We went to another museum in Gaylord that highlights the animals in the United States called Call of the Wild Museum. There was a similar museum that we went to in Cave City, Kentucky, but this one is well done and a lot nicer. The museum was built by Carl Johnson, who is deceased and his children and grandchildren have taken over the operation of the museum.
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| White-Tailed Doe & Fawn |
White-Tail Deer live much of their lives in groups that include her newest fawns and her female offspring. Bucks are either solitary or join a bachelor group. The rutting season lasts for two months every autumn. In late May or June, spotted fawns are born with about 300 spots. The spots fade during their first summer. Fawns can stand 30 minutes after birth and walk within hours. Even though they can stand, they do not follow their mothers; they stay hidden to reduce the change of predators finding them. Each fawn is hidden in a different location and mom typically stays within 100 feet of her fawns. Three to four weeks after birth they begin nibbling grass and follow their mother. The mother of the fawns in this display was hit by a car in the early 1950s. The fawns were fully developed but not viable.
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| Gray Wolf or Timber Wolf |
There is only one type of wolf in North America, the Gray Wolf, but they have subspecies depending on where they live. Wolves live in rigid social hierarchy usually consisting of 3-10 adults led by one very dominant male. The others sort themselves out as well, one more assertive over the next. The females have their own hierarchy, with the mate of the most dominant male at the top. Wolves mate for life and the most dominant pair are often the only pack members to breed. In late April or May, 5-7 pups are born. At 6-10 weeks the pups are weaned. All pack members help in raising the pups. Did you know that wolves have friends? Wolves that spend the most time with each other also howl to each other more frequently.
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| Wild Turkey |
Turkeys spend much of their life in flocks. Female turkeys, hens, and their young make up brood flocks. Male turkeys, toms or gobblers, form bachelor flocks, while first year males, jakes, hang out in their own flocks. Males have spurs and long "beards" on their breast, the females are smaller and do not have spurs or "beards." Breeding season starts in April with the males strutting and courting the females. The males will puff out their feathers, droop their wings and fan their tails to attract the females. In mid-May, 8-15 buffy, brown spotted eggs are laid with incubation at 28 days. Baby turkeys are called poults.
Male turkeys' heads change color according to their mood (red, blue or white). The change can occur within seconds. Wild turkeys sleep in trees.
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| Elk or Wapiti |
Wapati is derived from the Shawnee and Cree word, Waapiti meaning "white rump." There used to be six subspecies of Elk in North America; two are now extinct. Tule Elk is the smallest Elk in North America and reside in California; there are about 4,000 of Tule Elk that currently live in California. Rocky Mountain Elk have a population of over 1 million. They are being used to reintroduce elk to other regions. They were recently introduced in Kentucky. Roosevelt Elk is the largest of the four surviving species of elk in North America. They live in the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest. Manitoban Elk is subspecies of elk found in North Dakota and the southern region of Canada. It was driven to near extinction by 1900, but has now recovered. Michigan's Elk herd disappeared in 1875. In 1918, seven Rocky Mountain Elk were reintroduced near Wolverine. Today, the elk population stands at over 1,000 elk.
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| Ruffed Grouse |
Ruffed grouse spend most of their time on the ground and when surprised, may take flight, beating their wings very loudly. They live in mixed forests with scattered clearings, dense undergrowth and lots of Aspen. They are normally solitary; male grouse are aggressively territorial throughout their adult lives. They protect their territory by engaging in a "drumming" display; the sound is made by the rapid beating of its wings. This behavior continues throughout the year. In the spring it becomes more frequent when the male searches for a mate. Courtship is brief, and then the hen wanders away in search of a nest site.
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| Beaver & Snapping Turtle |
Beaver can hold their breath for 15 minutes. They eat their ow poop -- their stomachs are not strong enough to digest the bark the first time, so they have to re-eat it. Their teeth never stop growing. It's tail has many uses: to warn of danger, as a third leg when standing, a rudder while swimming, and a lever to help move logs. They have two sets of eyelids -- one is transparent and acts like goggles underwater. Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada is home to the largest beaver dam (2,790 feet across).
