Common Animals of the Bear Creek Watershed

December 2009

The Bear Creek Watershed Virtual Tours were created with funds provided by the

Bear Creek Watershed Education Partners through a grant from the

Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board with additional funding from Oregon Trout’s Healthy Waters Institute.

THANKS TO: •Terri Eubanks

•Jefferson Nature Center

Animals Need Habitats

A habitat is the place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives.

All living things require habitats: a place giving them food and shelter, where they can find what they need to thrive.

Both a bear and a bug need a habitat, and though they may live in the same place like the Bear Creek watershed, they need different things from their habitat.

The Bear Creek watershed is full of habitats and

the animals that live in them!

• While large animals like bears and mountain lions need large areas for their habitats, small animals may easily have their habitats all around us.

• Almost all habitats in the Bear Creek watershed are affected by the actions of people.

What are Mammals?

• Warm blooded• Feed their young milk• Usually have some kind of hair or bristles

Can you name some mammals?

Beavers in the Bear Creek watershed often build homes or dig burrows along the side of stream banks, not as dams across the stream. Woody plants are food for beavers and if you see peeled sticks in the stream

or gnawed trees and shrubs, you can be sure beavers are near.

Beavers are the official state animal of Oregon. To keep them warm, beavers have thick fur which people used to hunt them to obtain.

Raccoons are very adaptable and have learned to live closely among humans.

What does it mean for an animal to adapt?

Black bears are common in the forested parts of the Bear Creek watershed. Sometimes, they can even make their way to town.

Bears frequently come to the orchards of the Bear Creek valley in the late summer and fall to eat fruit.

DeerMale deer grow antlers in the summer and shed them in the early winter. Fawns are born in spring.

Do you know the difference between horns and antlers?

Gray Fox

The Gray Fox is usually shy and nocturnal. It feeds on small mammals but also fruits, nuts, grains, large insects, carrion, and small amounts of herbs. The Gray Fox prefers woodland and brushy habitats.

What are Reptiles?

• Cold blooded• Dry scaly skin• Claws• Lay eggs with leathery shells

Western Fence LizardFence lizard are commonly called “blue bellies” because male lizards have especially bright blue undersides. The lizards use this coloration to communicate to each other.

What do lizards communicate?

Alligator LizardThough they are small animals, alligator lizards are not afraid to bite humans who catch them. Most lizard species can lose their tail when they are caught, but losing a tail is still very damaging to the lizard as is takes a lot of energy to re-grow a new one and they store energy in their tail to use when needed.

Lizard eggs are often buried in sand or gravel.

Western Pond TurtleWestern pond turtles are the only native turtle in Oregon. These shy animals can be seen warming themselves on logs at ponds or other quiet water. These turtles are threatened by lose of habitat and the

introduction of bullfrogs which often eat baby turtles.

What are Amphibians?

• Cold blooded• Damp skin• No claws• Lay jelly like eggs, usually in water

Pacific TreefrogThese small frogs are common native frogs and are usually less than two inches long with a dark eye stripe. These frogs are commonly heard in wet areas croaking to communicate to other frogs.

What do frogs communicate to each other?

Rough-skinned NewtThese salamanders like cold, clear water. Their bright orange underside is an important field mark and reminds predators that the newt’s skin is very poisonous and can be deadly to eat. Always wash after handling these newts.

What is the difference between a newt and a salamander?Newts are a subgroup of salamanders. All newts are salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts.

Pacific Giant Salamander

These large salamanders can grow to 14 inches long and need cold clear streams to live.

If bothered, they may produce a sharp, low pitched yelp (similar to a dog’s bark). They may also attempt to bite and are capable of inflicting a painful cut.

What are Insects?

• Invertebrates in the Arthropod group: having a hard exoskeleton, a segmented body and legs in pairs

• An adult stage characterized by a well-defined segments, including a head, thorax, abdomen, two antennae, three pairs of legs, and usually two sets of wings

• Because insects are small, they can use habitats within habitats: under logs, in streams, in the air, in tree tops.

