closely related to? (they are related to the river otter) The ermine is white in winter and brown in summer. Why do you think the ermine changes color with the seasons? What is the black tip on the ermine's tail for? (it looks like the black nose and will confuse predators)

Opossum
Opossums are the only marsupials that live in North America. A marsupial is an animal that keeps its babies in a pouch. Opossums are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. Look at the colors of the opossum's fur. Why are there so many different colors? (just like fabric camouflage, small areas of different colors blend in much better than a large area of the same color)

Moles
How is mole fur different from the fur of the other animals? (shorter, no prominent guard hairs, doesn't lay flat) Why is it different? (moles live underground so they don't need weather protection, they also move backward and forward in their burrows, so fur must be able to move both directions) Why do both ends of the mole look the same? (protection, predators will not attack from the front or they may be confused) What are the moles claws used for? (digging)

Warning Coloration

The Striped Skunk and Spotted Skunk pelts are examples of warning coloration. The colors tell the predator to avoid the animal, because danger is involved. But how does the predator know what the colors mean? It has to learn about it.

Below is a series of photographs, documenting a Blue Jay's learning process as it eats a Monarch Butterfly for the first time.

The Blue Jay eats the butterfly, realizes something is wrong, then vomits. When this same bird was offered a second Monarch Butterfly, it refused to eat it. The Blue Jay learned from its mistake.

Below are some animals with warning coloration that most 6th graders have either experienced personally, or they have been near someone who has.

Black and Yellow Stripes means "I will sting you, stay away!" The last photograph in the series is an example of mimcry. The 5th bug is actually a fly, and has no stinger. If an animal has encountered one of the others first and learned about warning coloration, then it is likely to avoid the last one.

Tips

Start with one pelt and talk about the types of fur and what makes a mammal a mammal. Focus on adaptations of the pelt, and encourage observations from your students.

When you bring out the next pelt, compare its adaptations with the previous pelt. Relate those adaptations to habitat and niche.

Remember to be gentle with the pelts. Also remember not to take too long at this station - it can be a time sucker.

The Pelts

Want to know more about a particular animal in this station? The links below provide most of the answers.