Snapping turtles are very cold tolerant. Some hibernate, others do not but remain active all winter, swimming under the ice. While hibernating, the turtles can stop breathing for six months. They get their oxygen by sticking their head out of the mud and absorbing oxygen through the membranes of their mouth and throat. They commonly lay 20-40 eggs per nest and are buried to keep them safe and warm. 80-90% of the nests are destroyed. Temperature of nests determines gender. Warmer nests produces females, while cooler nests produce males.
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| Northern River Otter |
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| Black Bear, Skunk |
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| Weasel, Fox, Black Bear |
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| Canada Lynx |
A Lynx has strong eyes and can spot a mouse from 250 feet away. Babies are born with bright blue eyes which darken to brown as they mature. The Canada Lynx is the smallest of the species at 18-24 lbs. while the Eurasian Lynx is the largest at 40-60 lbs. Lynx can spread their toes out wide acting as snowshoes in the winter. Unlike any other cat, the Canada Lynx preys almost exclusively on Snowshoe Hares. They can live up to 15 years in the wild and up to 21 years in captivity. One of the greatest threats is trapping.
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| Black Bear |
Black Bear are the only bear native to Michigan. They are found most frequently in large, heavily forested areas. Female bears in the Lower Peninsula have a home range of 50 square miles, and males have a home range of about 335 square miles. Black bears are omnivores, meaning they eat fruit and berries and also larva and insects, but they also prey on small animals. They feed heavily in the fall to accumulate fat reserves for the winter. In Michigan, they are not true hibernators because their body temperature only drops by a few degrees. A true hibernating bear's body temperature is almost the same as its surroundings. Black Bears are easily awakened and can flee if threatened. Mating takes place in early summer, and cubs are born in the winter den in January or February. They weigh 10-16 ounces and are hairless. They grow quickly and can weigh 50-60 pounds by the end of their first summer.
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| American Badger |
The Badger digs for its meals, searching for burrowing animals and digging them out. A badger is fierce and powerful and few animals are capable of attacking it. They have been known to fight off a bear if threatened by it. The badger spends days at a time in the burrow during the coldest months of winter. It survives the winter by foraging and using its body fat. Mating occurs in fall but implantation of the embryo is delayed until February and the female gives birth to 2-5 babies in late March through early May. After one month their eyes open; weaning is in 2-3 months; and after 5-6 months the young venture outside.
Badgers and coyotes conserve energy by hunting together. They aren't friends but benefit from the relationship -- a coyote will chase prey, and if it retreats to a burrow, the badger will dig it out. If the prey eludes the badger and pops back out, the coyote will get it.
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| Groundhog or Woodchuck |
The woodchuck or groundhog is a rodent and belongs to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. They have many colorful names: Whistle pig (they emit short, high-pitched whistles), mouse bear, land beaver, and woodchuck. The name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood. It is most likely an adaption of Native American words for the animal: woodshaw, wuchak, or otchek. They build impressive homes: a burrow can be up to 60 feet long with multiple exits, a number of chambers and several levels. They are true hibernators: during hibernation their body temperature drops to 39-40 degrees; their metabolic rate drops and they eat nothing for 4-5 months.
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| Ring-Necked Pheasant |
The male Ring-Necked Pheasant is very colorful with a red patch around the eye, a brilliant green head, and iridescent body feathers in browns, golds and red. They also have a long, pointed tail. The female is a mottled brown with a shorter tail. They are not native to North America; they first lived in China and East Asia and were introduced to countries around the world. They were brought to Oregon in 1881 and Blackneck pheasants were brought to New York in 1772, but were not strong enough to survive. They can fly short distances but prefer to run. If startled, they can suddenly burst upward at a great speed with a distinctive "whirring" wing sound.
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| Striped Skunk |
This is the most common skunk in North America. Skunks usually establish a den or burrow, sometimes in a hollow log, brush pile, or under a barn or porch. They usually stay within 2 miles of their den as they search for food. Skunks are nocturnal; they do not hibernate, but tend to be inactive in winter and often gather in communal dens for warmth. Mating season is one of the only other times when skunks tend to socialize. They have about 1-7 babies in late April or early June. Skunks are known to release a powerful smell when threatened, but spraying is not their first method of defense. A skunk will growl, spit, fluff its fur, shake its tail, and stamp the ground. If this doesn't work, it will lift its tail and spray its famous odor.
