About Mammals, Reptiles, and Amphibians

About Mammals: Mammals are so named because after birth, young of all species, except opossums, nurse outside their mother's body. Newborn opossums nurse from within their mother's pouch for about 80 days. Diets of mammals vary. Rabbits, squirrels, prairie dogs, beavers, rodents, and deer eat only plants. Raptors, coyotes, red foxes, raccoons, badgers, shrews, striped skunks and bobcats prey upon members of these species. Opossums, coyotes, raccoons, and skunks eat a variety of animal and plant foods. 

About Reptiles: Besides mammals, alert visitors catch glimpses of lizards, snakes, frogs, crayfish, and salamanders. In general, reptiles are more terrestrial (land living) than amphibians. Reptiles reproduce in two ways. Turtles, lizards, and some snakes, such as eastern yellowbelly racers and bullsnakes, lay eggs on land. Other snakes, such as garter snakes and water snakes, produce litters of live young. Reptile diets include aquatic plants, insects, crayfish, fish, amphibians, snakes, turtles, bird eggs, small birds, and small mammals. Wading birds, raptors and raccoons eat reptiles. Most snakes in both refuges are harmless, but some cautions are advisable. Wearing enclosed shoes is a good idea and, if walking in the grasses, boots are a must as Massasauga rattlesnakes frequent the regions. This rattler is docile, usually small and often suns on the roads. "Just respect them and walk around them," is the naturalists' way of handling the situation. None of the employees of either refuge has ever been bitten by a snake.

About Amphibians: Amphibians begin life as eggs deposited in water. They later metamorphose (change bodies) into tadpoles and then into adults. Adults are more terrestrial than tadpoles and eggs, but still are dependent on water. Amphibians eat aquatic (water living) and terrestrial insects, tadpoles, fish, frogs, and toads. Amphibians also are important food items for wading birds, raptors, and some mammals, such as striped skunks and raccoons.

Mammal, Reptile, and Amphibian Lists

Reptiles

Amphibians

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