Written and Illustrated by:
Stephanie Weinger
You can find animals everywhere.
You can find them in the North East. In the woods.
Along the river bed.
By the shore of the bay.
Underwater.
You can find them in
the southeast meadows.
Lurking in the swamp.
You can find them roaming the Midwest plains.
Throughout the wetlands.
Climbing the cliffs.
In the desert.
You can find them in the west.
Between the mountains.
On top of waterfalls.
Beside the rocky coast.
On tropical islands.
Animals Everywhere Critter Facts American Beaver Beavers are known to be the largest rodents in North America, weighing up to 60 pounds! Beavers can be found all throughout the northern United States. They use trees and branches to build their homes in ponds, lakes, rivers, marshes and streams.
White-tailed Deer Male deer are called bucks, female deer are called does and baby deer are called fawns. White tailed Deer can be found throughout the United States, mostly on the east coast in the mountains, forests, grasslands, and plains.
Great Horned Owl Named for the ear feathers that stick up over their heads, great horned owls are the most common type of owl found throughout North America. They nest wherever they can find another bird’s abandoned nest in trees or even on cliffs.
Grey Tree Frog These frogs may be called grey, but they can change color based on their surroundings. They live in the north eastern United States in the woods by swamps, ponds and rivers.
North American River Otter River Otters are expert swimmers and can hold their breath for up to 8 minutes underwater. They can be seen playing near freshwater bodies throughout the eastern and northern United states.
Sandpiper Sandpipers are small birds that run up and down the shore. Although they migrate, some traveling over 2000 miles, you can find them on shorelines all across the United States.
Fiddler Crab Living in small dug out burrows in the sand, you can find fiddler crabs on the eastern and southern beaches of North America. Their name comes from the male crab’s big claw that looks as though it could be a fiddle.
North Atlantic Right Whale Though these whales are rare and endangered, if you wait patiently you can find them in the Atlantic Waters around the east coast of North America. Each whale has its own unique pattern of raised white skin patches around their heads, helping scientists identify each individual whale
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin These dolphins don’t always have spots. Much like Dalmatians, they are born without spots and develop them as they mature into adulthood. You can find them all throughout the waters of the Atlantic ocean.
Cloudless Sulfur Butterfly You can find these 2 inch butterflies all around the United States, but they are most common in the East and in the South. The female can be spotted by the black border and spots on their wings, while the males are solid yellow.
Eastern Spotted Skunk The spotted skunk is the smallest of all the skunks, When they feel threatened, they do handstands to scare off predators. You can find these frisky little skunks throughout the Midwest and eastern United States.
Grey Fox Grey foxes are the only type of fox that is known to climb trees. You can find them in the east and along the south borders of the United States.
American Alligator Being the official state animal of Florida, alligators live along the southeastern corner of the United States. They spend most of their time in bodies of freshwater, but come up onto shore to bask in the sun.
Great Egret You can spot a great egret year round in marshes and wetlands of the southeastern corner of the United States. Egrets are all white with long black legs. During the mating season, in the springtime, they grow long white plumes, similar to the feathers of a peacock.
Alligator Gar Alligator gars are specially adapted so that they can live in brackish, salt, and low oxygenated water. Found in the marshes, and wetlands along the southern coast and the Gulf of Mexico, alligator gars can grow up to 10 feet long.
Alligator Snapping Turtle Alligator snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtles in the U.S. They spend most of their lives underwater only coming on land during the breeding season. You can find them hanging out in the fresh waters of southeastern North America.
American Bison Bison look big and slow, but they can run 35 miles per hour, pivot quickly, jump high fences and are excellent swimmers. You can find them in the plains of the Midwest of North America.
Pronghorn While its often called the pronghorn antelope, pronghorns are more closely related to giraffes and okapi than they are to antelopes. You can spot them in the open spaces of the Midwest United States.
Black-footed Ferret Black-footed ferrets are listed as endangered, only found in the great plains of the northern Midwest United States. They spend their days sleeping in prairie dog burrows only coming out a few times a day and at night.
McCrown’s Longspur These birds spend their summers in the Canada for their breeding season and can be found migrating down a small strip of the Midwest. They like hanging out in the short grassy areas of the prairies.
