Where does the otter live on what continent. River otter: appearance, habits, habitat. Description of otter species and their characteristic features

This predatory animal can grow up to a meter in length and weigh only 10 kg. torso otters strongly elongated, and the small head is slightly flattened from above. The ears are barely visible under the layer of fur. They are small and round, equipped with valves that protect the auditory openings from water. Small eyes allow animals to see perfectly both on land and under water. Paws are short with tenacious claws. There are webbing between the fingers. The tail is quite long and muscular.

The teeth are very small but sharp. All otter species are brown in color. The fur cover is short, but very thick and does not let water through, which is why it is highly valued.

Otters molt in spring and summer. This process happens gradually. Old hairline very slowly and imperceptibly changes to a new one.

Otter habitat

Otters live on all continents except Australia. They live wherever there are streams, rivers and lakes, with which the life of these animals is closely connected. They prefer waters with a gentle current. They live in burrows or caves near water. True, there are exceptions. For example, a cat otter can settle on sea coasts.

Otters can only live in clean waters. Therefore, pollution greatly reduced the number of the species.

What does an otter eat

Otters are considered remarkable hunters. The body has all the adaptations for hunting in the water. Between the paws of the membrane, and the fur prevents the loss of heat.

The main prey of otters is fish, frogs, crabs, crayfish. Some eat shellfish and birds. When the food runs out, the animal moves to the nearest water bodies. Animals are very agile in the water. They can dive deep and hold their breath for several minutes.
Basically the otter leads night image life, but can appear during the day. They can also hunt for fun: first they catch fish, then they release them.
Otters love to be in the water. They not only hunt there, but also clean their fur. The animals treat the hairline very carefully, because heat-conducting properties depend on its condition. Even with low temperatures animals can spend time in the water.
Otters feed mainly at night. During the day they prefer to rest.

Otters are of great benefit to the fish industry. They eat non-commercial fish that feed on caviar and fry.

Otter breeding

The breeding season for otters falls in the spring. Pregnancy lasts about 60 days. Usually females bring 2-4 babies. They are born blind and covered in fur. The weight is only 100 grams. At two weeks old, babies can crawl. Two months after birth, they grow teeth and little otters learn to swim. Children become independent at 6 months, but for some time they are near their mother.

At the age of 12 months, otters leave in search of other habitats. They can live both alone and in small groups.

Otters live for about 15 years, but often die earlier. Otters are very brave animals. If it is necessary to protect herself or her cub, she can attack a large animal.
In captivity, animals are quickly tamed. They are very affectionate and love to play. Able to quickly learn the commands of the educator.

Otter Enemies

Otters have many enemies. It all depends on where you live. It can be crocodiles, wolves, birds of prey, jaguars. But most of all, otters suffer from hunger. They can not affect the lack of fish in any way. Therefore, most often they can be found in corners untouched by man. Since the proximity of people and pollution of water bodies reduces food supplies.

AT last years the number of otters has greatly decreased. The reason for this is poaching, especially in winter time. These animals suffer greatly at the hands of man. Mostly because of the fur, which is considered the most durable and highly valued. Therefore, otters are constantly hunted. In many places, the number has decreased precisely for this reason.

In addition, the numbers were affected by oil spills and pollution. Also, many representatives of the species die in fishing nets. On the this moment there are less than a thousand individuals worldwide.

In most European countries otters are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Book. Special measures are being taken to save them.

, or common otter, or or piston(lat. Lutra lutra) - view predatory mammals marten family, leading a semi-aquatic lifestyle; one of the three species of the otter genus (Lutra). In the literature, the word "otter" usually refers to this particular species.

This is the only representative of a large group of semi-aquatic predatory mammals from the mustelid family in our country, living in fresh water bodies - rivers and lakes. The closest relatives of our otter live in the tropics South-East Asia and Africa.

Appearance

Otter - large animal with an elongated flexible body of a streamlined shape. Body length - 55-95 cm, tail - 26-55 cm, weight - 6-10 kg, an animal with a very characteristic appearance, reflecting adaptability to life in water. The body is strongly elongated and relatively thin, very flexible. The tail is long (about half the length of the body), very thick at the base and tapering towards the end. The paws are short, which makes the animal look squat, the fingers are connected by swimming membranes. The neck is rather long, only slightly narrower than the body. The head is small, narrow, strongly flattened, the eyes are oriented forward and upward (almost like those of seals), the rounded ears are short and widely spaced. In water, the external auditory meatus is closed by a special valve.

