Children's Library Program: How do animals survive in the winter?

Which of our wild animal friends left these tracks?

Have you ever wondered how the animals survive the winter? Or what they do when the weather gets cold and there is a lot of rain or snow? With the recent blizzard we just had, and mounds of snow and arctic temperatures, it has become a really harsh winter for the animals. So what do the animals do?

These questions were answered by Carol Ward, naturalist with the Cleveland Lakefront State Parks, in the first of a three part children's program at the Memorial-Nottingham Library on December 11, 2012.

Animals do many things to survive the winter, she said. Some birds migrate in the fall to a warmer climate. Other animals, like the deer, coyote, fox and rabbit "stay active all winter." They grow thicker fur and a layer of fat underneath to keep them warm. Carol showed the children different animal pelts and let them touch the different textures of fur.

To demonstrate how fat helps keep the animal warm, a girl in the audience volunteered to put her hand in a bucket of ice water to feel how cold it was. Then she wrapped her hand in a protective glove insulated with a layer of fat. The glove protected her hand from the cold ice water, just like the layer of fat protects the animals from the cold. 

But food is often hard to find, so some animals, like the squirrel and beaver gather food in the fall, and store it for later. But other animal, like the bear hibernate (or sleep during the winter.)

When there is "snow, soft sand, mud or dust," you can see the animal foot prints, and "learn how to read their tracks," Carol said, in the second children's program, on January 15, 2013.

Some animals, like the beaver and rabbit, have "soft pads and toes," but the deer has a "hard hoof." And ducks have three toes and webbing.

Animals also have different kinds of feet...and track patterns "based on how the animal moves." Rabbits and squirrels "gallop." Raccoons, skunks and beavers "waddle." And deer, coyote and foxes are called "diagonal walkers," because they move opposite feet at the same time. 

During the program each participant got a chance to use a rubber stamp made from the footprints of different animals, and printed them on a take-home animal track patterns guide. Then everyone and went outside to look for real tracks in the surrounding muddy areas.

The final children's program will be about animal scat (poop), and how you can identify "clues" the animal leaves behind about what it ate and how small or large it is. 

The program will be on February 5th at 3:30pm-4:30pm at the Memorial Nottingham Library, 17109 Lakeshore Blvd.For further information please call the Cleveland Lakefront Stat Parks at 216-881-8141, ext. 3001 or visit their website  www.clevelandlakefront.org and click on Naturalist Programs.