29Sep

Flying Squirrel

Flying squirrels are the most nocturnal and arboreal of the tree squirrels. Although they forage on the ground, flying squirrels spend most of their time in trees, where they climb, walk, or run along branches, hopping over obstacles. The flying squirrels ability to glide from one tree to another is unique among rodents. Before gliding, [...]
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29Sep

Red Squirrel

The red squirrel is diurnal and arboreal, its activities in the trees often unnoticed because of the dense foliage. During the warmest days of mid-summer, activity peaks at twilight. Midday activity is typical of cold winter days when red squirrels leave the protection of their nests to visit food stores, sometimes digging elaborate snow tunnels [...]
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29Sep

Muskrat

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are easily recognized by their moderate size, their blunt head, and small non-descript ears and eyes. Adult muskrat weigh between 2.5 and 4 pounds, and total length may range from 23-26 inches, with a tail length of 8-11 inches. A scaly, laterally compressed tail with a fringe of coarse hair along the [...]
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29Sep

River Otter

River otters have incredible adaptations for life in the river. Learn about some of them, and the three otters who live at The Wild Center and their own stories of how they came to swim in the Adirondacks. Otters live in water and the thick fur keeps them warm. There may be as many as [...]
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29Sep

Chipmunk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96wAVihHZH8 This brightly colored, conspicuously patterned rodent averages 243 mm (9.6 in) in length. A rusty rump, two buffy to whitish eye stripes, and narrow dark brown to blackish stripes on the back and sides-the lower two on each side bordering a white or buffy white stripe-distinguish the “grinny” or ”ground hackee” (two colloquial names). [...]
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29Sep

Skunk

The striped skunk is an interesting component of New York's wildlife assortment. It is about the size of a house cat and has a potent musk that often overshadows the beauty of its glossy and durable fur. Formerly a member of the weasel family (with mink, otter, fisher, marten), skunks have now been classified into [...]
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29Sep

Porcupine

As many as 30,000 needle-sharp quills cover the upper parts of the porcupine’s body and tail. These hollow, barbed quills, actually derived from hairs and modified for defense, attach loosely to the skin. A porcupine cannot throw its quills, but can erect them, and the quills detach easily, penetrating the skin of any animal touching [...]
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29Sep

Woodchuck

The woodchuck or groundhog is the largest member of the squirrel family in the Adirondacks and has grizzled, coarse fur. Above, the fur is brown to blackish brown, tipped with buffy yellow, white or cinnamon brown, except for the top of the head and most of the tail. The underparts are yellowish orange to chestnut. [...]
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29Sep

Raccoon

The toes of the front feet of the raccoon are not only long and slender, but they also possess a highly developed sense of touch, and play large role in the raccoon’s harvest of plant and animal foods. The notion that a raccoon washes or must moisten food is a myth. Salivary glands are well-developed [...]
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29Sep

Opossum

The opossum is an opportunistic omnivore, scavenging the flesh of dead animals (carrion), hunting small animals, and gleaning fruits and seeds. Insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles make up the bulk of animal foods, but these also include snails, slugs, earthworms, crayfish, small mammals, birds and birds’ egg, amphibians and reptiles. Plant foods, taken [...]
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