North American River Otter
The river otter is a smart, semiaquatic mammal from northern North America. It has short, very dense fur. Their colors vary from gray to brown, with a lighter underbody.
The river otter measures from 66 to 107 cm and weighs from 5 to 14 kg. This carnivore eats mostly fish, turtles, frogs, crayfish, and insects.
They live in aquatic habitats in the northern part of North America. Their lifespan is 8 to 9 years in the wild and 15 to 20 years in captivity.
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Dolphin Jumping Out The Water
How Do Dolphins Jump Out of the Water?
Dolphins jump out of the water, and for them to do this, they need to be swimming at a swift pace. They push themselves and up through the surface of the water at high velocity. Dolphins get to the speed they require by swimming down below the surface and then swimming upwards from a distance.
After reaching the surface, they can break through, leaping through the air. Dolphins are mammals, and they breathe with their lungs as we do. Dolphins do not have gills like fish.
Dolphins need to breathe oxygen from the air but also remain in the water. Jumping out of the water allows the dolphin to remain wet while also taking in oxygen.
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Bison Bonasus
The American bison or simply bison (Bison bison), also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo, is an American species of bison that once roamed North America in vast herds. Its historical range, by 9000 BC, is described as the great bison belt, a tract of rich grassland that ran from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico, east to the Atlantic Seaboard (nearly to the Atlantic tidewater in some areas) as far north as New York and south to Georgia and, according to some sources, further south to Florida, with sightings in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as 1750. It nearly became extinct by a combination of commercial hunting and slaughter in the 19th century and introduction of bovine diseases from domestic cattle. With a population in excess of 60 million in the late 18th century, the species was down to just 541 animals by 1889. Recovery efforts expanded in the mid-20th century, with a resurgence to roughly 31,000 wild bison today, largely restricted to a few national parks and reserves. Through multiple reintroductions, the species is now also freely roaming wild in some regions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with it also being introduced to Yakutia in Russia.
Two subspecies or ecotypes have been described: the plains bison, smaller in size and with a more rounded hump, and the wood bison —the larger of the two and having a taller, square hump. Furthermore, the plains bison has been suggested to consist of a northern plains and a southern plains subspecies, bringing the total to three. However, this is generally not supported. The wood bison is one of the largest wild species of extant bovid in the world, surpassed only by the Asian gaur. Among extant land animals in North America, the bison is the heaviest and the longest, and the second tallest after the moose.
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Bear Catches Salmon In The River
From mid-July to early September, a waterfall in the US becomes an ideal place for grizzly bears to hunt when millions of trout cross the falls to reach the spawning area.
Brooks Falls is located on the river of the same name in the Katmai National Park and Reserve in the state of Alaska, USA. This is an ideal salmon hunting location for grizzly bears.
Brooks is a low waterfall with a height of about 1.8 meters, so salmon can easily overcome the waterfall to enter the Brooks River. However, this is also the reason why they become prey for grizzly bears.
From mid-July to early September, salmon begin to cross the falls to enter Brooks Lake - which is about 2.4 km from the falls - to spawn. They become potential prey for grizzly bears.
Before the 1950s, only about 6 to 7 grizzly bears hunted trout at Brooks Falls. Since the establishment of Katmai National Park, the number of grizzly bears has increased rapidly.
Most grizzly bears prefer solitary activity. They only gather when there is an abundant food source but still follow the hierarchical division in the herd.
The amount of nutrients grizzly bears accumulate during the spawning period is equivalent to the amount of nutrients they accumulate for the rest of the year.
At the end of August, when the spawning season was nearing its end, the salmon began to die. The grizzly bears turned to find dead fish in the calm waters of the lower Brooks River.
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Harbor Seal
The harbor (or harbour) seal (Phoca vitulina), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared seals, and true seals), they are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic, Pacific Oceans, Baltic and North Seas.
Harbor seals are brown, silvery white, tan, or gray, with distinctive V-shaped nostrils. An adult can attain a length of 1.85 m (6.1 ft) and a mass of up to 168 kg (370 lb). Blubber under the seal's skin helps to maintain body temperature. Females outlive males (30–35 years versus 20–25 years). Harbor seals stick to familiar resting spots or haulout sites, generally rocky areas (although ice, sand, and mud may also be used) where they are protected from adverse weather conditions and predation, near a foraging area. Males may fight over mates under water and on land. Females bear a single pup after a nine-month gestation, which they care for alone. Pups can weigh up to 16 kg (35 lb) and are able to swim and dive within hours of birth. They develop quickly on their mothers' fat-rich milk, and are weaned after four to six weeks.
The global population of harbor seals is 350,000–500,000, but subspecies in certain habitats are threatened. Once a common practice, sealing is now illegal in many nations within the animal's range.
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Great White Shark
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is notable for its size, with larger female individuals growing to 6.1 m (20 ft) in length and 1,905–2,268 kg (4,200–5,000 lb) in weight at maturity. However, most are smaller; males measure 3.4 to 4.0 m (11 to 13 ft), and females measure 4.6 to 4.9 m (15 to 16 ft) on average. According to a 2014 study, the lifespan of great white sharks is estimated to be as long as 70 years or more, well above previous estimates, making it one of the longest lived cartilaginous fishes currently known. According to the same study, male great white sharks take 26 years to reach sexual maturity, while the females take 33 years to be ready to produce offspring. Great white sharks can swim at speeds of 25 km/hr (16 mph) for short bursts and to depths of 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
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