Fur color: dark brown above, light silver below. The guard hairs are coarse, but the underfur is very thick and delicate. The density of the woolly cover can reach 51 thousand per 1 cm2. Such a high density of the undercoat makes the fur completely impervious to water and perfectly insulates the body of the animal, protecting it from hypothermia. The body structure of the otter is adapted for swimming under water: a flat head, short legs, a long tail.

In summer, the fur is only slightly shorter and sparser than in winter. Covering hairs in their terminal third are wide and flattened, as if covering downy hairs, protecting them from getting wet in water. The feet and hands are bare underneath.

Spreading

The most widespread member of the otter subfamily. It is found in a vast area, covering almost all of Europe (except the Netherlands and Switzerland), Asia (except Arabian Peninsula) and North Africa. In Russia, it is found everywhere, including on Far North in the Magadan region, in Chukotka.

Lifestyle and nutrition

Water is vital for the otter: in it she gets food, seeks salvation from danger. But the land also has otters in its life great importance: on it the beast arranges shelters and breeds, rests, makes transitions between reservoirs. In our area, the main factor on which the presence of the otter depends is the presence of water bodies that do not completely freeze in cold weather: in winter, polynyas and "vents" through which it penetrates into the water are important for its survival. A powerful ice cover is an insurmountable barrier for the otter, making it impossible to obtain underwater food (and this predator hardly hunts on land).

The otter leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle, perfectly swimming, diving and getting its food in the water. An otter can stay underwater for up to 2 minutes.

It lives mainly in forest rivers, rich in fish, less often - in lakes and ponds. Found on sea ​​coast. Prefers rivers with whirlpools, with rapids that do not freeze in winter, with washed-out, littered with windbreak banks, where there are many reliable shelters and places for burrowing. Sometimes he makes his lairs in caves or, like a nest, in thickets near the water. The entrance holes of its holes open under water.

The hunting grounds of one otter in summer make up a section of the river from 2 to 18 km long and about 100 m deep into the coastal zone. In winter, with the depletion of fish stocks and the freezing of polynyas, it is forced to roam, sometimes crossing high watersheds straight across. At the same time, the otter descends from the slopes, rolling down on its belly, leaving a characteristic trace in the form of a gutter. It travels up to 15-20 km per day on ice and snow.

Where the otter is not pursued by hunters, she, unlike the mink, prefers rivers with clear water, fast current and rocky channel, rivers with steep overhanging banks, bypassing bodies of water with stagnant or slowly flowing opaque water, silted or overgrown with aquatic vegetation. In quiet places, this beast settles even on the outskirts of large cities. However, in places where the otter is actively hunted, it prefers the most remote places - forests with dense undergrowth, reed beds, weaves of tugai. There, the otter settles in small rivers with cluttered channels, blockages and deadwood crevices. This sometimes prevents the otter from hunting, but it makes such places hardly accessible to humans.

The habitat of the river otter, individual or family, is small, limited by a narrow coastal strip, the width of which rarely exceeds 200-300 meters. In reservoirs rich in food, this predator lives settledly in the territory stretching along the river for 2-5 kilometers. Where there is little food, the territory occupied by the animal may consist of separate hunting areas, which it looks at once every 2-3 days. Certain places the owner marks his territory with urine and excrement (that is why sometimes they are not quite correctly called “otter latrines”), but relations between neighbors are quite peaceful. And in unfavorable periods of life, the boundaries between habitats practically disappear: animals gather in places where there is more food or it is more accessible, hunt next to each other, and use the same convenient entry under the ice.

AT Hard times the otter turns into an avid traveler, and in different regions the reasons that prompt the animal to change its place of residence can be completely different. In the north, the otter starts moving due to the unfavorable ice regime: the animal leads a virtually semi-nomadic lifestyle in winter, moving from polynya to polynya, from one reservoir to another for a distance of up to 30 kilometers, in some places even up to 60 kilometers. In the lower reaches of the rivers, where floods are high, the otter is forced to make spring migrations and returns to inhabited places only with the descent of hollow waters. AT Central Asia migrations, on the contrary, are caused by summer shallowing and drying up of water bodies: the otter goes to where more water. In the Far East, the movement of otters from one river to another is usually associated with the spawning run of red fish: in the middle of summer, the fish-eating predator rises after the prey to the upper reaches of the rivers, in the fall it “rolls down” to the lower reaches after it.

