Learning Language: Tails, Eyes, and Ears

You can tell a lot about a mammal based on key characteristics we can describe while observing. Is it a predator or prey mammal? What does it use its tail for? What might it eat based on its teeth? Look how much bigger a bat's ears are compared to its eyes! Take a closer look and you'll find you can come up with many insights about an animal's lifestyle and habits by simply observing that animal in nature, or in a photo. A learning language is simply a set of descriptors that we can use to gain a deeper understanding of mammals, their habitats, food sources, and behaviours. 

General predator characteristics:

Forward-facing eyes are a great indicator that an animal uses stereoscopic vision to gauge depth when capturing prey. Large ears pointed upwards, like the Red fox's and the Eastern coyote's mean they are excellent listeners. Insect-eating shrews have a tiny set of sharp predator teeth for capturing and killing insects. Legs are for movement and thus will teach you a lot about how that mammal moves. An Ermine's legs are short and stubby so they can fit in tunnels and cavities for food and protect their young. Coyote legs are long and lean for speed and ease of travel over long distances. 

Scat: Scat means poop, and is a great animal clue! Predator's scat on PEI is more or less easy to recognize by looking to see what’s inside. If there is fur inside, you know it belongs to something that eats things like hares and mice, like a Red fox. If it has scales from fish and looks oily, you know the scat is from something that eats fish, like a mink. 

Dens: Are a way we describe the homes of predators on PEI, like foxes and coyotes. We can look at the outside of the den, to see if it is fresh or not, by looking at whether the soil around it looks like it's been freshly upturned. Another clue is how large it is; foxes and coyotes will only build a den with a hole that is just big enough for their head, any bigger and it would be an inefficient way to keep warm and safe. 

General prey animal characteristics:

Ears may also be large depending on their adaptations. For example, a snowshoe hare has huge ears relative to its body size, because it can hear the thumping of other hares in the forest, and predators moving in. Side-facing eyes indicate that a large field of vision is needed to avoid predators. Tails help an animal with balance, swimming, communicating, and insulating. All tails are different, depending on the animal; a flying squirrel has a tail like a rudder, a beaver tail is a huge paddle, and a raised skunk tail warns predators of an impending spray. Consider the size, shape and whether or not it is smooth or furry. Teeth in prey animals will also look different, than those of predator animals. Sit and watch a squirrel eat a nut, and you'll see that it takes many small nibbles, and not big ripping motions, which would require sharp, pointy teeth like a coyote!

Scat: Scat in prey animals like hares and squirrels will be smaller, and in small groups, like pebbles. 

Midden: is an animal food discard pile, usually consisting of shells, scales, or bones. In prey animals, a common sign is a pile of scales from a conifer cone discarded, leftover from a squirrel eating the seeds in a pine cone. 

Browse: It is easy to see if you have a hare nearby because they will nibble on the tips of young trees and shrubs, which we call browse. 

Rodent Characteristics:

Rodents' teeth never stop growing, so they will often be seen knawing on things, to file them down. Rodents often have claws for climbing or digging depending on what they eat, and where they live. Consider a muskrat's claws for digging in and pulling up aquatic vegetation or a chipmunk who needs to make a hole in the ground for nesting. They have two sets of incisors one on the top and one on the bottom of the jaw for gnawing.

Canine Family

Canines include animals like dogs, wolves, and foxes. They are characterized by their 'canine' teeth, which are sharp for tearing meat, as well as a long face or muzzle, and a lean body, well-adapted for running, so they may hunt efficiently.  

Mustelid Family

Members of this family include skunks, minks, and ermines. They are typically smaller with a longer shaped body, and shorter tails, ideal for getting in and out of small spaces. Other key characteristics of this family are rounded ears, carnivorous/omnivorous, and non-retractable claws, for digging and rummaging in the soil. 

Observing Mammals

When observing mammals, it makes sense to look at the whole environment. Knowing where an animal is most likely to be helps your chances of seeing signs and tracks, and sometimes the mammals themselves. 

The challenge with mammals is that they are often difficult to spot during the day. Most mammals are either crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) or nocturnal (active at night). There are some diurnal (active during the day) species, like the Eastern Chipmunk, but for the most part, we have to rely on observing mammal signs and tracks to figure out who’s around.

