Animals at Hawken


All of the following animals have been directly observed at Hawken
or have been identified by their dens, prints, special traits, et cetera .

There are specific links under every category where quality pages are available and there are additional generalized animal links near the bottom of the page.

(The following links are meant to provide additional information on animals and animal topics discussed here. Although the webmaster of this page system will attempt to provide appropriate and applicable sites, she is not in control of these sites and she cannot be held responsible for the material found thereof.)




White-tailed Deer
The only deer in this area but there are plenty of them. They have white tails that they raise when they are alarmed.


Red Foxes
There is at least one on campus. It has a den under a concrete slab in the woods and likes to eat the rabbits and the opussums.


Beavers
There was one on campus in the pond earlier this spring but it was only sighted once. It probably came from one of the Beaver families at the North Chagrin Reservation Metroparks and was a juvenile out on it's own for the first time (2 years old) and was looking for a new home. There has been no other evidence of this beaver since it was sighted and it has probably moved on. Beavers can stay underwater for 20 minutes without surfacing for breath and are the largest rodents in North America.


Groundhogs
There are a few that live on the Front Lawn and some others in the woods. They dig den systems with many entrances and exits, often on the upper banks of creeks and rivers.


Virginia Opossums
They are North America's only marsupial. Nocturnal and shy, they may be most well-known for pretending to be dead when threatened. There has been more than one opossum carcas around campus so there are probably several alive ones somewhere, yet they are nomadic and may not spend much time here. They are very good tree climbers.


Raccoons
They like stream beds for some of their favorite food, crayfish. It's pretty easy to see their footprints in the mud along the Hawken Creek.


Minks
There have been two mink spotted near the pond. They are very good swimmers and have a wide-ranging diet, including creek creatures like frogs, fish, and crayfish. They also eat eggs and may be responsible for the disappearance of the one Canada Goose egg which would have provided the Hawken Pond with its first gosling. Mink are not vicious but they are aggressive. Their living range is so large that they may not visit their Hawken den more than once every two weeks.


Striped Skunks
They are quite beneficial to gardeners because they eat the grubs and lawn beetles that feed on grass roots and other plants. (Unfortunately, however, they have to dig up the grass a bit first before they can eat the garden pests.) They are nocturnal and shy and will only spray when they are feeling threatened. If you don't want to get sprayed, make some light (non-threatening) noise (like whistling, clapping quietly or even talking,) without advancing toward the skunk. When it hears you it will hurry away and both you and it will be relieved that there was no confrontation.


Eastern Cottontail Rabbits
There are many rabbits because they like the shelter that Hawken's many briar patches afford them. If they are frightened they sit motionless until the danger passes or gets too close; in the latter case they bound easily away, into a huge pile of prickers without a scratch.


Fox Squirrels
There are a few that live off the bird feeder seeds since Hawken doesn't have many nut-bearing trees. They are out during the day and semi-hibernate during the winter.


Eastern Chipmunks
They live in holes in the ground, ofter under roots or rocks. They can climb trees well and emit a sharp short "chip" when alarmed. There is one that visits the Science wing feeders fairly frequently, especially in the winter.


Short-tailed Shrews
They are best seen in the woods in the fall. If you sit quietly for a little while you'll probably see a small mound moving beneath the leaves which is them, looking for insects and other food.


Field Mice
They are in the buildings a little too often for skittish students that might catch a glimpse of them. They are hard to see outside, unless you sit for them the same way as described for the shrew.


domestic dogs and cats
They aren't kept inside nearly enough for the groundhogs, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, mice and shrews. (A mink could give them a fair fight.) There are two dogs that live on campus and at least 3 cats. Others visit with their owners from time to time.



Other Animals in the Area






Other animal pages:

American Society of Mammalogists

Electronic Zoo

Mammal Species of the World


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Webmaster Kellie Hoyt, class of 1997.
Please e-mail her with any suggestions, questions, comments or complaints.