In its habitat, the otter equips one permanent hole and several temporary shelters and shelters. She usually digs a hole in the steep bank, even if it is not high; if possible, occupies someone else's. In winter, the otter's refuge is located near a polynya or under a canopy of a steep bank under the ice surface, where an empty space forms between the ice and receded water. The burrow opening opens under water at a depth of about half a meter. An inclined passage up to 2 meters long leads to the nesting chamber, which is always located above the water level and lined with dry grass, foliage, and moss. From the chamber to the surface of the earth, the otter breaks through 1-2 small vents that serve for ventilation. In lowlands, where low banks and high level groundwater does not allow digging suitable burrows, it arranges shelters in high creases of reeds or deadwood, in piles of "fin" half-buried by sand or dried silt - trunks and branches of trees brought ashore. In well-defended nooks and crannies, the otter breeds her young even in ground-based dens set up under folds.
The otter can be active around the clock, but most often it can be seen at dusk in the morning and evening. Activity increases markedly on quiet moonlit nights, and in winter when the weather is mild. During the darkest autumn nights and in winter, the predator often fishes during daylight hours, when it is better to see under water. Otters are least willing to leave their shelters in strong winds, especially if a blizzard is spinning or rain is pouring.

On land, the otter, moving in steps, trots or jumps, hunches heavily and therefore seems somewhat awkward. However, a person can hardly catch up with a running otter, especially along a viscous shore or snow: the beast can reach speeds of up to 25 km / h. In the water, the movements of the otter are fast, dexterous and confident. When swimming slowly, it usually rows with its paws, and when moving quickly, it presses its legs to the body and moves forward with energetic serpentine movements of the entire body and tail. She dives instantly, often with a strong splash, but if necessary, she goes under water completely silently. In case of danger, the otter takes in air in a split second, sometimes for this she only needs to put the tip of her muzzle out of the water. Under water, it can be up to 5 minutes: the path of a dived otter can be traced by the bubbles of air exhaled by it.

This predator is very secretive and cautious, especially on land. Before leaving the water, the animal is sure to look around, and usually covers the places of landfall with a fin or branches. Bypassing his site, the otter where it goes by the shore, and where it moves by swimming. She prefers the water way, going downstream, and bypasses areas with rifts and rapids on dry land. Climbing along the bank upstream of a winding river, this smart beast often takes a short cut, crossing the bends at the narrowest point. The paths of such regular transitions are marked by well-marked paths along which the otter runs quickly without stopping. Having reached the water, the animal goes into it from the path rapidly, and from the steep bank it simply rolls down on its belly. The paths trodden by an otter are easy to distinguish from those laid by her neighbors - river beavers: they usually run along the coast close to the water, and beavers always run perpendicular to the coastline. Otter tracks on wet coastal ground or on snow are also difficult to confuse with others: paws leave imprints of interdigital membranes, a dash from a trailing tail stretches between a double chain of tracks.

The otter is very mobile. With a cheerful disposition, she gives a lot of time different kind games, especially likes to ride from hills. Both kids and adults, having fun, slide down the coastal slope many times and flop into the water. In such places, “rolling hills” are formed - descents smoothly polished by animal bodies on steep banks from 5 to 20 meters long. On dense snow, the animal from time to time, having run up, slides on its belly, driving 2-3 meters, and down the slope and all 20-30 meters, leaving behind a characteristic groove. However, sometimes this is not only a game, but also a way of squeezing out the fur, which is also characteristic of the mink.

The river otter is a typical fish-eater. In the Volga delta, she prefers carp, as well as pikes, it is easy for an otter to hunt them in almost stagnant water of countless canals overgrown with reeds. AT northern rivers favorite "dish" - char and grayling, living mainly on the shallows, and the inhabitants of the whirlpools of whitefish and ide come across on her table not so often. On the Murmansk coast, the predator feeds mainly on cod, brown trout, and on the Kola Peninsula - trout and the same pike. The otter prefers small fish to large ones; in spawning places, it readily catches grown fry. However, one burbot, caught by an otter in Pechora, pulled 4 kilograms.

