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Ice Age Animals

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The wolverine has been called a glutton, a trouble-maker, and a ferocious predator. Some people even believe that it is the animal behind the abominable snowman legends. A cloud of mystery surrounds the wolverine because this animal likes to be alone and is rarely seen by people. Recent studies have shown that the wolverine does not gorge itself on food and is not any more ferocious than an angry red squirrel.

Mating season is the only time of year that wolverines get together. Once mating has occurred, couples go their separate ways. Several months later mother wolverines make dens in rocky caves or beneath the roots of fallen trees. In March or April they have from two to five cubs. Wolverines do not breed until they are four years old. Most other arctic animals mate and have young long before this because they mature more rapidly than wolverines. Maturing late may account for the low wolverine population.

The wolverine is the largest member of the weasel family and, like other weasels, it is an omnivore that feeds on a variety of animal and plant foods. In summer it eats blueberries, ground squirrels, and birds' eggs. In winter it hunts small animals but spends most of its time as a scavenger, feeding on the carcasses of caribou, seals, and even whales.

The wolverine is known for its big feet and loping gait. As it runs, its four furry feet hit the ground all at once. These furry feet tend to slow the animal down in the summer, but they are a great advantage in the winter. When the wolverine chases a caribou, moose, or other large animal in the deep snow, it can move quickly, whereas the prey exhausts itself. Thanks to its snowshoe feet, the wolverine is able to bound along on top of the snow and kill stranded animals.

Photo and text: Kalman, B. 'Arctic Animals'

The "sabretoothed tiger," Smilodon, is the second most common fossil mammal found in the La Brea tar pits. The first Chairman of the University of California Department of Paleontology, Professor John C. Merriam , and his student Chester Stock, monographed the morphology of this great carnivore in 1932. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Smilodon bones have been found at La Brea. These finds have permitted remarkably detailed reconstructions of how Smilodon lived. We now know Smilodon was about a foot shorter than living lions but was nearly twice as heavy. Also, unlike cheetahs and lions (which have long tails that help provide balance when the animals run) Smilodon had a bobtail. These suggest that Smilodon did not chase down prey animals over long distances as lions, leopards, and cheetahs do. Instead, it probably charged from ambush, waiting for its prey to come close before attacking.

Smilodon is a relatively recent sabretooth, from the Late Pleistocene . It went extinct about 10 000 years ago. Fossils have been found all over North America and Europe. Smilodon fossils from the La Brea tar pits include bones that show evidence of serious crushing or fracture injuries, or crippling arthritis and other degenerative diseases. Such problems would have been debilitating for the wounded animals. Yet many of these bones show extensive healing and regrowth indicating that even crippled animals survived for some time after their injuries. How did they survive? It seems most likely that they were cared for, or at least allowed to feed, by other sabretoothed cats. Solitary hunters with crippling injuries would not be expected to live long enough for the bones to heal. Smilodon appears to have lived in packs and had a social structure like modern lions. They were unlike tigers and all other living cats, which are solitary hunters. Occasional finds of sabretooth tooth sized holes in Smilodon bones suggest the social life of Smilodon was not always peaceful. The cats may have fought over food or mates as lions do today. Such fights were probably accompanied by loud roaring. From the structure of the hyoid bones in the throat of Smilodon, we know it could roar.

Photo: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/landofmammoth/eyecandy/main.html
Text: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/carnivora/sabretooth.html

The ermine is another member of the weasel family. In the summer its long, lean body is covered in a coat of short dark brown fur. In the winter its coat turns to a snowy white color except for the black tip on its tail. In the past ermine furs and tails decorated the robes of royalty. Today ermines are still bred so that their pelts can be used to make coats. Ermine farmers of the Siberian Arctic make a good living raising these animals for their pelts.

Ermines make their homes in underground holes that have been dug out by other burrowing animals. Mother ermines make a cozy nursery lined with the fur from other animals. Their young grow quickly and are able to have families of their own in less than a year!

The ermine is an efficient hunter that preys on other small animals and birds. Its excellent sense of smell allows it to expertly sniff out its prey during the dark arctic nights. When killing its prey, the ermine pounces on it and bites it at the back of the neck. It then wraps its snakelike body around the victim to ensure that it cannot escape.

The European Red Fox

Photo: Bottoni L. et al, 'Central Europe'

The Pine Marten is an agile climber and is able to prey on squirrels and birds.

Photo: Bottoni L. et al, 'Central Europe'

The Otter
This aquatic mammal has become quite rare in Europe. It lives in areas near fairly deep streams and lakes that have abundant vegetation. The otter has several mechanisms that enable it to live on both land and water. The eyes and nostrils are located toward the top of the head. The skull is flattened and the feet are webbed. When swimming, the legs are held against the body and the animal is propelled forward by a wavelike movement of the body. The tail also helps this movement and it also functions as a rudder.

When the otter is underwater, the nostrils and ears are closed and the muscles of the eyes adjust the eye lens so that the otter can see better. At night or in cloudy water, its vision is assisted by the sensitive whiskers of the snout Its coat has long, thick fur that is waterproofed by oils produced by the skin. In the water, the fur flattens and offers little resistance. The fluffy hairs near the skin remain dry, and the air trapped by them acts as an insulating layer.

The otter feeds mostly on fish and sometimes on aquatic birds, water voles, and nutrias (aquatic rodents that resemble beavers). It is an expert hunter. It can swim faster than fish, so it can follow them for long distances. It may wait for them under a rock or surprise them with a lightning fast dive.

The European mink, foraging in an ice edged stream

Photo: http://zoology.nsys.by:8101/eminks/mink.html

The European lynx

Photo: http://lynx.uio.no/jon/lynx/eulynx1.htm

The European lynx in a nature park in northern Norway.

Photo: Per, 2001

The aurochs is the ancestor of domestic cattle. It became extinct at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The aurochs probably evolved from an ancestor that also lived in Asia Minor and North Africa. Evidence for this comes from drawings and paintings of an animal similar to the aurochs from ancient Egyptian and Assyrian sculptures. This animal was also mentioned in the Bible as "Re-em." The last written proof of the aurochs' existence comes from a document written by the Baron of Herbestein during 1513-1533. Under a drawing of the animal he wrote: 'I am the aurochs, called Thur by the Poles, Aurox by the Germans, and sometimes even bison by the ignorant.'


Photo: http://www.aristotle.net/~swarmack/aurochs.html

Text: Bottoni et al, 'Central Europe'

Roe deer feed on the leaves of a shrub. This deer is the smallest hoofed animal of the forest. It is also the most adaptable and widespread. It is even found in small villages and cultivated fields. The roe deer often enters gardens, and it is sometimes seen on paved roads. It has adapted well to the conditions of the modern world. Photo: Bottoni et al, 'Central Europe'

The last wisents (European bison) living in the wild in the forest of Bialowieza were killed by hungry soldiers during the Russian Revolution and World War 1. Luckily, several wisents remained in the various zoos throughout the world. These animals were able to reproduce in captivity. The zoos carefully selected the animals to be mated, avoiding blood relationships that were too close (otherwise the offspring would have been less healthy). As a result of this breeding program, there are now over two thousand wisents in the world. They are found mainly in Poland and the Soviet Union, and they are exported to various countries. Photo and text: Bottoni et al, 'Central Europe'

A fully-grown Red Stag can stand 120cm (48") high at the shoulder and can weigh anything up to 190kg (420lbs). Mature stags carry a large rack of antlers, which are in peak condition in the early autumn for the rut, when they are used for bouts of sparring between rivals. A dominant animal may have 18-20 points (tines) on the antlers, although 14-16 is more common. The females (hinds) are smaller, with a shoulder height up to 110cm (44"), and a weight of up to 110kg (240lbs). Photo: http://www.chantec5.co.uk/animaluk/articles/deer/deer2.html Text: http://homepage.tinet.ie/~knp/deer/

The woolly mammoth Elephas primagenius

Photo: H. Osborn, 'Men of the Old Stone Age' (1916)

Skeleton of a mammoth reconstructed from bones found in various caves in France.
Photo : Man before History by John Waechter

Dr Len Hills by mammoth tracks revealed in the St. Mary's Reservoir, southern Alberta, in 1999.

This is a rare shot of a Przwalski mare with foal.
Photo from http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/flint/images/horse.jpg

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