|
Chino Hills State Park:
resources:
fauna: mammals
 |
MOUNTAIN LION (Puma concolor)
Known as the cat of one color, mountain lions are found throughout the United States.
Mountain lions are North America's largest feline.Studies completed in the 1990's by Dr. Paul Beier concluded that mountain
lions, also called cougars, were reaching Chino Hills State Park via a
culvert beneath the 91 Riverside Freeway at Coal Canyon.
Though sightings are rare in the State Park, if you see a cougar, DO NOT
APPROACH IT AND DO NOT RUN! The Department of Fish and Game has
published guidelines for how to handle mountain lion encounters.
Please review a few of these suggestions by following this
link.
Cougars tend have a solitary home range, where their
territories do not overlap with other cougar home ranges. The
average size of a cougar's home range is approximately 100 square miles
for males and between 20 and 60 square miles for females. In 2000,
Coal Canyon, was permanently protected as a part of the State Park to
ensure the cougar had room to roam through the Park and was not separated
from the larger Santa Ana Mountains ecosystem, where there are thought to
be between 30 and 40 cougars residing.
They are tan in color, have long tails, with black
coloring on their ears. Their young have blue eyes, tan color and
black spots. Bobcats have significantly shorter tails, pointed ears,
and are much smaller -- these are the most significant distinctions
between the two species (which are often confused with one another).
On average, mountain lions weigh about 120-150 pounds and can reach a
length (from nose to tail tip) of eight feet. This species can run as fast
as 43.5 miles per hour! Their strength and agility are incredible.
In fact, a cougar has enough muscle strength to clear a ten foot fence
with a deer in its mouth! Deer and other prey species, are the
preferred food for the cougar.
|
 |
MULE DEER (Odocoileus heminous)
This species is common through out the western United States and gets
its name from its unusually large ears, which looks like a mule's ears.
Mule deer are often confused with black tailed deer and the biggest
difference is the tail (which for a mule deer has a black tip) and antlers
(which for the mule deer grow forked and not forward). It is always
fun to see a mule deer move because instead of walking they tend to leap
with all four legs in unison. With this gait they can reach speeds
up to 45 miles per hour!
These deer have a dark grey and brown coloring, with
small white patch at its rump. Its tail is drooped and not uplifted
-- another distinction from other deer species. They have sturdy
legs and reach a height at the shoulder of roughly 3-3.5 feet, with a
length of 4-6.5 feet. Males are larger than females and their color
helps disguise them from predators such as cougars and coyotes. Like
cows, deer have a multi-chambered stomach where food can sit for a while
before it is digested. In the wild deer can live up to about 10
years, however in captivity it is 25 years.
Mule deer are herbivores and tend to prefer edge
habitats. They eat shrubs, berries and grasses and tend to be most
active at dawn and dusk. They bed down during the day and use the
shade of trees and the comfort of grasses to make their temporary
quarters. It is not uncommon to see deer in the State Park, so keep
your eye out on the hillsides.
|
 |
WESTERN GREY SQUIRREL (Sciuris griseus)
Chino Hills State Park also has small mammal species, like the western
grey squirrel. This critter has a full fluffy tail that
differentiates it from the chipmunk. Grey squirrels are tree
squirrels found along the western coast of the U.S. This particular
species undergoes a complete molt from head to toe in the spring -- where
its fur color adjusts to the season. This molt also takes place
again the fall, but goes from rump to head and does not replace the tail
fur.
Western grey squirrels are only about pound or so in
weight and their length (including tail) ranges from about 17 inches to 23
inches. These squirrels mate from December to June and their young
emerge between March and August. There are normally one to five
babies in a litter. Their primary food is nuts and seeds and they
are strictly diurnal, which means they are not active at night.
One of their favored foods includes the acorns, which are quite common in
the Park from the various oak trees. Typical squirrel behavior is to
store a cache of nuts and acorns in a tree hollow or stump for later
feeding. Though squirrels may approach you, do not approach them and
do not feed them. Human diets are extremely different than a
squirrels diet and our food can cause significant problems to squirrels,
including death.
Though they are not a threatened species grey squirrels
have declined in recent years due to urbanizations, loss of habitat and
catastrophic wildfire. Other problems this species has encountered
is disease, which has hindered its numbers. Species like the fox and
other ground dwellers are also out competing the squirrel for food and
contributing to its decline. |
| |
WESTERN CHIPMUNK (Neo-Tamias)
Chipmunks are found throughout Chino Hills State Park and are a
small-squirrel like rodent. These creatures breed once a year
producing one litter, which normally have about four to five young.
After about eight weeks of care, the young strike out on their own!
Chipmunks commonly eat nuts, grain, worms, bird's eggs, and insects.
They have an omnivorous diet. By fall, chipmunks begin their annual
stockpiling of food to last through winter.
It is hard to believe sometimes that even the smallest
creatures play a vital function in the ecosystem they live in. For
example, chipmunks are assist trees grow and re-colonize when they
accidentally drop seeds. In addition, some of
the fungi species have lost the ability to disperse their spores through
the air, and now rely on the consumption of the food by the chipmunk to
disperse their spores. Chipmunks also are on the other end
of the food chain and act as a meal for species like the red tailed hawk,
the golden eagle and other carnivores.
Chipmunks are quite adept at building expansive burrows
and often times camouflage their burrows well. They are also quite
adept at begging for food from humans. This is not encouraged as
most human food is not within the dietary requirements of chipmunks.
By providing human food to chipmunks, they begin to lose their ability to
gather food on their own and become reliant on humans as a source.
This is extremely detrimental to chipmunks and other species as well.
Please remember to keep your distance from wild animals and do not feed
them.
|
 |
BOBCAT (Lynx Rufus)
This member of the cat family (Felidae) ranges from northern Mexico to
southern Canada and is common in much of the continental United States.
The bobcat gets its name by its black stubby or “bobbed” tail. Its color
can be from a gray to a brown coat with distinctive black bars on its
forelegs. It is bigger than a house cat and smaller than a mountain
lion. It is quite well adapted to wide variety of habitat types
including woodlands, chaparral, swampland environments, and semi-desert.
The bobcat, has even demonstrated the ability to adapt to human
encroachment by living on the urban edge when towns and development border
open space.
Like many other wild feline species, such as the mountain lion, the bobcat
has territories and will stay within their home range. They will mark
their home range with urine and feces or they also can leave scratch marks
on prominent trees. Their keen scent will then provide an immediate alarm
if they approach another cat’s territory. This method of marking their
territory and their response to other animals scent is one of the main
reasons why Chino Hills State Park has such as strict policy concerning
dogs. Dogs are not allowed on any of the trails and leashed dogs are only
allowed on Bane Canyon Road. Bobcats are afraid of dogs and consider
them a threat, because dogs mark their territory too andwill cause the
bobcats to relocate and perhaps abandon their home range. If bobcats leave
the Park, this will upset the balance of nature and the population of
other species.
Within the last few years there has been a concern with the bobcats
residing in Chino Hills State Park. Some bobcats, have apparently lost
their fear of humans and have wandered up to hikers. Though the
bobcats are acting in a very non-threatening manner, Park staff believe
these encounters are caused by some visitors offering the bobcats food in
an attempt to get them closer. Please note that bobcats and ALL animals in
the Park are to be treated as wild animals and should never be approached.
|
|