The winter food of the otter is mainly frogs, which it hardly touches during the ice-free period. So, in the lower reaches of the Volga in winter, these amphibians make up about half of its diet, but in the spring, when frogs are more active and no less available, the otter still prefers to hunt fish. With a lack of basic food, the animal eats large mollusks, mainly toothless. In rivers where there are a lot of crayfish, she eats these with pleasure. aquatic life, and in the south of Siberia it picks up from the bottom of mountain rivers teeming there in summer time caddis larvae. Only as an exception, she catches near the water small mammals (water vole, cutor) and birds (ducks, shepherds).

The main methods of otter hunting for fish are stalking and stalking. On shallow rifts, the predator guards prey on stones or fallen trees, and sometimes on the shore. An otter and a water rat lie in wait at her holes. She pursues mainly schooling and not too mobile fish, which are easier to catch up with. Often the predator visits “fish pits” - whirlpools with calm water, in which sedentary fish accumulate for overnight stays. There are almost always otter outcrops near these places on the shore. AT deep places she sometimes attacks fish or waterfowl from below, swimming up to them on her back. Under water, she always grabs prey with her mouth, not her paws.

An otter normally eats about 1 kilogram of fish per day. Catching a trifle, she is forced to hunt in several steps, but if she manages to catch big booty, the otter is saturated to next night. Having seized the fish, the predator usually eats it on the shore or on a stone protruding from the water, in winter - on the edge of the polynya. As an avid gourmet, she eats only freshly caught prey, does not hide the leftovers that she has not eaten and does not return to them anymore. Even the numerous corpses of spawned salmon otters brought ashore by the current are almost never touched by the otter. Therefore, she does not make stocks for the future: stories about finding “fish warehouses”, allegedly arranged by an otter, are the fruit of idle speculation.

Social structure and reproduction

Sexual maturity in otters occurs in the second or third year of life.

Otter breeding is not confined to a specific season of the year, especially in places with a temperate or warm climate. So, in the south of Siberia, hunters found young otters the size of a cat both in July and December. During the rut, males, usually silent, emit a peculiar whistle. Intrauterine development proceeds with a delay, childbirth occurs 7-8 months after mating. The fertility of this animal is low - most often 2-4 cubs are born. Otters develop quite quickly: they begin to see for 9-10 days, by 10 months they weigh about 4 kilograms. The cubs spend the entire first year of life with the female. She is very attached to the young, in case of danger she protects them, sometimes even attacks first, including people. One day, a mother with two cubs, caught by fishermen on a boat in a narrow channel, boldly rushed to protect her offspring, so that she had to be repulsed by a pole, pretty much bitten by her. Only when people left the channel, the female returned to the cubs left in the thick of the flooded bushes.

Baby otters are called pups.

Economic importance

Although in nature the otter avoids humans, in captivity it is easily tamed, in the highest degree friendly. In southern countries locals sometimes tamed otters are used to catch fish.
This predator has beautiful, durable and warm fur. Previously, the otter was hunted very intensively, which led to sad consequences for it. For example, in the southern Kuriles, hunters completely destroyed the otter. At one time, the otter was also exterminated for the alleged harm allegedly caused fish farms, although in fact the basis of its nutrition is the so-called “weed fish”, which is of no particular importance to humans. In recent decades, hunting for it is limited everywhere. And yet in Europe, its number is steadily declining. The number of otters is extremely negatively affected by deforestation over large areas and the resulting decrease in the water level of rivers, as well as irrigation work - drainage, regulation of flow.

In some parts of Bangladesh, otters are used as hunting animals - they drive fish into fishermen's nets (while adults are kept on long leather leashes, and young ones swim freely - they still will not swim away from their parents).

Population status and protection

Hunting and use in agriculture pesticides have reduced the number of otters. In 2000, the common otter was redlisted by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as a "vulnerable" species.

A person has met a river otter for a long time. It was very difficult not to notice this animal with the skills of a born swimmer. The otter is of interest not only because of its practical and durable fur. This is a very friendly creature that can be kept in captivity without any problems. With proper upbringing, a river otter can be trained quite easily, as it is a rather peaceful animal that is not inclined to show aggression towards humans.

Characteristic

Insofar as river otter spends most of its life in the water This was reflected in her behavior and habits.