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| Eastern Fox Squirrel |
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| Eastern Gray Squirrel |
The Fox Squirrel is the largest squirrel in North America. Fox squirrels got their name from their gray and red fur coat that resemble that of a Gray Fox. It's range is the Midwest U.S. The Eastern Gray Squirrel are mostly gray-brown in color; they are native to North America.
Squirrels are one of very few animals that can descend a tree head first, by turning its feet so the claws of its hind paws are backward pointing and can grip the tree bark. The hind legs of squirrels are double jointed. Their eyes are positioned so they can see behind them. A squirrel's tail can be wrapped around its face to keep them warm, used as an aid in balancing when they run along the tree limbs, or spread and used as a parachute if the squirrel should fall.
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| Short-tailed Weasel |
The weasel is a common rodent of the forest and swamps in Northern Michigan. They are seldom seen and are known to be very sneaky and secretive. These qualities have made the weasel part of the folk lore of many cultures. In some tribes, such as the Shoshone, the weasel is considered a mischievous trickster spirit. In others, such as the Karuk and Hupa tribes of Northern California, the weasel is a noble hero who uses his cleverness and magic powers to defeat monsters and villains. In some Plains tribes, they are associated with good medicine, particularly in their white winter phase. Also, in Native American tradition the weasel is used as medicine for seeking secrets. In Greek culture, a weasel near a person's home is a sign of bad luck, or even evil.
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| Alaskan Brown Bear |
Alaskan Brown and Grizzly Bears are classified as the same species even though there are notable differences between them. In North America, Alaskan Brown Bears are considered to be those who have access to coastal food sources. This allows them to grow larger and live in higher densities than their Grizzly Bear cousins in the northern and interior parts of the United States. They are also less aggressive than Grizzlys.
Kodiak Bears are Brown Bears that have been isolated from other Brown Bears for 12,000 years on Kodiak Island. The Kodiak Bear is a subspecies of the brown bear and second largest bear, behind the Polar Bear.
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| Pine Marten |
The Pine Marten belongs to the mustelid family, which include the mink, otter, badger, weasel and wolverine. It lives in northern and western states and most of Canada. It's name comes from where it lives: mainly pine forests. Once abundant, by the 1930s, it is no longer in Michigan due to logging, trapping and wild fires. Michigan began a recovery program in 1985 and now they have been restored to Michigan.
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| Mallard |
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| Bobcat & Coyote |
The Bobcat is seldom seen in the wild and is a loner. A nursing mother will stay in one location for more than a day at a time, otherwise, they are constantly on the move.
The coyote is often mistaken for a small German Shepherd or a Gray Wolf. When compared to a wolf, it is much smaller and their ears are larger in proportion to their bodies.
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| By the Light of the Moon |
The Coyote is most active at night. They can often be heard howling at dusk or in the night. The most distinctive sound consists of a series of barks and yelps, followed by a prolonged howl and ending with short, sharp yaps. This call keeps a coyote alert of the location of its members and helps to reunite them when separated.
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| White Tail Deer |
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| Joseph Bailly (The year is 1810; he is 36 years old) |
After a brief visit to Quebec in 1793, Joseph Bailly returned to the Michigan wilderness to manage the Northwest Fur Company's trading post on Mackinac Island. Now, 14 years later, he has settled with his wife, Marie LeFevre at Paux aux Vaches (a trading post on the St. Joseph River in southern Michigan). Joseph made frequent journeys through the forests, often going back and forth from Mackinaw Island to home. He occasionally would travel to Detroit, which was a bustling city with a population of 1650.
Joseph's wife, Marie, was part French and part Ottawa Indian. She was known as the "wing woman" -- she could call birds down from the sky to sit at her side.
Here, Joseph is reflecting on the building tensions between the people that led to the war of 1812:
"Our beloved wilderness is changing, Marie. The men in Detroit are becoming soft, weak! They live a life too rich, too easy, and here in the forests, there is no trust. The British doubt the Americans; the Americans fear the Indians; the Indians have no respect for the White Man. I can feel the trouble in the air! In the forests! For myself, for us, I want only peace -- to sit still as a rock! To see the rivers thunder by! To feel the rain drop on my skin -- to feel the pulse of the earth and its life! We must strife to make peace, Marie -- to help our brothers understand. We must stop the trouble!"
