Forests are the habitat of a large number of birds and animals. This is their house in which they live, hide and eat, breed offspring. The forest is their protector.
Elk
Forest animals feel confident in their habitat. In the forest, they are comfortable, despite the fact that there are dangers here, but each species has adapted to defend itself and hide.
The decoration of the forest community is an elk belonging to the Deer family. Individual specimens reach a length of up to three and a half meters, and a height of up to two meters. The weight of such an animal can reach 500 kilograms. Agree, these are impressive parameters. It is very interesting to watch such a giant that silently moves through the forest.
He is very strong and, oddly enough, swims remarkably and dives. In addition, it has a delicate ear and good instinct. Imagine that an elk without a run can jump over a four-meter hole or a two-meter obstacle. Not every animal can do this.
It lives exclusively in forests. In another territory, it can be found only during the spring migrations. At such a time, you can encounter him in the fields, sometimes he even enters the villages. Elk eats shoots of pine, mountain ash, aspen, buckthorn, bird cherry, willow. Also eats and grassy plants, mushrooms, moss, berries. Forest animals in winter are forced to look for food. And not always they are so easy to find it. Sometimes moose is badly harmed by eating young pine trees and forest plantations. This happens only in the winter, when it is very tight with food, and a decent number of individuals focus on a relatively small area.
However, in forestries, they are trying to conduct biotechnological events in order to create comfortable and satisfying conditions for these wonderful animals to live.
Forest beast bear
Brown bear is the most famous forest resident. He is an indispensable hero of most folk tales. Moreover, he always acts as a good character. However, it should be noted that the bears are predatory animals of the forest.
They can rightly be called the owners of the forest. The bear has a powerful body, a rather large head, but at the same time small eyes and ears. At the withers he has a hump, which is nothing more than the muscles that enable him to deliver very strong blows. The tail of the bear is very small, about twenty centimeters. It is practically not visible in its thick shaggy coat. The color of the beast varies from light brown to almost black. Of course, the most typical color is brown.
The animal has very powerful paws. Five fingers on each of them. The claws on the paws of the beast reach ten centimeters in length.
Brown bear habitat
These majestic forest animals previously inhabited vast territories. Now their area has significantly narrowed. Currently, they are found in Finland and Scandinavia, sometimes in the forests of Central Europe and, of course, in the taiga and tundra in Russia.
The size and body weight of the bears entirely depend on their habitat. The weight of animals living in Russia does not exceed 120 kilograms. However, the Far Eastern bears are much larger. Their weight reaches 750 kilograms.
Their favorite habitat is impassable forest areas littered with windbreaks or places with dense thickets of bushes and trees. However, they also love rugged terrain, and therefore they can be found both in the tundra and in highland forests.
What does a predator eat?
I must say that the bear eats almost everything that you can only eat. Most of his diet is plant foods: herbs, mushrooms, berries, nuts. When an animal does not have enough food, it can eat insects and larvae, rodents, reptiles and even carrion. Large representatives can afford to hunt ungulates. It is only at first glance that these forest animals seem very clumsy. In fact, bears, pursuing prey, show miracles of dexterity. They are capable of speeds up to 55 kilometers per hour.
Bears love to eat fish too. By the fall, they eat off and gain twenty percent of their weight.
Winter hibernation of bears
However, the life of forest animals in winter changes very much. Bears are in their den for half a year, hibernating. They choose a place for their home in the most inaccessible places. As a rule, they make a winter rookery under the huge roots of broken fir trees, in crevices of rocks, in the rubble after windbreaks. Inside their house they are lined with dry moss and grass. Bears sleep quite sensitively. If you disturb him, then he may well wake up, and then he will be forced to look for a new cozy place to sleep.
When very hungry years happen and a bear cannot gain enough fat, it does not fall asleep. The animal just wanders in search of food. Such a bear is called a connecting rod. During this period, he becomes very aggressive and is able to attack even a person.