• This animal belongs to the mustelid family, so it demonstrates the skills of a cunning hunter characteristic of its representatives.
• The food for this animal is fish, which it is not difficult for an otter to catch up with.
• While moving on land, the body of the animal looks slightly hunched, but even this allows it to develop a high running speed.
• If a person meets an otter on the ground, then she can still run away from him.
• The best place to build a dwelling are deaf places where people rarely visit. Even though there will be little food in the place of residence, the otter is more than satisfied, since this guarantees the safety of not only him, but also his offspring.
• This animal usually goes hunting in the morning and evening twilight. During strong wind and snowfalls, the otter prefers not to go outside and stays in its shelter for a long time.
• The otter is a very secretive and cautious animal that looks around all the time. It is very difficult to meet an otter in an open area on the shore. She also demonstrates stealth when arranging her house, masking the way out of the water with spruce branches or creating it in those places overgrown with shrubs.
• The river otter is a rather good-natured animal that loves to play. Therefore, if you decide to have it in your home, then you will not be bored.

Appearance

When someone mentions an otter, we usually associate it with something that looks ugly. However, this animal does not correspond to this idea. She is looks pretty attractive, having a very funny muzzle that looks beautiful thanks to long sideburns.

This animal highly valued for its durable and waterproof fur, which is an excellent material for making warm and beautiful fur coats.

Habitat

Otter can be found throughout Western Europe and also in Asia. She is also not a rare guest near the southern border of Hindustan and China. The first representatives of this species were found in Greece, Spain, Great Britain and Switzerland, but rather soon their population disappeared, which was the result of active hunting for them. Professionals who understand high risk complete disappearance otters are trying to create suitable housing for them on the lakes and reservoirs of these countries, but so far their attempts have not been particularly successful, and the otter is still on the list of endangered species.

This animal feels most comfortable on rivers with a fast current and a rocky bottom. She is likes narrow rivers about 10-15 m.

Today, the river otter has about 90 thousand individuals, which is very small, given the area of ​​\u200b\u200bour planet.

Key Features

The otter differs from other representatives of the mustelid family in that it spends most of its time in the water. Therefore, she chooses for herself such habitats where there is a reservoir. According to experts, it is very important for this animal to have enough food, for which it can walk tens of kilometers on land. She is not inclined long time be in one place. It can only be kept by the presence of a sufficient amount of food.

The otter differs from other animals in that it and stays awake in winter. Therefore, at this time of the year, it can be seen near non-freezing water areas. Thanks to the presence of the polynya, this animal can lead its normal life, breathe and walk on land after a successful hunt.

Nutrition

This animal is not picky about food, so it can eat various types of fish. The main food for otters are:

• carp;
• trout;
• pike;
• small roach;
• carp.

When an otter is on land, it hunts rodents, wading birds and frogs. Also, she will not refuse a large beetle and mollusk.

In search of food, this animal can also look into the fish hole, in which you can find many various kinds fish. An easy prey for the otter are slow-moving flocks, which it easily catches up with and, being in the thick of the maliks, grabs the largest specimens.

Lonely predatory fish can also be of interest to the otter: in order to catch them, the otter sets up an ambush, from where it makes a lightning attack, as a result of which the victim has no chance to escape. She uses a similar tactic for hunting small rodents.

reproduction

Animals accustomed to living alone. Scholars do not have precise information about the periods in which they are usually disputed. Here it is necessary to take into account the climate of their habitat. In the temperate zone, these animals usually mate in March-April. But in Britain, as well as countries with a warm climate, these animals can bear offspring all year round.

Usually the otter starts breeding at the age of 2-3 years. The duration of pregnancy is approximately 8 months, and this does not allow maintaining a high number of representatives of this species. The female can bring at one time no more than two or four cubs. In the first years, offspring require special attention, since it must be protected not only from enemies, but also from the vagaries of the weather.

An otter mother during the period of bearing cubs demonstrates amazing caringness: she is ready to attack anyone if she has any suspicions that someone wants to harm her babies. Because of rapid growth Otters do not stay with their mother for very long. Already upon reaching the age of one year, they leave their mother and begin an independent life.

If you want to adopt an otter, we advise you not to. But if you are determined, you can try. But keep in mind that you must create suitable conditions for this animal: the presence of a deep reservoir with clean water. You must also create conditions for walking the animal along the shore.

Unlike other pets, the otter empties very frequently and loose stools which emits an unpleasant odour. This is due to the fact that she eats fish. This is another reason to think about whether to start an otter at home.