A Bailly homestead still stands near Chesterton, Indiana as part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. There are many versions depicting the actual details of Joseph Bailly's life. One interesting account is the book, "Wolves Against the Moon" by Julia Altrocchi, based on fact and fiction.
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| Cougar |
Cougars were originally native to Michigan but were wiped out in the early 1900s. The last known wild cougar legally taken from the state was in 1906 near Newberry in the Upper Peninsula. In recent years, cougars have been sighted in various regions of Michigan. Since 2008, there have been 41 confirmed sightings. The DNR has never released any cougars in Michigan, and has no plans to do so. The cougar holds the Guinness Record for having the most names at over 40. Its core range is the western United States and southwestern Florida.
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| Snowy Owls |
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| Barn Owl |
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| Barred Owl |
Owl Facts: Owls have zygodactyl feet with two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backward, and all their toes have sharp talons. They make almost no noise while flying. A group of owls is called a parliament, wisdom, bazaar, or study. The flatten facial disk of many owls funnel sound to the owl's ears and can magnify sound up to 10 times. All owls are farsighted. Owls do not have eyeballs -- they have tubular eyes and are unable to move them.
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| Moose |
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| Mommy Moose & Calf |
There are four different species of Moose ranging throughout Canada and Alaska and coming down into the U.S. in the Rocky Mountain area. Moose are the largest member of the deer family. They like to swim and can stay underwater for about 30 seconds. A Moose's stomach has four parts -- they eat, then regurgitate their food, then eat it again. Their antlers can grow up to six feet and can weigh as much as 65 pounds. Moose front legs are longer than their back legs which helps them to jump over objects.
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| Opossum |
Opossums are so often misunderstood but they are great creatures to have around. They're docile, unlikely to threaten pets or carry disease, and help keep the pest population in check. They almost never get rabies. Instead of shooing them away, let them hang around and they'll clean up ticks, venomous snakes, discarded birdseed, and more. Among all the wildlife in your backyard, the opossum are the best to have around.
Opossums are the only marsupial in North America. Baby opossums are called joeys and when born are the size of a honeybee. "Playing Opossum" is a common phrase. Opossums can't choose when they play dead. It's actually an involuntary reaction that causes the opossum to seize up. When in this state, opossums sometimes bare their teeth, foam at the mouth, and produce an offensive odor. Once catatonic, it can remain like that for up to four hours. A small group of opossums can eat 10,000 to 12,000 ticks in a single month, slowing the spread of Lyme disease. It lived during the age of dinosaurs: fossil remains have been found from 70 million years ago.
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| Porcupine & Fisher |
Porcupines have about 30,000 quills all over their body except their belly, face and feet. Some quills are 12 inches long. If a porcupine loses a quill, it grows a new one. They are good climbers that choose to rest in trees.
The Fisher is part of the weasel family. Despite its name, the Fisher hunts on land. It is native to the hilly forests of North America. Its range is the northern part of the Midwest and lower Canada.
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| Arctic Fox |
The arctic fox has the warmest fur of any mammal and even has fur on the bottom of their feet. They have poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell and hearing. This allows them to hear and smell prey under the snow. Lemmings are an important prey animal for the Arctic fox. Their numbers rise and fall in relation to the size of the lemming population. They mate for life. They will follow a polar bear to eat the leftover scraps. Its the only canine that changes the color of its coat with the seasons. In the summer, its coat has a brown or gray coat and a lighter belly. In the winter, the coat turns white and thick. They live in centuries old underground dens used by numerous foxes generation after generation. These burrows have an extensive tunnel system; they are very large covering up to 1,000 square miles.
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| Polar Bear |
This polar bear is 11 feet tall and weighs 1700 lbs. They are the largest of the three bears found in North America, and also the most dangerous. Two-thirds of all births result in twins. Mature males turn yellow as they age. They are classified as marine mammals because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean. They have an excellent sense of smell and can locate seals up to 20 miles away.
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| Rock Ptarmigan |
Ptarmigans are part of the grouse family; they stay on the ground most of the time. They can fly but it takes a lot of energy and try to conserve energy because food is scarce in the arctic. They change color with the seasons; white in winter and brown in summer. Males stay white until they've finished courting females, and then intentionally dirty the plumage to hide from predators until they have molted to a safer brown. Their range is northern Canada and the arctic.