There are many groups of animals (called orders) within the Insect class.

These include many you know:BeetlesButterflies & mothsFliesBees & Wasps

Some insects in the Bear Creek watershed are unique to this area and some are very common.

Can you think of some insects you know?

Photo: Maya Cross-Killingsworth

Beetles• Beetles have hard wing coverings.

And comprise nearly a quarter of all the described species on Earth.

• Many people know that ladybugs help humans by eating crop pests like aphids. But did you know that many native ladybug species are disappearing, possibly due to the release of non-native species for crop pest control decades ago.

A native insect: Nine-spotted Ladybug

Different beetles have many different kinds of jobs.

Ground Beetles are usually black and shiny and often found under logs and rocks. Most ground beetles are active predators, hunting for prey items on the forest floor, in trees and vegetation and within the soil itself.  However, not all are entirely predatory and a number of species are scavengers. 

Bark Beetles are tiny beetles whose larvae can tunnel under the bark of conifers. Wildfire, drought, disease, and land management practices can weaken trees and attract bark beetles that can then overpopulate and kill many trees in a forest.

Photo: Edward H. Holsten, USDA Forest Service

Bees

• Bees and wasps have very thin “wasp waists”

European Honey Bees are not native, but are now critical for pollinating most of our food crops.

There are several local species of Yellowjacket Wasps. Some species are native, some are not, but they are common and prey on other insects as well as scavenge (like at your picnic). These colonial insects build paper nests which can house thousands of individuals.

Franklin’s Bumble Bee

Southwest Oregon including the Bear Creek watershed is one of the few places on earth this Bumble Bee is found and it may be extinct. One of the last live Franklin’s Bumble Bee was found on Mt. Ashland in 2003.

Butterfly

• Butterflies & moths belong to the order “Lepidoptera” which means scale wing.

Oregon SwallowtailThe Oregon Swallowtail lives in the Columbia River watershed and was designated the official Oregon State Insect.

Oregon Swallowtail - Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest; Mountain Press; Bill Neill-

Mardon Skipper

Mardon Skipper is a small tawny –orange colored butterfly found in grasslands. One of the few places it lives on the west coast is in Jackson County.

True Bugs

• Have an “X” shape made by their wings and wing coverings.

Box Elder Bug or Maple Bug

These common bugs over-winter as adults in protected areas such as garages and cracks and crevices in homes. Their favorite food: maple and box elder trees.

There are many animals to discover in the habitats of the Bear Creek watershed.

Photo by Brandon GoldmanEmigrant Lake & Bear Creek watershed

Now, get outside and explore!

Note to user:• Objective of presentation: Brief introduction to common and

interesting mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects found in Bear Creek watershed.

• Most appropriate for: Ages 6 and up

• How to integrate this presentation into other activities: – Go outside and look for animals or their signs. Do not overlook what

can be found in schoolyards, undeveloped land, or parks. A close search can often yield evidence of animals, especially insects.

– Use field guides and other materials to learn more about animals.– Read literature about wild animals (see list following)– Write animal stories including elements such as where animals live

(habitats) and what they need.– Draw or paint animals in habitats.

Children’s Wildlife Literature

• Albert, Richard E. Alejandro's Gift.• Allsburg, Chris Van. Just a Dream• Arnosky, Jim. Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats• Bunting, Eve. Secret Place• Brown, Ruth. Toad• Fleming, Denise. Where Once There Was a Wood• MacLachlan, Patricia. All the Places to Love• Yolen, Jane. Owl Moon

Other Wildlife Resources

• USFWS “Let’s Go Outside” www.fws.gov/letsgooutside/• USFWS “Endangered Species” Kid’s Corner

www.fws.gov/endangered/kids/index.html• Project WILD - www.projectwild.org/• National Wildlife Federation - www.nwf.org/kids/• North Mountain Park, Ashland OR: www.northmountainpark.org/