On an industrial scale, these animals are bred in large nurseries, where conditions are created that practically do not differ from natural ones. But even with appropriate care, even experienced breeders are not able to provide everyone with fur products. The thing is that these animals too rarely bring offspring.

They are valued primarily for expensive and rare fur. Many experts note that the fur of this animal is unrivaled in terms of wear resistance. Black fur products have the most spectacular appearance. They have coarse outer hair, but at the same time they have very soft and fluffy. If necessary, designers can create real masterpieces from otter fur: for this they pluck out the outer hair, as a result they get unusual beauty products covered with the most delicate underfur.

Conclusion

The river otter is a very interesting animal, which is very difficult to meet, even knowing about its habits. The fact is that she behaves very secretly and never settles near human dwellings. At the first suspicion that she is being watched, she will immediately hide in her shelter. Therefore, it must be monitored very carefully. The river otter may seem like a funny animal to someone, so you may want to have it in the house. However, it is not recommended to do this, as this is a very troublesome business.

In addition to the fact that you have to create conditions for her as close to natural as possible, this animal can cause trouble with its frequent bowel movements which will give off an unpleasant odour. Therefore, if you have not yet lost the desire to keep a river otter at home, be prepared to put up with this shortcoming.

The otter is a semi-aquatic animal and a real thunderstorm of fish. She swims and dives beautifully, which makes it easy to keep up with any large and small fish.

Once this beast inhabited almost the entire Earth where there were fish. The only exceptions were Antarctica, Australia and some islands in the extreme South and North. Otters were common representatives river fauna Europe, Asia, America and North Africa. But people saw them as competitors in catching fish, and the northern peoples also appreciated their waterproof fur. Otters were so mercilessly destroyed that today it is a great success to see the animal in their former habitats. Only in Alaska and Siberia they can be found everywhere.

Places where different types of otters live

The most famous and widespread European otter, or common river otter, inhabits North Africa, Europe (besides Switzerland and the Netherlands) and Asia, not found only on the Arabian Peninsula.

In South America, there is a record-breaking otter for length and weight among representatives of the subfamily - giant, or. The length of her body without a tail reaches 150 cm, the tail is 70 cm long, and her body weight is about 30 kg. The main difference between the giant otter and other relatives is its flattened tail. Brazilian otters live in small family groups in quiet rivers: the Amazon and Orinoco. They communicate with each other with different sounds. To notify the family of their presence, otters scream sharply and emerge from the water.

Three more species of the otter subfamily inhabit the Central and South America, these are: southern, long-tailed and cat otter. The Canadian otter lives in North America, which differs from the common otter only large size and the structure of the skull. The Canadian otter can weigh up to 14 kg.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the mottled, white-throated, or spotted otter lives; in Indochina and the Malay Archipelago, the Sumatran otter; and in Southeast Asia, the Indian otter. Also in these parts of the world you can see different types clawless otters.

otter dwelling

Otters spend most of their lives in the water looking for food. But to breed and rest after a hard day go to land. Otters live in burrows near the shores of the reservoir in which they live. The otter builds its dwelling in such a way that it can immediately get into the water from it.

Mammals have adapted to life in ground-air, soil and aquatic environments life, there are flying animals. In various natural and climatic zones, mammals inhabit forests, meadows, steppes, deserts, and mountains. They live along the banks of reservoirs, in rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. According to the way of life, mammals are combined into several ecological groups. Animals of the same ecological group have characteristic features of the structure, life, behavior (Fig. 218). (For an explanation of the name "ecological group" see § 49, in an essay on the ecological groups of birds.)

Typically land mammals inhabit forests and open spaces. They have a proportionally folded strong body, well-developed high limbs, a muscular neck. They move by walking, running and jumping. The signs of the group are most pronounced in fast-running animals.

Among land animals there are many herbivorous species - these are deer, horses, antelopes, goats, rams, etc. Mammals that feed on branches and leaves of trees have special adaptations. So, the giraffe has a well-developed neck. This allows him to pluck leaves that are inaccessible to other land animals, to see well and to detect enemies in time. Elephants have a powerful compact body, a massive head and a short neck, offset by a long movable trunk.

Predatory animals that lie in wait for prey, for example, a lion, a tiger, a lynx, do not have such long legs like those who run. Relatively long legs in predators chasing prey, such as the wolf and cheetah.