Northern Lights are also called by their scientific name, aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of dawn. These lights occur when proton and electrons from the sun interact with the earth's magnetic field. The Southern lights are called aurora australis. Ojibwe teachings share the belief that the lights are "spirits of the ancestors celebrating life," reminding us that we are all part of creation.
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| Red Fox |
There are native and non-native red fox in North America; the native foxes are the Canadian Boreal Forest that historically occurs in northern regions of North America. Fox sometimes catch mice just to play with them, rather than eating them. When they grow bored, they let the mouse go. Why is the Red Fox black? This species has several different color phases including a melanistic or black phase. Melanism is the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair. This black phase often has white-tipped guard hairs that gives it a grizzled or silvery appearance.
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| Raccoon |
Raccoons are nocturnal and sleep during the day. They are very clean animals; they are known for washing their food in streams. A raccoon can fall 35 to 40 feet without injury. They have five toes on their front paws that act much like a human hand. Have you ever seen a white raccoon? A genetic mutation causes albino raccoons to lose the traditional black and gray coloring including the bandit strip across the eyes. A raccoon has a 1 in 10,000 chance of being born albino. Albino raccoons often do not survive in the wild as they lack the camouflage that protects them from predators. They may not be able to mate because they can be rejected by their species.
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| Eastern Screech Owl |
The screech owl is a short, stocky bird with a large head and almost no neck. Its wings are rounded; its tail short and square. Pointed ear tufts are often raised, lending its head a distinctive silhouette. They can be either gray or red; one-third of Eastern Screech Owls are red. This coloration is more common the farther east you go.
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The most notable difference between the Eastern and Western Owl is the beak. Western owls have a dark beak and the Eastern Owl have a light beak. Another difference is the dark barring running down the chest. The Western tends to have darker/heavier bars. The Whiskered looks very similar to the Western but its barring is even more prevalent and it is smaller in size. The Whiskered is the smallest Screech Owl in North America.
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| Wolverine |
There are no wolverines in Michigan. They live mainly in northern Canada, but are also increasing in number in the mountain areas of California, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Often, wolverines surprise their prey by jumping from a tree. Their diet consists of rabbits and rodents, but they will also attack an injured or weak caribou. When they are finished eating, they bury it and mark it with a foul smelling musk to keep animals away. This is how they received the nickname "Skunk Bear."
Why is Michigan called the Wolverine State? (I didn't know it was.) The three theories are: (1) the large number of wolverine pelts on the docks of Detroit, mostly from Canada, not Michigan; (2) Native Americans compared the way settlers were taking land to the greedy attitude of the wolverine; (3) during a dispute over the Toledo Strip, Ohioans referred to Michiganders as, "... vicious and bloodthirsty wolverines."
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| White-tail Buck |
There are just two species of deer in North America -- white-tailed deer and mule deer. White-tail are found all over North America; Mule Deer are found in Florida. A deer's eyes contain more rods than cones, so they have sharp night vision, but not very good day vision. The colors green, orange and red appear to a deer as shades of gray, which explains why hunters can wear bright orange safety clothing. The bucks have antlers that are grown annually and shed during the winter months. When antlers grow back in the spring, they are covered with a fine tissue called velvet. The velvet supplies blood to the developing antlers. When antlers are fully grown, the deer will rub them against the trees to remove the velvet. The antlers can grow up to the rate of one inch per day and are one of the fastest growing organs of any animal. The length and number of antler points (tines) are determined by nutrition, genetics or age.
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| Pokey the Bear |
Our guide, Pokey the North American Black Bear, is taking a well earned nap. Bears in northern climates tend to fatten up in the fall and sleep through the winter, but they are not true hibernators. Bears live in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. They are not found in Africa, Australia, or Antarctica.
There are eight species of bear:
(1) North American Black Bear has four color phases: black, bluish-black, brown, and the white "spirit bear" found only in north western British Columbia.
(2) Brown Bears live in North America, Europe, and Asia.
(3) Polar Bears live in North America and Eastern Asia.
(4) The Asiatic Black Bear has long black fur and larger ears than its North American relative. They live in many Eastern Asia countries.
(5) The Andean Bear, also known as the Spectacled Bear, are found in the Andes Mountains in South America.
(6) Panda Bears live in western China.
(7) Sloth Bears live in India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
(8) Sun Bears are the smallest of the bears and live in Southeast Asia.
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