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Self-guiding in the Galleries
Pre-During-Post Visit Resources
Berkshire Backyard: Mammals

Grades 9-12

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During Your Visit
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Things You Don't Want to Miss
Discussion Questions
Activities
Go to Berkshire Backyard Gallery Page

Before and After Your Visit
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Important Terms and Concepts
Activities
Print and Web Resources

	Black Bear Black bears are the only bear species that can be found in Berkshire County. In recent years this large mammal has become increasingly common and less afraid of people. Though black bears are generally timid and not interested in hurting humans, they are often found in neighborhoods scrounging for food, so it is important to recognize the potential danger and warn youngsters not to approach one. Black bears may weigh as much as 450 pounds. This species is omnivorous, feeding on a wide variety of vegetable and animal life: grasses, fruit, berries, roots, ants, honey, and any birds, mammals, fish and frogs it can catch. For additional information on local bears and other large mammals, visit The Massachusetts Wildlife Program and Lynn Roger's organization dedicated to bear research and education, The Wildlife Research Center.
	Star-nosed Mole This mole is North America’s only semi-aquatic mole. Star-nosed moles prefer to live in marshy areas around ponds and are strong swimmers, and use their powerful hands and shoulders not only for burrowing in the earth, but to swim and fish for small minnows. The star-nosed mole gets its name from the 22 projections around its nose. This is one of the most complex, mobile, and touch sensitive noses in the animal kingdom. The projections fold in so the mole can eat. They also seal the nostrils to keep the water out. Waterproof fur is another adaptation of this swimming mole.
	Muskrat One of the larger rodents found locally, it is almost never found far from water where it feeds mostly upon aquatic plants. Its home, while superficially resembling that of its larger cousin the beaver, is made of rushes, cattails and other aquatic plants.
	Hares and Rabbits Rabbits and hares are common names, often applied interchangeably, for small, furry mammals with long ears, long legs, and short tails. Rabbits are distinguished by the helplessness of their offspring. Young rabbits are born naked with their eyes closed. The cottontail (top picture on left) builds its simple nest on the surface, usually in grass or brush, and rarely lives in social groups. Hares are generally larger and have longer ears with characteristic black markings. The skulls of rabbits and hares are also different. The varying or snowshoe hare (lower picture) and cottontail rabbits are both found locally, with hares found chiefly in the uplands (at higher elevations) and rabbits in the lowlands.

Here are some questions for teachers, chaperones and students to think about while visiting the exhibit.

• What adaptations do these animals have that help them to survive?
• What might this animal do in the rain? Snow? Winter? Summer?
• Where does this animal spend most of its time?
• How many carnivorous mammals are on display? How many herbivores? How many omnivores?
• If you had to compete with one of these mammals in a race, which would you pick? Why?
• Pick one mammal on display. Imagine that this species becomes extinct (disappears) from Massachusetts tomorrow. How would the other species of the Berkshires be affected (including humans)? Then imagine what would happen if this species population doubled in number.
• Pick one Berkshire mammal. What different kinds of adaptations might it have if it lived in a rainforest or a desert?
• Are there animals in the Berkshire Backyard gallery that you can also find in the World in Miniature Gallery?

Practicing Field Observations
When studying wildlife in the field, it is important to make careful and detailed observations. Choose an animal in the Berkshire Backyard to study. Draw two small and distinct parts of its body (e.g. a nose and a foot, a claw and the tip of a wing, etc.). Sign but do not label your drawing. The teacher then collects the drawings and randomly redistributes them. Students now try to find the mystery animal.

Population
Assign groups of students three Berkshire Backyard animals (1 mammal, 1 bird, 1 insect) and hypothesize how many of each lives in Berkshire County. When back at school, create a graph and plot hypotheses in red, asking students to explain their reasoning. Then have groups research actual population data for their species. Plot those numbers in black. Discuss the graphs. Where were student expectations close to actual data? Where did they differ greatly? Ask students why they think their estimates were different from data.

You may want to familiarize your students with the following terms before your visit to the museum.

• Carrying Capacity
  the stable population of a species. This number depends on the amount of resources available in the area where the species is living.
• Symbiotic Relationship
  the interdependence of two or more species that benefits both.