Grey Wolf Grey wolves live in packs and can be spotted throughout the north and west of North America. They are very social animals and live in packs. Each wolf has their own unique howl that allows the pack to tell each other apart.
Moose Moose are the largest land mammals in North America, and can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. You can find them in the very northern tips of the U.S. and all throughout Canada. They like to feed around wetlands, by ponds, lakes and marshes.
Bighorn Sheep Bighorn sheep are mountain sheep, adapted to be expert climbers of rocky cliff sides in the deserts and mountains. They can be seen throughout the Rocky Mountains and deserts in western North America. The males are called Rams while the females are called Ewes.
Bald Eagle Known as the National Bird of the United States, the bald eagle can be found almost everywhere throughout North America. While they are identifiable by their white heads and tails, they actually don’t develop those features until they are about 4-5 years old.
Ring-tailed Cat While they have the word cat in their name and are the same size as domestic house cats, ringtails are actually in the raccoon family. Their long tails allow them to keep their balance while they climb trees and cliff sides. You can see them in the Southwestern deserts of the United States.
Gila Monster Gila monsters (pronounced hila), spend most of their time underground, only coming out when the deserts are cool. If they come out of hiding, you can find them in the southwestern deserts of the United States.
Kangaroo Rat Adapted to survive in the desert, Kangaroo rats get all the water they need through their seed diet. Named after their large hind legs, they have been known to jump up to 9 feet! They can be found in the southwest deserts of the United States.
Cougar Also known as mountain lions or pumas, cougars can be found all throughout North America. They only eat once per week, and if they can’t finish their meal, they hide it and save it for later. They are the second largest big cat of North America, and unlike their lion cousins, they are unable to roar.
Yellow-bellied Marmot These groundhog-like marmots can be identified by their yellow and orange bellies. Spending most of their day foraging and basking in the sun, you can spot them throughout western North America.
American Pika Pikas are part of the rabbit family, but don’t have ears nearly as large. They are known for the loud squeaks they make to communicate. You can hear them squeaking and scurrying throughout the Rocky Mountain West of North America.
Gopher Snake Gopher snakes are large non venomous snakes found in western North America. While they spend most of their time underground, they are excellent swimmers and climbers.
Pacific Salmon Pacific salmon are unique because they start their lives in inland rivers, travel to the ocean to mature into adults, then travel back inland to breed. During their breeding season you can see them traveling up rivers and waterfalls in the very northwestern tips of North America.
Grizzly Bear Grizzlies, also known as the North American brown bear, are found in the northwestern forests and plains of the United States. Most of the year they eat whatever they can find ranging from grass shoots, to berries, to apples, but love to feast on jumping salmon in the summer.
California Sea Lion Sea lions can be differentiated from seals by their external ears and their hip bones that allow them to waddle and walk on land. You can spot them sunbathing, grooming and barking throughout the west coast of the United States.
Brown Pelican Brown pelicans can be spotted along the Pacific and Gulf coasts of the United States. Their beaks contain pouches, so they can scoop up prey. Brown Pelicans are the only known pelicans that dive underwater to catch their food in addition to skimming the surface.
Harbor Seal The largest amount of harbor seals can be found in the bays and shores of the Pacific coast, but they are sometimes spotted sunbathing on the Atlantic coast of North America as well. In water they are able to hold their breath for up to 30 minutes.
Wild Boar Wild boars, known as feral pigs in the Hawaiian Islands, can be seen digging around various southern ecosystems in the United States. In most places they are considered an invasive species and can get pretty aggressive. Both males and females have tusks like teeth on their lower jaws.
Green Sea Turtle Green sea turtles can be found in the warm waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They are the largest species of turtle and unlike most fresh water turtles, they cannot tuck their heads into their shells. They are greatly endangered due to loss of habitat and predators.
Moray Eel There are many different kinds of moray eel, and can be found in reefs all over the world. They contain two sets of teeth that they use to trap prey in their mouths. They spend most of their time hiding in reef caves waiting to ambush their prey
Hawaiian Honeycreeper Both males and females are red and black in color. The Hawaiian honeycreeper is only found native in Hawaii and has adapted to best suit its environment. Its beak is long and curved so it can drink nectar from Hawaiian native flowers.