To be able to recognize mammal signs, including habitats, tracks, lays, feeding areas, scat and many other signs, it is firstly important to have an idea of what type of environment you are in. Mammals require a community. They must have a food source, habitat, and water. For this reason, mammals are most likely to be in an area that has lots of diversity, like transition areas between two ecosystems (like a meadow and forest), called an ecotone. An ecotone provides all of the resources of two ecosystems in one transition area, meaning there will be more activity in those areas. A great example of this is the edge of a forest or a pond's edge. Most animals do not do well in a forest plantation of all one type of tree, or a single hedgerow in an urban area. They require a healthy and ecologically diverse habitat, for example, a forest with both dead-standing and fallen trees, trees and shrubs and other forest plants of varying sizes and ages offer more habitats and food sources. Even better is if borders a meadow with tall grass, and healthy soil; perfect for small rodents, ground-nesting birds and many insects, creating much more opportunity for species diversity.

Leading a hike when looking for mammals can look like going 'off-trail', being very quiet, paying attention to small details in your surroundings, and spending hours tracking and observing, or it can be a simple walk watching squirrel behaviours and keeping an eye out for tracks, scat and middens along the way. No matter what your level of experience, or capacity on a given trip, there is so much we can learn from mammals. Simple observation is very rewarding, and an essential first step. 

See Tracking Diagram

See Mammal Signs Diagram

See full details for tracking and observing mammals of PEI.

Mammals on PEI

Because our forests on PEI are fragmented (meaning they are sectioned off by farm fields, buildings, and private properties), and in relatively unhealthy condition, we do not have as many mammals here as we used to. However, we do still have mammals that live in our forest habitats as around our homes, beaches and wetland areas.

Here are some examples of common mammals of PEI: 

Red Squirrel: A rodent, with eyes on the side of its head, and larger ears relative to its body, indicating it is a prey animal and has a long tail for balance. Teeth that never stop growing, which is why he is always nibbling. They will leave Midden - a discard pile from their feeding area. For Red Squirrels these consist of the scales of pine and spruce cones, and shells of nuts in jagged pieces, the core/shaft of a conifer cone. They also store huge amounts of food in caches wherever they can- amongst roots, in trees, under logs etc. 

Red Fox: is a predator, although is omnivorous. Forward-facing eyes mean he is good at zeroing in on his prey. His feet are designed to step from the outside so that he makes little to no noise as he approaches his prey. Furthermore, they have hairy feet, making the sound of their footsteps muffled. The species of fox we have on PEI is the Red fox, although many are silver, or black. This is just a genetic characteristic and has no impact on species notation. 

Beaver: A rodent, so his teeth need something hard to gnaw on. A great sign of beavers in an area is chewing marks on the trees, cutting down trees, and cutting off tips of young trees and shrubs. Their tails are large and flat, great for swimming and packing down mud in their lodges. They can stay underwater for up to 15 minutes due to specialized valves that close off their ears, nostrils and mouth to keep the water out. Their teeth stay outside their mouth so they can still carry big sticks. They make lodges where they sleep, and dams that add ecological value to an area. 

Snowshoe Hare: has eyes on the side of its head, so you know it's a prey animal, it has giant ears so that it can hear upcoming predators, and so that it can hear other hares thumping their feet from far away. Its teeth are sharp and can cut a 45-degree angle on young trees, which is called a browse. Its fur turns bright white in the winter, and is brown in the warmer months, so that is can camouflage. Its feet are specially designed to distribute their weight on top of snow (like snowshoes) so that it does not sink in. Because it does not hibernate, it has these special adaptations to thrive in the winter months with snow, and less greenery.

Little Brown Bat: Bats are the only mammals with the ability of true flight. When you look at a bat, it is clear that the ears are so much larger than its eyes, indicating that its ears are the primary way it hunts and can gather information in its surroundings. Bats use echolocation, using sonar to find insects to eat during their hunt. They have small, sharp teeth, perfect for eating insects. 

Raccoon: raccoons are great opportunistic, omnivorous eaters. They eat anything they can within their environment, like berries, various plants, amphibians, eggs and insects. If you look at a raccoon's paw, it kind of looks like our hands. They have lots of dexterity in their front limbs, meaning they can get into places and seek food that many mammals would not. They have claws that are great for climbing trees and digging for larvae and worms in the dirt.