Scientific Name: Tamias striatus
Common Name(s): Chipmunk, Eastern chipmunk

©Gilles Gonthier

Identification:
The chipmunk is a small rodent with grayish to reddish brown fur and a distinguishing yellowish to reddish patch on its rump. They have stripes along their body, which distinguishes them from most other rodents. The chipmunk has five lengthwise dark brown to blackish stripes running from shoulders to rump, each with white fur down the middle. They have a furry tail, which is longer than the chipmunk’s body. They grow to around 12in in length, including the tail, and 2-5oz in weight. Eastern chipmunks have large cheek pouches located on either side of their mouth.

Range:
Tamias striatus is native to the eastern half of the U.S. and southeastern Canada. They can be found throughout the Ozarks and most of Arkansas.

Ecology:
Eastern chipmunks live in open deciduous wooded areas, edges of woodlands, and urbans areas. They prefer to live in rocky areas, areas with brush/log piles, or tickets of shrubs to use as refuge from predators. Chipmunks’ diet is primarily composed of nuts, acorns, bulbs, fruits, berries, seeds, and mushrooms. They also will eat insects, bird eggs, snails, and small immature mammals. Chipmunks build very elaborate underground burrows with multiple entrances. Chipmunks are highly defensive of their burrows and will camouflage them with leaves, sticks, and rocks.

Chipmunks are most active during the warm seasons of summer, spring, and fall. During the winter chipmunks do not fully hibernate but will undergo torpor, waking every couple of weeks to eat some of their food reserves. Chipmunks are adept climbers but mostly forage on the ground. Chipmunks spend most of their time actively foraging throughout the day but are most active in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Food is stored in a cache underground. Caches are marked with olfactory (scent) cues which can be more easily pilfered in moist environments. Therefore, the eastern chipmunks store food in larger caches that can be more easily defended. Sometimes chipmunks may forget about some caches which is beneficial since the seeds will produce plants and provide future food for the chipmunk.

Chipmunks are very solitary except during breeding season by which social interactions are relatively peaceful. Breeding usually occurs twice a year between April and May, and July and August. Females will mate with multiple partners and will stay close to their burrows. Males will widen their home range during mating season and can travel up to 170 meters (~550 feet) to find mates. During each breeding season, chipmunks have between four and five young. Gestation takes 35 days, and they are born blind and hairless. Females wean their young at about 4 weeks and make a new burrow to live in thereafter. Young chipmunks disperse from their burrow about 8 weeks after birth. Females live relatively close to their birth burrow, but males venture further away to set up their territory. Chipmunks reach sexual maturity at about 1 year of age and will live up to 3 years in the wild. They serve as a food source for hawks, owls, foxes, racoons, snakes, weasels, coyotes, bobcats, dogs, and cats.

Special Notes:
Here in Bella Vista, chipmunks can be a welcome guest in our yards. They especially like stone walls and may burrow under porches or walkways. These burrows do not typically cause structural damage and may be a good way to churn and aerate soil. They may also keep other pests at bay, such as insects and garden snails.

Scientific Name: Ursus americanus
Common Name(s): Black bear

©Diginatur

Identification:
The black bear is the most common and smallest species of bear in North America. Most black bears in this region are black in color. Some sub-species found in the northeast, northwest, and Alaska can be brown, cinnamon, and nearly white. Besides color and size, black bears can be distinguished from other bears by their broad skull with a narrow muzzle and small, rounded ears that are set back on its head.
Black bears have relatively large paws with their rear foot length ranging in size from 5.5 to 9 inches which is comparable to much larger polar or brown bears. Their paws are very dexterous, and they can open screw top jars and manipulate doors. Sows (female bears) tend to have a more slender point to their nose and are smaller, weighing around 30% less than males. Males tend to weigh between 130 to 650 pounds, while females weigh between 90-180 pounds. The largest wild black bear record was shot in New Brunswick in 1972 and weighed 1100 pounds!

Range:
Ursus americanus is native to most of North America with a historic range engulfing most of the continent. In the United States it can be found in most of the northern Midwest, northeast, Alaska, the Appalachians, Rocky Mountains, and in parts of southern Missouri and forested regions of Arkansas. There have also been reports of fragmented populations occurring in other regions throughout the United States. Of the bears native to North America, black bears are the most common and widespread. They are rapidly expanding their range in the southeast recolonizing their former range.

Ecology:
The black bears are generalist species with flexible eating, sleeping, and living preferences. Black bears are omnivorous which means it will eat a variety of foods including plants and meat. Black bears are strong climbers that use trees for food, predator evasion, and hibernation. They are most often found in mountains with dense forests with thick understories but can also be found in semi-urban areas near woods.