Jumping mammals - hare, jerboa, kangaroo have long strong hind legs and shortened, weaker front legs.

In kangaroos, the weak front legs have lost their support value when landing after a jump. On the other hand, a long tail is developed, on which the animal leans during slow movement, and during large jumps it plays the role of a balancer and a rudder.

Land-arboreal mammals live in forests and are associated with woody-shrub vegetation. They make nests in trees and feed both on the ground and in trees. These animals have an elongated, strong and flexible body, shortened limbs, armed with sharp claws.

Rice. 218. Animals leading different image life: 1 - protein; 2- Noble deer; 3 - bat; 4 - badger; 5 - mole; 6 - wild boar; 7- fur seal; 8 - dolphin

This group includes pine marten, sable, squirrel, chipmunk. Many small terrestrial-arboreal species have a well-developed tail with long spinous hairs, which facilitates gliding jumps. The flying squirrel has a leathery fold on the sides of the body, which improves gliding capabilities.

Soil mammals are adapted to a burrowing lifestyle. Many species spend most of their time underground, rarely appearing on the surface.

The body of shrews is short, valky, the cervical region is invisible, the tail is reduced. The fur is short, dense, without guard hairs, the legs are short with strong muscles and big claws. The auricles are reduced. Vision is poorly developed, and in some underground animals (for example, in a mole rat), the eyes are hidden under the skin. The sense of smell and touch are well developed in shrews. The mole digs the earth with strong, outward-turning spade-shaped forelimbs and pushes the earth to the surface with its head. The mole rat digs the ground with large, protruding incisors.

Flying mammals have fully mastered the air environment - they have adapted to flight. This group includes representatives of the order Chiroptera. Their forelimbs are turned into mobile wings. The flying membrane is stretched between the strongly elongated bones of the hand of the forelimb, the trunk, the hind limb, and even the tail. In fast-flying animals, for example, in the red evening, the wings are long and narrow; in slow-flying ears, they are wide and blunt. In connection with flight, the pectoral muscles are well developed in bats, which, like in birds, are attached to the sternum keel and wing bones. The bats catch insects in the air. Some of them, like birds, make seasonal migrations: fly to warm areas for wintering. All bats have well-developed hearing organs with large auricles that provide echolocation.

Aquatic and semi-aquatic mammals - cetaceans and pinnipeds - are typical aquatic animals. Whales have completely lost contact with land. They have a streamlined fish-like body, the head merges with the body: the cervical region is absent. The caudal fin serves as the organ of movement. The forelimbs, modified into flippers, act as rudders. The hind limbs are reduced. The auricles have disappeared, the external auditory canal is closed, the nasal openings are closed with valves, there is no coat. Well developed subcutaneous fat, providing thermal insulation. In connection with feeding on planktonic organisms, baleen whales lost their teeth and developed a special filtering apparatus, consisting of numerous horny plates, the so-called whalebone.

Pinnipeds spend most of their lives in the water. However, they have not lost touch with the land: they come out onto land, to rookeries, during the breeding season.

Pinnipeds have two pairs of flippers that take part in movement in the water. The coat is reduced, although the cubs are born covered with thick fur. A thick layer of subcutaneous fat plays a thermally insulating role.

Mammals leading a semi-aquatic lifestyle belong to various systematic groups and use different foods. However, they have common features in connection with a semi-aquatic lifestyle: the limbs are equipped with swimming membranes, the tail in the water acts as a rudder, the coat is well developed, there is a thick warm undercoat. Animals leading a semi-aquatic lifestyle carefully take care of the wool: they disassemble, comb, lubricate with the oily secretion of the skin glands. Mammals that lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle include the platypus, muskrat, beaver, otter, muskrat, etc. They swim and dive perfectly in water, move freely on land, although they are noticeably inferior in speed to typical land animals.

Among terrestrial, soil, aquatic, semi-aquatic and flying animals there are representatives of different orders and families. They have similar adaptive (adaptive) features to similar habitat conditions, constitute separate environmental groups.

Lesson learned exercises

1. List the main ecological groups of animals. Specify the main representatives of each of them.
2. What common features in external structure and behavior do running and jumping mammals of open spaces have?
3. What are the features of adaptations to a tree-climbing lifestyle in animals using several examples.
4. What is characteristic of burrowing animals? Verify with examples.
5. What are the common features of aquatic mammals?