Northwestern Ontario Forest – Virtual Zoo: Common Mammal Species

Moose White-tailed Deer Caribou Gray Wolf “Timber Wolf” Coyote “Brush Wolf” Red Fox Bobcat Lynx Mountain Lion Black Bear Snowshoe Hare Raccoon Porcupine Beaver Northern River Otter Muskrat Pine Marten Fisher Ermine Mink Groundhog Striped Skunk Red Squirrel Least Chipmunk Deer Mouse Pygmy Shrew Southern Red-backed Vole Little Brown Bat

Order Coleoptera – Beetles

Coleoptera is the largest order within the class of insects. There are more than 350,000 species, and new ones are being described each year. Adult Coleopterans have a great range in body size (less than 1 mm to more than 75 mm) and in body colour. Beetles have chewing mouth parts in both the adult … Read more

Tamarack – Larix Laricina

General – small to medium-sized, averaging 18 m (60 ft) high, deciduous conifer with a sparse, open, narrow, conical crown. Trunk straight. Bark with small scaly patches, grey to red-brown. Twig sender, light brown, numerous short, spur branches. Tamarack Leaves – Deciduous, flat needle, light green, appear in spirals on spur shoots after first year, … Read more

Porcupine – Erethizon Dorsatum

Distinguishing Features – Overall colouration, glossy yellowy-brown, darker on back. Back and tail covered with thousands of sharp-pointed quills. Legs, short. Size 6 – .9 m (2 – 3 ft) Habitat Widespread throughout Northwestern Ontario, in mixed wood forests, preferring pine habitats. Diet Mainly a herbivor, the porcupine’s diet consists of leaves of shrubs and … Read more

Paper Birch/White Birch – Betula Papyrifera

General – small to medium-sized, averaging 16 m (54 ft) high, broadleaved hardwood with a small, open crown of spreading and ascending branches. Branchlets are slender and a red-brown. On young trees, trunk bark is reddish-brown but turns to its characteristic white colour as the tree matures. The trunk generally divides low into several arching … Read more

Eastern White Pine – Pinus Strobus

General – large-sized, averaging 22 – 36 m (72 – 118 ft) high, evergreen conifer. Crown full, spreading, generally irregularly shaped. Branchlets slender, gray-green to orange-brown in color. Trunk shows little taper and is generally branchless for over 1/2 its height. Trunk bark on young trees, thin, smooth and gray-green in color. Later becoming thick, … Read more

Spring Peeper – Pseudacris Crucifer

Distinguishing Features – One of the smallest frog species in Northwestern Ontario. Overall colouration, varies from gray to varied shades of brown. Some may appear rust red or orange. As with many other frogs, shade of color is affected by temperature. A characteristic dark X intersects the back. Random dark dashes often mark the body. … Read more

Large-toothed Aspen – Populus Grandidentata

The Large-toothed aspen is also called bigtooth aspen, poplar, or popple. General – medium to large-sized averaging 18 – 24 m (60 – 80 ft) high, broadleaved hardwood. Crown loose, open, irregular. Branches coarse, spreading. Branchlets dull brownish-gray with gray buds which are usually pubescent and divergent. Trunk with little taper, mainly branchless below the … Read more

Bobcat – Lynx Rufus

Distinguishing Features – Overall colouration, tawny brown above, dotted with numerous blackish spots along the midline of the back. Underside, whitish with dark spots. Short tail, blackish above and white below. Legs, tawny with blackish horizontal streaks. Prominent streaked ruff on cheeks extending below the jaw. Ears, short with dark ear tufts. Can be mistaken … 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