The mating season in bears is in May and June. He, as a rule, is accompanied by a strong roar and fights between competing males.
After mating, the she-bear has cubs after about six months. They are born in a den. As a rule, two babies weighing up to half a kilogram are born. By the time the family couple leaves the den, the offspring reaches the size of the dog and already begins to eat with adults.
The cubs live with their mother for a couple of years. They reach puberty in three to four years. In general, bears live in the wild for up to thirty years.
Wolf
Forest animals are always associated with predators. One of their representatives is the wolf. In our country, a huge number of them live. Since ancient times, people have been actively fighting wolves, since they cause significant damage to the household.
It is widely believed that the wolf is a forest animal. However, this is not quite true. They live a lot in the tundra, forest-steppes and steppes. They prefer open spaces. And a man forces them to go into the forests, waging an active struggle against them.
Outwardly, the wolf looks like a large large dog. He has a powerful physique. The length of his body reaches up to 1.5 meters. Weight ranges from 30 to 45 kilograms. Females are generally smaller than males.
Wolves have strong and hardy legs. They are long distance runners. In general, this is a highly organized animal and also very smart. Looking at each other, wolves exchange information.
This beast has excellent hearing, excellent sense of smell and vision. The wolf receives all the information about the world through his sense of smell. He is able to distinguish the tracks of forest animals by smell many hours after they left them. In general, it is difficult for us to imagine the variety of smells that a wolf can distinguish.
Wolf habits
Wolves are very strong and hardy animals. They develop speed in pursuit of production up to 60 kilometers. And in the throw, this value increases to 80.
In summer, wolves live in pairs and raise their offspring strictly on their territory. By winter, young individuals, together with older ones, gather in groups and lead a stray lifestyle. Wolves, like all forest animals, change their lifestyle in winter.
Typically, a pack consists of ten wolves, which are members of the same family. Sometimes several flocks can merge into one larger one. This is possible in severe snowy times or in the presence of very large prey.
What do wolves eat?
Since the wolf is a predator, meat is the basis of its diet. Although sometimes the animal can also try plant foods. The wolf hunts absolutely any animal that it can do. If he has enough game, then he will not come to look into the villages of people. Wolves are very intelligent and understand the full extent of the risk.
In the forest, this animal preys on almost all the inhabitants, from the moose to the chipmunk and vole. Of course, his favorite prey, depending on the habitat, is Manchurian deer, reindeer, and roe deer. However, the wolf does not disdain the fox, raccoon, rat, ferret, piglet, hare. The hunting habits of wolves are diverse. They can wait for their prey in an ambush, or they can drive it for a long time. And their collective hunting is generally a complex coordinated mechanism where everyone understands each other without words.
Very prudently, they flock their prey in water in a flock. The wolf is a large predator, but it knows how to catch fish, frogs, mice, and also loves to destroy bird nests.
But not always forest animals and birds become the prey of a predator. In populated areas, game is not enough, and therefore in the harsh winter months, when it becomes very difficult to survive, wolves stay closer to the villages and begin to rob. Their prey can be a sheep, a dog, a pig, a horse, a cow, a goose. In general, any creature to which a predator can only get. Even one individual can do great damage in one night.
A fox
Forest animals for children are, rather, fairy-tale characters. And the fox is generally the heroine of many children's tales. However, as a fabulous person, she is endowed with those features that are inherent in her in real life. The fox is both beautiful and cunning. She has a long fluffy tail and a sly narrow muzzle, small eyes. This predator is really slim and graceful, in size it is comparable to a small dog. It weighs from six to ten kilograms.
We are used to what we call a red fox from childhood. And this is fair. That's only in life she has a white abdomen or grayish. The back and sides are colored differently: from light gray to bright red. As a rule, northern foxes have a bright color. And more faded - those that live in the forest-steppe. The most beautiful and expensive is silver fox fur. These foxes have long been bred on special farms, as they are extremely rare in wildlife. And people have their fur for beauty is especially popular.
