Meet Some Wildlife Champs

COLORING BOOK

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Animals protect their bodies in diferent ways. 

Turtles have a hard shell. Birds have feathers. 

Many animals have hair or fur. 

Which animal has the thickest fur?

DELMARVA 

FOX SQUIRREL

SEA OTTER

SKUNK

The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of 

lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration 

of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for 

the benefit of present and future generations of Americans. 
Sea otters can have as many as one million hairs per square inch on their bodies. 

This thick fur helps the otters to keep warm in very cold water. 

Sea otters do not have blubber or fat like whales or seals.

ANSWER

the sea otter

You might dive for fun when you go swimming. 

Some birds dive to catch fsh or other food.

Which bird dives the fastest?
Many birds travel – or migrate – each year. 

In winter, some will fy south to Central or South America 

where it is warmer. They migrate back north to the 

United States and Canada in the spring and summer.

Peregrine falcons are the world’s fastest birds. They dive through the air 

at more than 200 miles an hour. That’s as fast as a race car. 

ANSWER

the peregrine falcon

Which bird fies the longest distance 

between its winter and summer home? 
Think about really huge animals with fur.

The tiny Arctic tern fies about 44,000 miles every year. 

Over 30 years, a tern can fy so many miles that it is like going 

to the moon and back three times.

What is the heaviest mammal living 

on the land in North America? ANSWER

the Arctic tern

BISON

LOUISIANA 

ELK BLACK BEAR

MOUNTAIN 

LION
This animal was alive even before the dinosaurs.

The American bison can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. 

Bison eat grass and need lots of space to move around. 

How much do you weigh? 

What animal has been living 

on Earth millions of years ago 

and is still around today? 

ANSWER

the American bison
Horseshoe crabs were around 445 million years ago! Animals that eat mostly meat are called carnivores.

MUSK OX

What is the biggest land 

animal that eats meat? ANSWER

the horseshoe crab

POLAR BEAR

ALLIGATOR

 HUMPBACK WHALE
Think of animals that can run faster than cars drive on a highway. Polar bears are the biggest land animals that eat mostly meat. 

A polar bear’s favorite food is seals.

What is the fastest wild

animal in North America? ANSWER

the polar bear
Many trees in America are hundreds of years old. 

But the oldest trees aren’t always the biggest trees.

The American pronghorn can run as fast as 60 miles an hour. 

It is both strong and speedy. 

What is the oldest kind 

of tree in America? ANSWER

the American pronghorn
Some animals sleep a long time to save energy during the winter. 

This is called hibernating. They store food in their bellies before the winter.

Bristlecone pine trees can be more than 5,000 years old. 

They often have unusual, twisted shapes.

INDIANA BAT

ANSWER What animal sleeps the longest?

the bristlecone pine

GRIZZLY BEAR

WOOD FROG

PRAIRIE DOG
Wood frogs hibernate for six months or longer. 

Most of that time, the wood frog is completely frozen.

Alligators are found mostly 

in marshes and streams in the 

southeastern United States, including 

Alligator River National Wildlife 

Refuge in North Carolina. 

American pronghorn stand 

about three feet tall and have huge, 

curved horns. The look of their 

horns gave the animal its name. 

The American pronghorn runs 

through Hart Mountain National 

Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Arctic terns spend the summer 

up north in places like Arctic National 

Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. They fly 

south to winter in Antarctica. 

Bison once roamed across the 

western United States, in places like 

Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. 

You can see bison at Neal Smith 

National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa and 

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National 

Wildlife Refuge in Colorado. 

Bristlecone pines are used to 

harsh, dry weather and rocky soil. 

You can see these trees at Desert 

National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada.

Delmarva fox squirrels are 

twice as big as the common gray 

squirrel. Blackwater National Wildlife 

Refuge in Maryland has the largest 

population of Delmarva fox squirrels.

Elk can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. 

The male will whistle or “bugle” to 

attract a female, defend territory or 

challenge other males. National Elk 

Refuge in Wyoming protects elk.

Grizzly bears move mostly at 

night. There are grizzly bears at Red 

Rocks Lake National Wildlife Refuge 

in Montana. The grizzly bear is bigger 

than the black bear and has a large 

hump on its back.

ANSWER

the wood frog

Horses have lived for 200-300 

years on land that is now part of 

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge 

in Virginia. The Chincoteague Volunteer 

Fire Company owns about 150 ponies 

that graze on the refuge.

Horseshoe crabs come to beaches 

in Delaware in the spring to lay their 

eggs. You can see horseshoe crabs at 

Prime Hook Wildlife Refuge. 

Humpback whales migrate from 

Alaska to Hawai’i each year. The best 

time to see whales at Kīlauea Point 

National Wildlife Refuge in Hawaii 

is January to March. 

Indiana bats hibernate in large 

numbers in only a few places, including 

Sauta Cave and Key Cave National 

Wildlife Refuges in Alabama. A bat may 

weigh no more than three pennies but 

sometimes there are 20,000 to 50,000 

bats in a single cave. 

Louisiana black bears are 

living healthy lives because of national 

wildlife refuges like Tensas River 

Refuge in Louisiana. They sometimes 

eat meat but they usually eat fruits, 

nuts, plants and insects. 

Mountain lions may also be called 

pumas or cougars. Mountain lions are 

the largest wild cats in North America. 

Most mountains lions live in the west, 

but Florida panthers are also mountain 

lions. They are protected at Florida 

Panther National Wildlife Refuge. 

Musk ox is called “the bearded one” 

by Inupiat Eskimos in Alaska. They 

don’t move around much in winter to 

save energy and stay warm at Arctic 

National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Peregrine falcons live along the 

water, but they also make nests on 

tall buildings or bridges. You can see 

them nesting on clifs at Cape Meares 

National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. 

Polar bears live in Alaska, Canada, 

Greenland, Norway and Russia – and 

at the Arctic Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Prairie dogs live only in North 

America. They are part of the animal 

family that includes squirrels. You can 

see them at Charles M. Russell National 

Wildlife Refuge in Montana.

Sea otters live in shallow water 

along the coasts where they eat clams, 

crabs and other seafood. They live at 

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife 

Refuge and Copalis National Wildlife 

Refuge in Washington. 

Skunks usually nest in burrows built by 

other animals. You can see them almost 

everywhere in the United States. 

Wood frogs hibernate in leaves 

on the forest floor. When the snow melts 

in the spring, the wood frogs are already 

close to the water they need. Wood frogs 

live in Rachel Carson National Wildlife 

Refuge in Maine and Great Swamp 

National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey.

GLOSSARY

DELMARVA 

FOX SQUIRREL

ALLIGATOR
NATIONAL

WILDLIFE

REFUGES

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES

PACIFIC ISLANDS

ALASKA

HAWAII

NAVASSA ISLAND

PUERTO RICO & 

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS