Annotated Object List:
Colorado Mammals
Beaver
Diet: Herbivore
Habitat: Riparian Zones
Skull: Real
Beavers live throughout Colorado. They are the largest rodents in North America,
getting up to 3 feet long and weighing up to 55 pounds. Their nearly naked, broad,
flat tail and webbed feet are this animal’s most adaptive features, allowing the
success of this mainly aquatic mammal.
Beavers build their houses out of branches of aspen, alder, willow, and cottonwood.
They are active year round and feed on grasses, forbs, and tree bark.
Interesting Fact – About 70,000 years ago an ancestor of the beaver populated the
marshlands from Alaska to Florida, the Giant Beaver. It was a remarkable size, 8
feet long and nearly 450 pounds. This animal suddenly disappeared with
mammoths, mastodons, and ice-age horses about 10,000 years ago.
Coyote
Diet: Omnivore
Habitat: Everywhere
Skull: Real
Coyotes live statewide in Colorado, in all habitats and elevations. They are the size
of a small shepherd dog, about 4 feet in length and 30 to 40 pounds in weight.
Their long hair varies in color with geography and season. They feed on just about
anything, including carrion (dead animals), insects, fruit, birds, eggs, mice, and
rabbits. They are mostly active during dawn and dusk. Coyotes can live up to 20
years, but in the wild their average life span is about 10 years.
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
Education Section, UCB 218 Boulder, CO 80309 (303) 492-1666 http://cumuseum.colorado.edu
Fox
Diet: Insectivore, Carnivore, and Omnivore
Habitat: Riparian Zones, Shrublands, and Woodlands
Skull: Real
Foxes are found throughout Colorado. There are several species of foxes – red fox,
gray fox, swift fox, and kit fox. These are all very different species requiring
different habitats. These animals eat everything from insects and mice to birds and
rabbits. Gray foxes are the only ones that eat both meat and vegetation, making
them the omnivores.
Mink
Diet: Carnivore
Habitat: Riparian Zones
Skull: Real
This semi-aquatic weasel has partially webbed toes, weighs about 3 pounds, and
measures 15-24 inches long. They live statewide in Colorado but are most
abundant near beaver dams. Minks feast on crayfish, muskrats, waterfowl, frogs,
salamanders, fish, and insects. They live in burrows or tree hollows made by other
animals.
Interesting Fact – They often kill more food than they can eat and store it in a safe
place for later.
Muskrat
Diet: Herbivore
Habitat: Riparian Zones
Skull: Real
This animal is sometimes mistaken for the much larger beaver but is actually related
to voles or “meadow mice”. They have “scaly,” naked tails flattened from side to
side, and webbed feet. They are brownish in color, are no bigger than a house cat,
and often live in areas where beaver’s have built dams. Their houses are made of
cattails and other aquatic plants, which they also feed on.
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
Education Section, UCB 218 Boulder, CO 80309 (303) 492-1666 http://cumuseum.colorado.edu
Opossum
Diet: Omnivores
Habitat: Everywhere
Skull: Replica
Opossums are about the size of a house cat. They can reach about 2 feet long and
weigh as much as 7 pounds. Their ears and tail are nearly naked and heir big toe is
clawless and acts much like a thumb. Having this opposable toe allows them to
climb and grab things much better than other animals.
They can live in burrows made by other animals, under rocks, buildings, brush, or
tree hollows. They are nocturnal marsupials that do not hibernate. If frightened or
annoyed they will bite, but mostly they play dead by laying down with their eyes
closed and tongue limply hanging out. To complete the act of deception, their heart
rate reduces to almost nothing.
Raccoon
Diet: Omnivore
Habitat: Everywhere
Skull: Real
Raccoons live statewide and are easily recognized by their bandit-like facial mask
and ringed tail. Adults are 2-3 feet long (including the tail) and weigh anywhere
from 8-22 pounds. They eat just about anything from fruits and carrion to insects
and mollusks. Raccoons have become accustomed to living near human settlement,
often causing damage to crops and making messes of garbage.
Skunk
Diet: Omnivores
Habitat: Everywhere
Skull: Real
Several different species of skunks exist in the US. Colorado has four species,
including striped skunks, eastern and western spotted skunks, and hog-nosed
skunks. All species are black and white and range from rat-sized spotted skunks to
about the size of a short, heavy house cat. They are found in rocky foothills, mesas,
canyons, and along major rivers. They eat just about everything, including carrion,
insects, fruit, birds, and eggs. There are not many predators of skunks. In general,
any animal large enough to kill a skunk is also smart enough not to bother.
Interesting Fact – Though most animals will avoid eating skunks, the great horned
owl is the exception. They frequently dine on skunks.
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
Education Section, UCB 218 Boulder, CO 80309 (303) 492-1666 http://cumuseum.colorado.edu
For more information and the sources of this document:
Lions, Ferrets & Bears: A Guide to the Mammals of Colorado by David M.
Armstrong. Put together by the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the University of
Colorado Museum of Natural History. Available on-line at
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Education/mammalsguide/.
WILD Colorado: Crossroads of Biodiversity. Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Available on-line at http://wildlife.state.co.us/education/educationhotlinks.asp.
Please handle with care!
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
Education Section, UCB 218 Boulder, CO 80309 (303) 492-1666 http://cumuseum.colorado.edu