Black bears are elusive bears which tend to avoid contact with other bigger animals. Black bears have good eyesight and hearing, and a sense of smell that is seven times more sensitive than that of a domestic dog. Larger grizzly bears occupy more open forest habitats, so black bears prefer dense forests. Black bears are more active during the day when they share habitat with brown bears and more active at night when they live near humans. They have few natural predators with a few instances of being predated upon by big cats or brown bears.

Bears reach maturity at age 3 and achieve full size by age 5. Sows undergo a 2-year mating cycle. Mating occurs between May and July depending on the region. Black bears have a 235-day gestation period which includes delayed implantation of the eggs. Fertilized eggs do not implant into the uterine wall until November. This ensures that the cubs are born in late January or early February. Cubs are blind and less than 1 pound when born. They are heavily dependent on their mother for 30 weeks after birth. The average litter has 2 to 3 cubs, but a healthy female can have 4 or more. Cubs become independent between 16 to 18 months when the mother drives them away. She will mate again a few months later. The average lifespan of a black bear is 18 years with the oldest recorded wild black bear being 39 years old.

Special Notes:
Bella Vista has the habitat to support black bears, but they prefer to be further away from human development. Occasional sightings are usually young male bears attempting to establish a territory which have recently been driven away by their mother. For the most part, they are just passing through. As the population continues to increase, bear sightings will likely also increase. They do permanently inhabit the larger undeveloped tracts of land west of Bella Vista.

News Article: Bella Vista Man Has Close Encounter With Bear

Bufo (Anaxyrus) americanus & Bufo (Anaxyrus) fowleri- American & Fowler’s Toad

Scientific Name: Bufo (Anaxyrus) americanus & Bufo (Anaxyrus) fowleri
Common Name(s): American Toad & Fowler’s Toad

©Cephas & ©Christina Butler

Identification:
The American and Fowler’s toads look very similar. Both toads typically have a gray or brown coloration and are 2-3.5 inches long. American toads are sexually dimorphic, which in this case means the males are smaller than the females and have darker throats during the breeding season. The Fowler’s toad has a light stripe down it’s back, but that can be hard to see. A great way to differentiate between the two toads is by counting the number of bumps inside the dark splotches on their bodies. American toads have one or two bumps per splotch, while Fowler’s toads have three or four bumps per splotch. Also, the belly of the Fowler’s toad is usually all white, unlike the American toad’s belly, which is white with black spots. Interestingly, these two species of toads can hybridize making it difficult to identify if they are in the same geographical range.

American (left) and Fowler’s Toad Ranges

Range:
Bufo (Anaxyrus) americanus are one of the more widely distributed Bufo species in North America. Their range extends from Manitoba, parts of Ontario and Quebec, the Maritime Provinces, and southern Newfoundland in the north to Kansas and the Dakotas in the west. Their habitat stretches down across the southeastern United States, but the American toad’s range does not reach Florida. Bofu (Anaxyrus) fowleri is native to the eastern United States, but they are not found in the Coastal Plains of South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida.

Ecology:
The American and Fowler’s toads eat mostly invertebrates, but while the American toad will eat worms, Fowler’s toads will not. Both species of toad can be hunting for their food at night near shallow waters, which they use to breed. American toads are highly adaptable and can be found in almost every habitat, while Fowler’s toads are commonly found only in forested habitats.

Toads produce toxins to protect themselves against predators, but some predators have adapted to tolerate the chemicals in the toxin. Even in the egg and tadpole stage of development these species secrete a toxin to deter predators. American and Fowler’s toads will crouch and stay still to camouflage to avoid predation by those who have adapted to the toxin. The eastern hognose snake is tolerant and specializes in eating American toads.

Breeding in both species of toads usually begins in April, which is marked by a trill call of the male toad to attract a female. Females from both species choose their mate by the male’s call and the quality of breeding territory he possesses. After mating the female American toad lays 4,000-8,000 eggs in two rows, and each row spans from 20-66 feet long. The female Fowler’s toad can lay up to 12,000 eggs. Depending on the temperature, the development of Fowler’s toad tadpoles is a bit slower than that of the American toad if it is cold. Both species of toads reach maturity after two years. While longevity is not in the cards for most toads, some American toads can live to 10 years old, and there is a record of a captive American toad living for 36 years. Fowler’s toads do not fare as well in the wild, only living up to four years.

Special Notes:
Here in Bella Vista, both toads are found near our lakes and streams. Even if you cannot see them, you can identify the toads by their trilling calls. The Fowler’s toad has a short, buzzy, nasal trill that doesn’t last for more than four seconds, while the American toad has a similar trill that is less nasally and lasts from 5-30 seconds or more. It is also likely to have Fowler’s toads living around houses and gardens.