© Geoffrey Niswander photo
VOL. 2, issue 1
© Alan Briere photo
icture a bobcat sneaking up on a snowshoe hare, a
barred owl flying silently through the woods, or a garter
snake opening its jaws
to strike a mouse. All
of these animals are
predators. They
catch, kill and eat
other animals as prey.
But many animals
you might not think
of as predators also
catch and eat other
Bullfrog
animals. A robin on
your lawn searching for worms. Or a dragonfly darting over
the water gathering mosquitoes.
Some predators, such as bobcats, red-tailed hawks and
weasels, eat only meat. But others such
as raccoons, bears and foxes, are
part time predators. These
animals catch and eat prey when they
can, but they also eat a lot of berries, leaves, nuts and other
plant parts.
Some predators play a double role. A frog preys on
insects, but it can easily become a meal for a snake or great
blue heron.
Top predators often come to mind first. These
include wolves, big cats and birds of prey. Most are
strict meat-eaters, are relatively large and usually
aren’t preyed upon by other animals. They tend to
need lots of space.
© Alan Briere photo
Green darner
Great blue heron
background image © Alan Briere photo
FOOD CHAINS
vegetables in one place, it’s difficult to remember
that we are all part of a food chain.
Imagine a chain, such as a necklace, bracelet
or bike chain. Think of how this chain is made
up of many links, each connected to the next in
line. This is how a food chain works. Sunlight
gives energy to plants so they can grow. Small
animals, such as rabbits, eat some of the plants.
What did you have for dinner last night? Or,
for breakfast and lunch today?
Nothing beats cereal and juice to get
going in the morning. Pizza, tacos and hamburgers are other favorites. With modern
grocery stores that offer meat, fruit and
MAKE A
Pick an animal symbol on the right. Draw a line between that animal and something that animal might eat,
or to an animal that might eat it. Make as many connections as you can think of, creating a food chain.
Clues to What Eats What
CARNIVORS eat mainly animals.
RED-TAILED
HAWKS eat snakes,
rodents and
snowshoe hare.
▲
GARTER SNAKES
like to eat small
mice and insects.
▲
▲
FISHER prefer
small rodents, birds
and porcupine.
OMNIVORS eat plants and animals.
DEER MICE prefer
berries and seeds,
and lots of bugs.
▲
▲
BLACK BEARS love
berries and seeds,
as well as bugs and
small rodents.
▲
WHITE-THROATED
like to
eat berries and
seeds.
▲
CHIPMUNKS
really love berries
and seeds.
SPARROWS
INSECTS
SNOWSHOE HARE
like to eat many
kinds of grasses.
HERBACIOUS
(plant eaters)
eat grasses, seeds
and berries.
WHITE-TAIL DEER
eat lots of grasses,
berries and seeds.
▲
▲
▲
PORCUPINES like
to eat berries, seeds
and grasses.
▲
HERBIVORS eat mainly plants.
PLANTS need the sun, earth, water and air to make food.
GRASSES - wild
grasses, clover and
ferns.
▲
BERRIES - wild
fruits like
raspberries and
blueberries.
▲
▲
SEEDS - these
include acorns,
beech nuts and
other wild seeds.
A predator, such as a red-tailed hawk, might kill
one of the rabbits and eat it. When the hawk dies,
tiny organisms turn its body into soil. The soil
provides nutrients that plants need to grow, and
the food chain begins again.
Predators are an important link in the food
chain. What happens to a food chain when predators are removed? Researchers are still searching
for answers. A lot seems to depend on the type of
community and the predators involved. In some
areas, the loss of predators has resulted in a
population explosion of prey animals. Too many
prey can damage a habitat and throw the whole
food chain out of whack, and animals may end up
starving or dying of disease.
