Mammals of Florida Field Guide

by Stan Tekiela

Overview

Identify Mammals with Florida’s Famous Identification Guide!

Whether it’s stumbling upon an animal track or actually seeing wildlife in nature, interacting with mammals is a thrill. Learn to identify mammals in Florida. With Stan Tekiela’s popular field guide, mammal identification is simple and informative. There’s no need to look through dozens of photos of animals that don’t live in your area. This book features 77 species of Florida mammals organized by family, and then by size, for ease of use. When you see a mammal, you can determine its family by common visual characteristics. Then turn to the corresponding section to find out what it is!

Inside you’ll find:

• all 77 of Florida’s mammals, from mice to manatees
• facts about size, habitat, range, young, and more
• times each animal is most likely to be active and signs that it might leave, such as rubs and scrapes
• track patterns, size details, and scat photos
• Stan’s naturalist notes and gee-whiz facts

This field guide includes professional photographs and range maps, relevant information, and plenty of Stan’s expert insights. So grab Mammals of Florida Field Guide to help ensure that you positively identify the mammals that you see.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591932512
Publisher:	Adventure Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/24/2010
Series:	Mammal Identification Guides
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	284,150
Product dimensions:	4.40(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Naturalist, wildlife photographer and writer Stan Tekiela is the originator of the popular state-specific field guide series. Stan has authored more than 190 educational books, including field guides, quick guides, nature books, children’s books, playing cards and more, presenting many species of animals and plants. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 30 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs. Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers, and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations. Stan can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

Read an Excerpt

White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus

Family: Deer (Cervidae)

Size: L 4-7' (1.2-2.1 m); T 6-12" (15-30 cm); H 3-4' (1-1.2 m)

Weight: M 100-250 lb. (45-113 kg); F 75-150 lb. (34-68 kg)

Description: Reddish brown during summer, grayish brown during winter. Large ears, white inside with black edges. A white eye-ring, nose band, chin, throat and belly. Brown tail with a black tip and white underside. Male antlers have many small tines originating from a central beam; antler spread is 12-24" (30-61 cm). Female is overall smaller, has a thinner neck and lacks antlers.

Origin/Age: native; 5-10 years

Compare: Sambar Deer (pg. 249) is larger, darker and seen only on St. Vincent Island. Key Deer (pg. 241) is restricted to only a few islands in the Keys.

Habitat: many habitats such as woodlands, ranchlands, wetlands and scrublands

Home: no den or nest; sleeps in a different spot every night, beds may be concentrated in one area, does not use a shelter in bad weather

Food: herbivore; grasses and other green plants, acorns and nuts in summer, twigs and buds in winter

Sounds: loud whistle-like snorts, male grunts, fawn bleats

Breeding late Aug-Oct mating in southern Florida, Oct-Nov in northern Florida; 6-7 months gestation

Young: 1-2 fawns once per year from April through June; rare to have 3-4; covered with white spots, walks within hours of birth

Signs: browsed twigs that are ripped or torn (due to the lack of upper incisor teeth), tree rubs (saplings scraped or stripped of bark) made by male while polishing antlers during the rut, oval depressions in snow or leaves are evidence of beds; round, hard brown pellets during winter, cylindrical segmented masses of scat in spring and summer

Activity: nocturnal, crepuscular; often moves along same trails to visit feeding areas, most active in early morning and the end of day

Tracks: front hoof 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) long, hind hoof slightly smaller, both with a split heart shape with a point in the front; neat line of single tracks; hind hooves fall near or directly onto fore prints (direct register) when walking

Stan’s Notes: There are many species of White-tailed Deer in Florida, including the tiny Key Deer (pg. 241), which inhabits just the Keys. All subspecies look similar and act the same; size and habitat are the only differences.

In summer, antlers are covered with a furry skin called velvet. Velvet contains a network of blood vessels that supplies nutrients to the growing antlers. New antler growth begins after the male (buck) drops his antlers in January or February. Some females (does) grow antlers. Antler growth is tied to available nutrition. It is impossible to judge the age of a buck by the number of antler tines or antler size due to the direct correlation between antlers and nutrition. Examining teeth is a better way to estimate age.

Grows longer guard hairs in winter, giving the deer a larger appearance than in summer. Hairs of the winter coat are thick, hollow and provide excellent insulation.

Usually restricts its movement to a relatively small home range and is dependent on the location of the food supply. Eats 5-9 pounds (2.3-4.1 kg) of food per day, preferring acorns in fall and fresh grass in spring. Research shows that Whitetails eat up to 500 different plants. Its four-chambered stomach enables the animal to get nutrients from poor food sources, such as twigs, and eat and drink substances that are unsuitable for people, including poison ivy and deadly mushrooms.

Able to run up to 37 mph (60 km/h), jump up to 8 1⁄2 feet (2.6 m) high and leap 30 feet (9.1 m). Also an excellent swimmer.

For two weeks after birth, fawns lay still all day while their mother is away feeding. Mother nurses them during the evening and at night.

Table of Contents

Introduction

• Florida’s Mammals
• What Is a Mammal?
• Identification Step-by-Step
• Taxonomy of Florida’s Mammals
• Caution
• Quick-Compare Pages
• Sample Pages

The Mammals

• Shrews
• Moles
• Mice
• Rats
• Voles
• Muskrat
• Nutria
• Beaver
• Capybara
• Bats
• Chipmunk
• Flying Squirrel
• Tree Squirrels
• Pocket Gopher
• Monkeys
• Rabbits
• Jackrabbit
• Weasel
• Mink
• Otter
• Skunks
• Raccoon
• Coati
• Armadillo
• Opossum
• Foxes
• Coyote
• Wolf
• Jaguarundi
• Bobcat
• Panther
• Deer
• Hog
• Bear
• Bison
• Dolphins
• Manatee

Glossary

Helpful Resources

Appendix: Taxonomy of Florida’s Mammals

Checklist/Index

About the Author