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DISCLAIMER: I am a proud Docent at the AMNH. The content of this program (and my website) does not represent the Museum in any official capacity. This presentation and my website are a personal labor of love. They represent a lifelong interest in the natural sciences and a Museum that has been the foundation for a lifetime of learning. I urge you to visit the American Museum of Natural History’s website for further information about exhibitions and the sciences: www.amnh.org
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California Grizzly Bear
Recommended Media
Dioramas
When you look at a diorama, you are looking at:
• a BACKGROUND PAINTING• FOREGROUND art• TAXIDERMY
You are also experiencing:• SCIENCE• ART• HISTORY
Ten Highlighted Dioramas:
Quick Facts:
• Approximately 150 dioramas in the AMERICAN Museum OF NATURAL HISTORY• 43 dioramas in the Hall of North American Mammals• Takes about 1½ to 2 years to PLAN AND create a diorama
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1. Caribou (Reindeer)
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2. Big Horn Sheep
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3. Musk Oxen
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4. Bison, et al
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5. Alaskan Brown Bear
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6. California Grizzly Bear
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7. Alaskan Moose
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8. Mountain Lion (Cougar)
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9. Jaguar
The following information is adapted from: Wikipedia, Stephen Quinn's book Windows to Nature, and The Peterson Guide to North American Mammals
- 1. CARIBOU/REINDEER:
- • Ungulates are a diverse group of large mammals that includes horses, cattle, pigs, giraffes, camels, deer, and hippopotamuses. Most terrestrial ungulates use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving.
- • Deer (singular and plural) are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the family include the white-tailed deer, mule deer (such as the black-tailed deer), elk, moose, red deer, reindeer (caribou), fallow deer, roe deer, pudúand chital. Male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer) and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year. (Only female reindeer have antlers.)
- • The caribou is a specialist that is well adapted to cooler climates with hollow-hair fur that covers almost all of its body including its nose, and provides insulation in winter and flotation for swimming.
- • Caribou can reach a speed of 60–80 km/h (37–50 mph). Young caribou can already outrun an Olympic sprinter when only a day old. The caribou's favorite winter food is.
- • Seventy percent of the diet of woodland caribou consists of arboreal lichen which takes hundreds of years to grow and are therefore only found in mature forests.
- • Long migrations: Some populations of the North American caribou migrate the farthest of any terrestrial mammal, traveling over 5,000 km (3,100 mi) a year, and covering 1,000,000 square kilometers (390,000 square miles).
- Antlers are extensions of the skull grown by members of the deer family. They are true bone structures that usually grow in symmetrical pairs. In most species, only the male grows antlers and their primary function is to increase his likelihood of sexual selection by attracting females or helping him fight other males.
- A horn is a pointed projection on the head of various animals consisting of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone. In mammals, true horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reindeer
- 2. BIG HORN SHEEP:
- • The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species native to North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to 30 lb (14 kg), while the sheep themselves weigh up to 300 lb (140 kg). https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Bighorn-Sheep
- 3. MUSK OX
- A story of politics: Frances Lee Jaques created the original design for the hall in 1929. He was acting head of the Exhibition Department while James Clark was on an expedition. When Clark returned, he was so threatened that he cut Jaques out of all aspects of designing the hall. The President Roy Chapman Andrews insisted that Jaques be allowed to do some of the work—and assigned him the musk ox background painting. There wasn’t enough money for an exhibition, so the hides used were from a polar expedition by Admiral Robert E. Peary and the background was based on one slightly over-exposed photo of Ellesmere Island from an 1881 expedition. Jaques cleverly turned the over-exposed area into a snowstorm. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/musk-ox and https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskox.main
- 4. BISON AND PRONGHORN
- • The only large diorama in the museum that shows a time other than the time of the Hall, in this case 1842 rather than 1942.
- • Bison were nearly extinct by 1942 (from millions down to a thousand or so). This diorama speaks to the Museum’s commitment to conservation and protection of wildlife.
- • Buffalo is a word that originated with the French fur trappers who called these massive beasts bœufs, meaning ox or bullock
- • The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. It is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae.
- • Prairie dogs are mostly herbivorous burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. The five different species of prairie dogs are: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of ground squirrel, found in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
- • Cowbirds: These birds feed on insects, including the large numbers that may be stirred up by cattle. For the birds to remain mobile and stay with the herd, they have adapted by laying their eggs in other birds' nests. The cowbird will watch for when its host lays eggs, and when the nest is left unattended, the female will come in and lay her own eggs. The female cowbird may continue to observe the nest after laying her eggs. If the cowbird egg is removed, the female cowbird may destroy the host's eggs (see "Mafia hypothesis" for an explanation of this behavior). PRONHORN: BISON: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison
- 5. ALASKAN BROWN BEAR
- • Grizzly bears, Alaskan Brown Bears, and Polar Bears are all genetically the same species, Ursus arctos. In fact, they can mate with each other and produce offspring.
- • Although brown bears don’t mingle much, these two have gathered at a stream near Canoe Bay, Alaska, lured by the first fish of the salmon run. The millions of salmon that swim upstream each summer are a huge boon for bears, helping them regain body mass after winter hibernation.