Mammal Habitat Observation
Take your students out on a nature walk to look for signs of mammal homes. Do you see those circular holes in the ground? Those aren't snake holes (snakes can't dig!) but most likely chipmunk homes. Look in natural grasses for rabbit runways - trampled down paths that rabbits repeatedly travel on. Look for sleeping areas - grasses that have been pressed down in a circular pattern - depending on the size they could be made by rabbits, foxes, bobcats, or deer. Winter is also a good time to look for mammal signs. Mammals that are active need to get out to find food. Look for nutshells and excavated dirt near the entrance to their dens. Even though many times mammals will hide when they hear us coming, we can still be alert to their presence through the signs they leave behind. Look up Stokes: Guide To Animal Tracking and Behavior in the printed materials section as a reference for this activity.

Use the Berkshire Athenaeum’s on-line catalogue to search for these print resources in Central/Western Massachusetts.

Print and Web Materials for Students

eNature.com
eNature's web-based field guides contain full-color photographs and descriptions of more than 4,800 species found in North America. With eNature's zip-code search capabilities, site visitors can quickly and easily identify their local plant and animal life.

Macdonald, Dr. David, ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. 1984. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 1995. Contains information about mammals throughout the world including animal behavior, conservation, skull size, geographical location, and ecology. Sections are broken down by family and the animals within the families.

MassWildlife's State Mammal List
This is a list of the mammals that live in Massachusetts. Those species appearing on the current list of endangered, threatened, and special concern species in Massachusetts are indicated with an asterisk.

Stokes, Donald & Lillian. Stokes: Guide To Animal Tracking and Behavior. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1986. A great resource to help in identifying animal tracks, trails, scats, and signs left behind by North American mammals.

Zim, Herbert. Mammals: A Guide to Familiar American Species. New York: Golden Books, 1987. An accurate and fascinating introduction to more than 200 of the most common species of mammals in North America, including information on: habits and habitats, families trees, raising young, food, enemies, and more. Includes full-color illustrations and range maps.

Print and Web Materials for Educators

eNature.com
eNature's web-based field guides contain full-color photographs and descriptions of more than 4,800 species found in North America. With eNature's zip-code search capabilities, site visitors can quickly and easily identify their local plant and animal life.

Macdonald, Dr. David, ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. 1984. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 1995. Contains information about mammals throughout the world including animal behavior, conservation, skull size, geographical location, and ecology. Sections are broken down by family and the animals within the families.

MassWildlife's State Mammal List
This is a list of the mammals that live in Massachusetts. Those species appearing on the current list of endangered, threatened, and special concern species in Massachusetts are indicated with an asterisk.

Stokes, Donald & Lillian. Stokes: Guide To Animal Tracking and Behavior. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1986. A great resource to help in identifying animal tracks, trails, scats, and signs left behind by North American mammals.

Zim, Herbert. Mammals: A Guide to Familiar American Species. New York: Golden Books, 1987. An accurate and fascinating introduction to more than 200 of the most common species of mammals in North America, including information on: habits and habitats, families trees, raising young, food, enemies, and more. Includes full-color illustrations and range maps.

The following is a list of all of the mammal specimens on display in the Berkshire Backyard. A laminated copy of this list can be found hanging from one of the mammal cases in the Berkshire Backyard, or you can print this version out and bring it with you to the Museum. The numbers on the list refer to the number given to each specimen in the cases.

Click here for a printable list.

1	Opossum	28-29	Bobcat
2	Big-brown bat	30-31	Northern flying squirrel
3	Northern red bat	32-33	Gray squirrel
4	Short-tailed shrew	34	Red squirrel (melanistic)
5	Long-tailed shrew	35	Red squirrel
6-7	Star-nosed mole	36,38	Eastern chipmunk
7	Hairy-tailed mole	37	Eastern chipmunk (melanistic)
9	Gray fox	40,42	Woodchuck (groundhog)
10	Red fox	41	Woodchuck (juvenile)
11	Raccoon	43	Meadow vole
12	Black Bear	44	Woodland jumping mouse
13	Short-tailed weasel	45	White footed mouse
14	Long-tailed weasel	46,47	Muskrat
15	Skunk	48	New England cottontail (partial albino)
16	Fisher	49	Eastern cottontail
17	River otter	50	Snowshoe hare

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent Federal grant- making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities supports the Berkshire Museum.

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