Wild Wise: Coexisting with Carnivores

What is Coexisting with Carnivores? Wild Wise: Coexisting with Carnivores offers you a chance to work with zoo staff and community members to: Create your own scientific investigation about wild carnivores in your community Work in groups to develop solutions and recommendations for real world problems Act as a leader in your community by helping people to coexist with carnivores

What is a carnivore?

American mink eating a crayfish What is a carnivore? A carnivore is an organism that mostly eats meat (flesh of animals). Sometimes carnivores are called predators. Carnivores have biological adaptations that help them hunt Can include birds, mammals, plants, and more! American mink eating a crayfish Venus fly trap

How is “carnivore” different than “Carnivora”? For this program, you will focus on carnivores in the taxonomic order Carnivora that live in your community. How is “carnivore” different than “Carnivora”?

How is “carnivore” different than “Carnivora” How is “carnivore” different than “Carnivora”? “Carnivore” is a general term that can be applied to any plant or animal that eats mostly meat. “Carnivora” is a special scientific classification of mammals that includes over 270 species!

What is special about Carnivora? Carnivora have carnassial teeth: modified molars which are adapted for shearing meat. Some carnivora are omnivores (eat plants and meat) or herbivores (eat only plants)! Carnassial Teeth Raccoons eating apples

Which members of the order Carnivora live in your community?

Which members of the order Carnivora live in your community? Coyote Raccoon Cougar Bobcat Black Bear

What is coexistence?

Coexistence is the state of living in harmony despite having different needs. Coexistence is achieved through: Observation Research Informed decisions Proactive behaviors Wanna be my neighbor?

You will use your research to answer the following questions about coexisting with carnivores in your community. How are carnivores using the natural and human-made resources in our community to meet their needs? How can humans meet their needs while allowing carnivores to meet their needs? (How can humans and carnivores successfully share the landscape?)

What will you do during the Wild Wise: Coexisting with Carnivores program?

Conduct Scientific Research You will research carnivore activity across the landscape in your community. You will gain a better understanding of the roles humans play in changing the landscape.

Conduct Scientific Research You will gain a deeper understanding of how human actions impact carnivore behavior.

Educate Your Community You will share the results of your research with your classmates and with the community! You will provide your community with evidence-based recommendations for positive coexistence with carnivores.

E1: Carnivore Community Mapping

This activity will help you to learn about the landscape features that carnivores use to meet their needs in our communities.

What is a landscape?

Landscape: The visible features of an area of land including natural landscape features and human-made features. Natural landscape features: Includes mountains, hills, plains, lakes, oceans, streams, soils, forests, grasslands, and other animals. Human-made landscape features: Includes agricultural areas, buildings, fences, roads, dams, and people.

What landscape features do you see?

Can you identify those same features on this map?

Make a Carnivore Community Map What is a community map? A research tool that you can use to learn new information about your community. For Coexisting with Carnivores, your community map will show the location of carnivore sightings near your neighborhoods and school. Name: Jenny M. Carnivore Sighted: Bobcat Location: Behind my apartment building near North Fork Issaquah Creek Location Description: Buildings near a forest and creek. When: Morning, June 2017 Notes: The bobcat was running across the sidewalk into the woods.

Make a Carnivore Community Map First, find the location where you saw a carnivore in your community on the map. Mark that location on the map. Jenny’s carnivore sighting is the pink dot.

Make a Carnivore Community Map Second, write a description about your carnivore sighting that has the details shown below. Fill in as much information as you can. If you forget some details, that is okay. Name: Jenny M. Carnivore Sighted: Bobcat Location: Behind my apartment building near North Fork Issaquah Creek Location Description: Buildings near a forest and creek. When: Morning, June 2017 Notes: The bobcat was running across the sidewalk into the woods.

Make a Carnivore Community Map You can include sightings that you learned about from your family, friends, or the news. Every time you learn about a new carnivore sighting, add to the map! You can do this until the end of the school year. Name: Jenny M. Carnivore Sighted: Bobcat Location: Behind my apartment building near North Fork Issaquah Creek Location Description: Buildings near a forest and creek. When: Morning, June 2017 Notes: The bobcat was running across the sidewalk into the woods.