ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Scat page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

The National Geographic link is definitely worth a look!

Get down on the ground and look closely at the scat. Is it long and skinny? Short and fat? Made up of sections? Many little pellets?

Measure the length and diameter of it. Look at the ground around it. Are there scratches in the dirt? Scat from another animal nearby?

See if you can tell what the animal ate (you may have to poke at it a bit, but try not to damage it too much so other groups can look at it too). Is there fur and bones in the scat? Berries and seeds? Plant matter? Is the animal a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore?

How big is the animal? Sculpt the air with your hands to show how big you think the animal is. Look at the color and texture. If it is dark and moist, it is fresh; the animal was here not too long ago. If it is brittle and moldy, it is very old.

Draw the scat in your field notebook. Are there animal tracks nearby? Look it up to see from which animal it came.

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Tracks page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

Be careful not to step on the tracks! Mark the track with some red tape. Look around, are there other tracks in the area? Figure out which way the animal was traveling and see if you can find a trail of tracks.

Mark each track with some tape. Measure the distance between the tracks to determine where the next one should be. Look closely at the tracks. Count the toes. Study the shape of the pad. Can you see claws? Is it a hoofed animal? Was the animal speeding up? Slowing down? Walking or running? Can you see more than one track on top of another? Why might animals do this?

Measure one track. How big is the animal? Draw the track in your field notebook. Look up the track and see who made it.

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - The Edge page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

Living on the Edge

What do you notice about this area? There are two different types of habitat.

An edge is an area where two different habitats come together. Look at this edge. Food can grow well in the open spaces where there is more sunlight. Shelter is easier to find in the brushier spaces.

Prey animals will be attracted to areas with food, and to areas with shelter. At an edge, food + shelter = safer food. Predators will be attracted to areas with prey, so both predators and prey will spend time at edges.

This edge has water, too. See if you can find evidence of animals, or places you think an animal might like to use as a shelter. As you go up the hill, see if you can figure out the source of the stream. Does the source of the stream change the way animals use it?

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Damaged Plants page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

Was the plant eaten or trampled?

If it was eaten, was it a big animal or a small animal that ate it? Show with your hand what size mouth you think took a bite.

If it was trampled, did the animal walk on it or lay down on it? What size animal could it have been? Did the animal have paws or hooves?

How long ago was the animal there? How can you tell?

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Supermarket Niche page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

A Niche is what an animal does in its particular habitat. An animal's niche is closely tied to what it eats and how it eats it. Many animals can live and gather food in the same small area and not compete with each other for food if they have different niches.

Each person will be shopping for dinner for their family at the supermarket. Check your shopping list and pick up only those items you need for dinner.

Notice that even though everyone searched for food in the same small area, everyone got what they needed.

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Camouflage Trail page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

Student leaders are forgetful. They leave their stuff in the woods, and then can't find it later.

As you walk through this section of trail, count the number of objects you see that don't belong in the woods. Count silently, and do not point out any of the objects to other people in your group.

How many objects did you find? Was the color or texture of the object important? Was the location of the object important?

Some animals blend in well because of the camouflage color they are born with, and some blend in well because of where they hide.

Do you think you would find more objects if you tried again? Do you think you would find more if you worked as a group?

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Decomposition page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

Highlights of some of our dead friends over the years.

What evidence of decomposition can you find? What kind of animal is being decomposed? What animals are doing the decomposing?

How long has the animal been there? How can you tell? What parts of the animal are left? Which parts are missing, and where did they go?
Has the animal been moved since it died? How can you tell? Have any larger animals helped in the decomposition process?

What human-made objects can you see in the area? Why are they there?

Why is decomposition important? What would happen if there were no decomposers in the forest?

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Pelt Squares page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

The tofudebeest cartoon is one of my all-time favorites.

Camouflage Check!

Choose a few pelt squares. Hold each one up to the hillside and think about camouflage. Would the time of day or time year make a difference? Does how far away you stand make a difference?

What changes would you make to the pelt to make it more successful in this habitat? What changes would you make to the habitat to make the pelt more successful?

Make sure the correct pelt gets back into each video box and the lid of the clear box gets closed tightly.

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Build a Nest page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

Birds use their beaks to arrange materials into a nest. Use the beak tools to make a small nest.

Is it easy? Which materials worked best? Which materials were easiest to pick up?

Do differently shaped beaks make a difference? How would that affect what kind of nest a bird could build? Would a differently shaped beak also play a part in what a bird can eat? Why?

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ODS Curriculum - The Hike - Aplodontia page finished. Transferred with minimal changes from previous animals curriculum site.

Also known as a "boomer," the Mountain Beaver is neither a beaver, nor is it exclusively found in the mountains. Here at Outdoor School, we'll call it an Aplodontia for clarity.

This sucker is old! according to the fossil record, the Aplodontia is the only remaining survivor of the oldest known family of living rodents.

Since it's a rodent, it has big front teeth like a beaver, which continue to grow throughout its life.

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