- • Thanks to nutrient-rich salmon, brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula coast and islands are the largest terrestrial carnivores today. Brown bears that live inland (such as the grizzly bears behind you) eat mainly plants—and can be half the size. https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=brownbear.main
- 6. GRIZZLY BEAR
- • Grizzly bears are the same species as the brown bears behind you. Members of this species can grow to very different sizes depending on where they live. The nickname “grizzly” comes from the grizzled, or silver-tipped, hairs on their backs and shoulders.
- • You’d be wise to avoid stumbling upon this scene in the wild. Grizzly bears are unpredictable and may become aggressive if interrupted while eating or tending cubs. This mother is doing both: she’s showing her six-month-olds how to tear open a rotted pine for ants and grubs to eat. https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Grizzly-Bear
- 7. ALASKAN MOOSE
- • Moose are the largest deer in the world. The biggest moose of all live in Alaska, where males can top 1,700 pounds (770 kilograms) and grow antlers 6.8 feet (2.1 meters) wide. Female moose (left) are much smaller and lack antlers.
- • The striking differences between the sexes evolved primarily as a mating strategy. Big antlers signal to a female that a potential mate is of superior quality, which increases her chance of bearing a healthy calf. Males also evaluate antler size when deciding whether to fight over a female. Underequipped challengers will retreat, but equally matched bulls, like these, may battle.
- • Two gigantic males clash for the right to mate with a female (left), interrupting the quiet of this Alaskan peat bog. Rival bulls will shove, clatter, and twist their antlers, and even gore each other—sometimes for hours, and sometimes to the death.
- • Although the cow appears to be a bystander and has little choice in her mate, she actually can sway the outcome. By protesting loudly when courted by an undesired male, she can incite a fight involving the bull she prefers—a larger one who will likely win. The winner will snort in success as the loser retreats, and the victorious pair can then mate without further harassment.
- • Moose are distinguished by the palmate (fan-like) antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. https://alaska.guide/mammal/alces-alces/moose
- 8. MOUNTAIN LION
- • The cougar, also commonly known as the mountain lion, puma, panther, or catamount, is a large feline native to the Americas. Its range, from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America, is the greatest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere.
- • Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park offers an ideal habitat for cougars: shade to escape the heat, rugged terrain in which to ambush prey, and nooks to eat carcasses in private. Typically solitary, males and females travel together only during the few days out of the year when they are mating.
- • These agile cats lived across the United States until European settlers encroached. By the early 1900s, nearly all cougars east of the Rocky Mountains had been exterminated, like most other large predators in North America. Cougars are now making a comeback in some areas—even developed ones, where the risk of conflict with humans is real. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar
- Grand Canyon: View from Point Sublime, North Rim
- The scale of Arizona’s Grand Canyon—both in space and time—is almost inconceivably vast. At its deepest, the canyon’s rock walls plunge more than a mile (1.6 kilometers), carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The oldest rock layer formed 1,840 million years ago. That was long before North America took its current shape and before multicellular life emerged.
- Eventually, the rock layers uplifted, forming a high plateau. The plateau was still rising 17 million years ago when the rivers began to cut channels in the soft rock. The uplifted land made the rivers flow over a steeper grade, accelerating erosion, so the chasm took shape deeply and quickly. By 1.2 million years ago, the layers were all exposed—one of the best visible records of geological history on Earth.
- 9. JAGUAR
- • The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only extant Panthera species native to the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Americas.
- • The jaguar is often described as nocturnal but is more specifically crepuscular (peak activity around dawn and dusk).
- • Like all cats, the jaguar is a carnivore, feeding only on meat.
- • Unlike many other cats, jaguars do not avoid water; in fact, they are quite good swimmers. Rivers provide prey in the form of fish, turtles, or caimans—small, alligator-like animals. Jaguars also eat larger animals such as deer, peccaries, capybaras, and tapirs. They sometimes climb trees to prepare an ambush, killing their prey with one powerful bite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar
- 10. WOLF
- • The wolf (Canis lupus), also known as the gray/grey wolf, is a canine native to the wilderness and remote areas of Eurasia and North America. It is the largest extant member of its family, with males averaging 40 kg (88 lb) and females 35.5–37.7 kg (78–83 lb). It is also distinguished from other Canis species by its less pointed features, particularly on the ears and muzzle. Its winter fur is long and bushy and predominantly a mottled gray color, although nearly pure white, red, and brown to black also occur. There are 38 subspecies of C. lupus.
- • The wolf is the most specialized member of the genus Canis for cooperative big game hunting, its more social nature, and its highly advanced expressive behavior. It is nonetheless closely related enough to smaller Canis species, such as the coyote and golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. It is the only species of Canis to have a range encompassing both Eurasia and North America. It travels in nuclear families of a mated pair and their adult offspring. The wolf is mainly a carnivore and feeds primarily on large wild-hooved animals, though it also eats smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage.
- • The global wolf population (circa 2020) is estimated to be 300,000. It has a long history of association with humans, having been despised and hunted in most pastoral communities because of its attacks on livestock, while conversely being respected in some agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies. Although the fear of wolves is pervasive in many human societies, the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies--but this is rare because wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have developed a fear of humans due to their experiences with hunters and shepherds. https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Gray-Wolf
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10. Gray Wolf