fisher
garter snake
red-tail hawk
porcupine
black bear
deer mouse
chipmunk
snowshoe hare
seeds
white-throated
sparrow
berries
insects
grasses
white-tail deer
snapshots
© Alan Brier Photo
American robin
© Alan Brier Photo
sharp-shinned hawk
© Alan Brier Photo
© Bill Siliker Photo
fisher
snapshots
© Alan briere Photo
garter snake
snapshots
snapshots
bobact
snapshots
snapshots
snapshots
© Alan briere Photo
coyote
© NHF&G Photo
bullfrog
snapshots
© NHF&G Photo
praying mantis
Eats: earthworms, insects and wild fruits
and berries
Habitat: wide variety of fields, forests,
© NHF&G Photo
© NHF&G Photo
Americ
an R
obin
American
Robin
Bobc
at
Bobca
Ea
ts: snowshoe hare, cottontail rabbits,
Eats:
squirrels, small mammals, birds and their eggs,
white-tailed deer
Habit
at: mixed hardwood and softwood
Habita
forests, brushy, rocky woodlands
parks and yards
• solitary and secretive
• active year-round mostly at night
• strong enough to pull down and kill a deer
• ears slightly tufted
• short tail with black on top
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Ea
ts: small birds, shrews, moles, mice,
Eats:
rabbits, frogs , insects
Habit
at: evergreen or mixed woods
Habita
Fast f
acts:
facts:
• adapted to forests with short, rounded wings and long tail
• maneuvers quickly through trees and brush, to dart out after prey
• migrates to points further south for the winter
• returns to the same nesting area
• female larger than male
© Alan Briere Photo
Fast F
acts:
Facts:
• the most widespread breeding bird found in New England
• song is not associated with any particular part of the bird’s life
• returns each evening to large shared roosts
• robins from here migrate further south, those from further north
may migrate here and spend the winter
© Alan Briere Photo
Fast F
acts:
Facts:
Fisher
Ea
ts: snowshoe hare, porcupine,
Eats:
songbirds, moles, shrews, mice and squirrels
Habit
at: mixed hardwood and softwood,
Habita
wetlands, dens in hollow trees, logs, ground holes
Fast F
acts:
Facts:
• member of weasel family
• travels widely in search of prey
• active year-round, mostly at night
• eats whatever is available
• good tree climber
Co
yote
Coy
Gar
ter Snake
Garter
Ea
ts: snowshoe hare, beaver, deer fawns,
Eats:
Ea
ts: earthworms, wood frogs, American
Eats:
small mammals, mice, berries, apples and
insects
Habit
at: wide variety of forest and field
Habita
habitats, can live in urban areas
toads, red-backed salamanders, caterpillars,
insects, small birds, rodents
Habit
at: found throughout New
Habita
Hampshire, especially in moist areas
Fast F
acts:
Facts:
Fast F
acts:
Facts:
© Alan Briere Photo
• often hibernates in groups
• most common of the snakes
• mostly active during the day
• quite tolerant of the cold
• females have shorter tails than males
• appeared in New Hampshire in the 1930s
• interbred with wolves and are larger than the western coyote
• most active in the early morning
• eats whatever they can find
• commonly exhibit pack behavior
Bullfrog
Pr
aying Mantis
Pra
Ea
ts: small fish, other frogs, salamanders,
Eats:
Ea
ts: other insects
Eats:
Habit
at: fields and forests
Habita
newts, young turtles, snakes, small birds,
mice, crayfish, insects, snails and spiders
Habit
at: near shorelines of large bodies
Habita
of water with plants growing along
the edge and in the water
Fast F
acts:
Facts:
• lay 12,000-20,000 eggs
• takes 2 to 3 winters for tadpoles to transform into adults
• males make a “jug-o-rum” call
• spend the winter in the mud and leaf letter of the lake bottom
Fast F
acts:
Facts:
• two-to four-inches long
• specially adapted front legs that can reach out and capture other insects
• make a large, hardened foam casing around their eggs
• well-camouflaged and remain still, so are hard to see
• young nymphs hatch in late spring, by fall are full grown and winged
start
Complete the maze
to help this hungry
argiope spider
find her prey a blue bottle fly!
Wild Times for Kids is published twice a year by the
Photo credits from page 2:
© Alan Briere photos - fisher, black bear, porcupine, white-throated sparrow, chipmunk.
© NH Fish & Game photos - grasshopper, seeds, berries.
© Hannah Clements photo - white-tail deer
New Hampshire Fish & Game Department, Public
Affairs Division, 2 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301.
Multiple copies are available for school and youth
groups upon request. ©2001 N.H. Fish & Game Dept.
www.wildlife.state.nh.us.
This program receives Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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the Education Amendments of 1972. The U.S. Department of the Interior and its bureaus prohibit
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Arlington, VA 22203
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Conserving New Hampshire's wildlife
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