In summer, the animal looks a little awkward due to the fact that the hair during this period becomes short and stiff. But by the autumn, a beautiful winter coat grows near the fox. The predator sheds only once a year - in spring.
The habits of a sly fox
The fox is found not only in the forest, but also in the tundra, mountains, steppes, in swamps, and even in human housing. She perfectly knows how to adapt to any conditions, but still loves more open spaces. The deaf taiga is not to her liking.
In life, as in fairy tales, the fox is very fast and agile. She runs very briskly, easily catches insects flying by. As a rule, she moves unhurried trot. Periodically stops, looks around, looks around. The fox is very careful. When she sneaks up to prey, she crawls quietly on her belly, almost merging with the ground. But he escapes from pursuit by big and sharp jumps, skillfully confusing the tracks.
In fox behavior you can see just the same fairy tale episodes. People invented them for a reason. All stories are taken from real life. Foxes are really cunning predators that are wise to hunt. Rather, they take prey not by force, but by seduction. No other animal is called by patronymic. And the fox’s name is Patrikeevna. Why?
Once upon a time there was such a prince named Patrichey. He became famous for his cunning and resourcefulness. Since then, the very name Patrickey has been associated with sly ones. The fox has long been popularly known as a rogue, and therefore it was christened Patrikeevna.
Who do foxes hunt for?
Foxes are very active animals. In winter, its tangled tracks are clearly visible in the snow. You can immediately see where the cheat hunted. It is commonly believed that foxes feed on hares. But this is a big mistake. She is not able to catch up with such a quick catch. Of course, if she stumbles on a defenseless hare somewhere, she will certainly seize the opportunity. Therefore, hares are a very rare dish in her diet. She just can’t keep up with them.
Foxes feed on various insects, birds and animals. But the basis of their menu are rodents. Predators remarkably exterminate voles. In addition, they can fish in shallow water. Sometimes animals feast on berries.
Hares
Forest life of animals is very interesting to study. All representatives of the animal world are very different, some run away, others hunt. Earlier we examined some predators. Now let's talk about the brightest representative of the forests. Of course, about the hare.
Hares, as in fairy tales, are long-eared, with short tails. The hind legs are much longer and more powerful than the front. In winter, it is clearly seen in the snow that the prints of the hind legs are ahead of the front. This is due to the fact that they carry them forward while running.
These animals feed on food that does not attract others at all, for example, bark, young shoots and branches, grass.
A lot of fairy tales have been written about forest animals, but the hare has always been a favorite hero. Even in life, moving away from the chase, he is cunning and tries to confuse the tracks, jumping in one direction and then in the other, as in children's stories. He is able to run at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. Not every predator will catch up with such quick prey. In general, in the arsenal of hares, there are many ways to get away from persecution. These are these cunning forest dwellers. Animals can both run away and defend themselves, and in each case they use the most optimal tactics - they have so much sense of flair.
But their cunning does not so much save the hares, as they take in their quantity. Each year they have four to five litters. In each of which there can be from two to five rabbits.
The most famous are hare and white hare. They weigh up to seven and a half kilograms and reach a length of 70 centimeters. Their main difference is the color of the coat. In winter, merlins do not change their color. But in the summer, these varieties are much more difficult to distinguish.
In general, hares are characterized by a settled life. Of course, they jump through the fields and meadows, moving away over fairly large distances. But then they return to their habitat. Very rarely can they migrate. This happens only in particularly cold and snowy winters.
Who else lives in the forest?
We have listed only the most famous animals, since it is difficult to pay attention to all forest inhabitants within the framework of the article. There are actually a lot of them: wild boars, badgers, hedgehogs, moles, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, sables, martens, raccoons, deer, roe deer, lynx … As they say, from small to large. They are all very different and interesting. In addition, it would be unfair not to mention the birds, which also quite a lot live in our forests.
