European Mole – Talpa Europaea

Distinguishing Features – Length: 12 – 14 cm; tail: 2 – 4 cm; weight 60 – 120 g; the female is slightly smaller and lighter than the male. This is a burrowing animal, with a cylindrical body ending in a short tail, with an indistinct neck, with front paws developed in the shape of a … Read more

Groundhog “Woodchuck” – Marmota Monax

Distinguishing Features – Overall colouration, varying, from pale buff to black with buff-tipped guard hairs, giving a “salt and pepper” appearance; dark brown to black on tail and feet. Heavy-bodied; short-legged. Size 45.7 – 65 cm (18 – 25.6 in) Habitat Widespread throughout Northwestern Ontario; prefers pastures and fields; forest edges. Diet Grazer; vegetative parts … Read more

Western Hemlock – Tsuga Heterophylla

Distinguishing Features – A tall, coniferous, evergreen tree with a straight trunk, down-swept branches and open, pyramidal crown with a nodding tip; growing to a height of 30 – 50 m and a diameter of 1 m. Needles: nearly flat, soft, glossy, widely spaced along twigs, of two lengths with the shorter ones standing upright … Read more

Muskrat – Ondatra Zibethicus

Distinguishing Features – Overall colouration, silvery-brown to dark brown oily, waterproof fur with chestnut to hazel sides; underparts, grayish; tail flattened vertically, without fur; hind feet, partially webbed. Size Male: .48 – .6 m (1.6 – 2 ft) Female: .51 – .57 m (1.7 – 1.9 ft) Habitat Common throughout Northwestern Ontario, primarily in lakes, … Read more

Willow Ptarmigan – Lagopus Lagopus

Distinguishing Features – Length: male 43 cm; weight: .56 kg; female: 40 cm; weight: .45 kg. Adult Male – summer: Bill black. Iris brown. Toes and claws dark brown, the edges of the latter yellowish-grey. Head and neck bright chestnut, the feathers on the back part of the latter and crown of the head barred … Read more

Brook Moss – Dicranum Scoparium

General – erect, little branched, densely matted rhizoids on lower stems; forms large cushions and sometimes mats, 2 – 8 cm high. Leaves – 5 – 12 mm long, erect to curved, pointed in 1 direction, moist or dry; lance- shaped and sharply pointed; midrib single, ends in tip; uppper leaf cells longer than wide, … Read more

Weeping Willow – Salix Babylonica

Distinguishing Features – Leaves: 6 – 13 cm long; narrow, lance-shaped, with pointed tips, saw-toothed; colouration: dark green above and whitish to gray underneath. Bark: gray; rough, thick, deeply grooved. Branchlets: yellowish-green to brownish; slender, unbranched, drooping Flowers: borne on catkins 1 – 2.5 cm long; greenish; on the ends of short leafy twigs; appearing … Read more

Northern Starflower – Trientalis Borealis

General – a low perennial from slender, creeping rhizomes, stems simple, erect, hairless or with tiny glands; growing up to 20 cm tall. Leaves – simple, in whorls of 5 to 9 at stem tip, with a few small, scale-like leaves below, lance-shaped, 3 – 10 cm long, stalkless or short-stalked, thin, toothless or finely … Read more

Siberian Tiger – Panthera Tigris Altaica

Distinguishing Features – The Siberian tiger bears the typical markings of all tigers and is the largest of all the wild cats. A male can weigh more than 300 kg. and measures 2.7 – 3.6 m. long from its head to the tip of its tail, the female is a little smaller. Habitat They are … Read more

Raccoon – Procyon Lotor

Distinguishing Features – Overall colouration, grizzled-gray mixed with reddy-brown, giving “salt & pepper” look, darker on back; sides, more grayish; underside, brownish with a whitish highlights. Dominant black mask extends from eyes across cheeks. Ears, edged in white; tail bushy with prominent dark rings. Size 75 – .93 m (2.5 – 3.1 ft) Habitat Much … Read more