NPSGallery Appearance: Blackish brown or dark reddish Size: Between 2.2 to 3.5 lbs and up to 17.5 inches in length Lifespan: Can live up to 4 years Habitat: Brackish and Saltwater Marshes, Sandy Islands and Mangrove Swamps Diet: Herbivorous - they feed on leaves, bulbs of marsh plants including cattails, brushes, and grasses. Reproduction: Breeding in marsh rabbits occurs year-round. Typical brood sizes are two to four young with a gestation period of 30 to 37 days. Adult females produce up to 6 litters per year with an average annual production of 15 to 20 young. 
NPSGallery Appearance: Round, oval in shape, circular tail Size: Between 8' to 13' in length and 880 to 1200 lbs Lifespan: Manatees reach sexual maturity in 3 - 5 years (females) and 5 - 7 years (males). They may live over 65 years in captivity. Habitat: Around seagrass beds Diet: Seagrasses and other plants that grow close to water Reproduction: Gestation is approximately 13 months and usually one calf is born. The calf may stay with its mother (cow) for up to 2 years. 
NPSGallery Appearance: The most characteristic physical feature of the raccoon is the area of black fur around the eyes, which contrasts sharply with the surrounding white face coloring. This is reminiscent of a "bandit's mask". Size: Weighing between 11 to 57 lbs, body length between 16 to 28 inches. Lifespan: 2-3 years in the wild, 20 years in captivity. Habitat: The original habitats of the raccoon are deciduous and mixed forests, but due to their adaptability, they have extended their range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas. Diet: Raccoons are true omnivores who eat a wide variety of foods, including nuts, seeds, fruits, eggs, insects, frogs, and crayfish. They will eat whatever is available, using their dexterous paws to pluck morsels from small hiding places. Reproduction: After usually 63 to 65 days of gestation (although anywhere from 54 to 70 days is possible), a litter of typically two to five young is born. 
NPSGallery Appearance: They predominantly have gray fur, but it can be brownish in color. Size: Adults measure from head through body length between 9.1 to 11.8 inches, the tail from 7.5 to 9.8 inches. They weight between 14 to 21oz. Lifespan: In the wild their life expectancy is 1 to 2 years, but they can live to between 6 to 12 years old. Habitat: They can be found inhabiting large areas of mature, dense woodland ecosystems. Oak-hickory hardwood forests are generally preferred over coniferous forests due to the greater abundance of mast forage. Diet: They eat a range of foods, such as tree bark, tree buds, flowers, berries, many types of seeds and acorns, walnuts, and other nuts. They will also eat some types of fungi found in the forests. Reproduction: Females can breed twice a year, but younger and less experienced mothers normally have a single litter per year in the spring. The litter generally has between one to four young. 
NPSGallery Appearance: Bottlenose dolphins get their name from their short, thick snout (or rostrum). They are generally gray in color. They can range from light gray to almost black on top near their dorsal fin and light gray to almost white on their belly. Size: Grow up to 13' in length, weighting up to 1,300 lbs Lifespan: They live between 40 and 60 years Habitat: They inhabit warm temperate waters, adapting to several marine and estuarine habitats, including, occasionally, rivers. Habitat use is influenced by environmental heterogeneity; meaning these animals distribute through an ecosystem depending on factors like resources, depth, water temperature, sea-bed gradient and type of sediment. Diet: Bottlenose dolphins feed on a variety of prey, such as fish, squid, and crustaceans (e.g., crabs and shrimp). They use different techniques to pursue and capture prey, searching for food individually or cooperatively. Reproduction: The female gives birth to a calf every 3 to 6 years after a 12-month gestation period. 
NPSGallery Appearance: Recognizable by their ferret like appearance in that their body is long and thin and often arches as they run Size: Could weigh between 11 to 18 lbs. Length is between 26 to 42 inches, plus the tail adds an additional 12 to 26 inches. Lifespan: 8-9 years Habitat: Around fresh water Diet: They are carnivores. Examples of food they eat would be: fish, frogs, shellfish, crayfish, turtles, insects and some small mammals. Reproduction: River otters mate in late winter or early spring; mating may take place on land, but is more likely to occur in the water. Most embryonic development is during the last 50-61 days of the 9.5-12.5 month gestation period. Females bear an annual litter. 
NPSGallery Appearence: Name means little armored one, they are characterized by their scale like back that they can use to roll up into a ball and protect their soft underside. Size: 2.5' long from the nose to the tip of the tail and weigh an average of 12 lbs Lifespan: 10 to 20 years in the wild Habitat: They prefer warm, wet climates and live in forested or grassland habitats. Small streams are no obstacle for these amazing animals. The nine-banded armadillo can hold its breath for up to six minutes and can swim or “walk” along the bottom of rivers. Diet: These armadillos are generalist feeders and use their sense of smell to track down almost 500 different foods, most of which are invertebrates such as beetles, cockroaches, wasps, yellow jackets, fire ants, scorpions, spiders, snails, and white grubs. Less than 10 percent of thier diet is from fruit, seeds, fungi, and other plant matter. Reproduction: They almost always give birth to four identical quadruplets. Behaviors: Nine-banded armadillos are nocturnal and spend their waking time burrowing or feeding. |
Last updated: September 13, 2022