D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 6
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Otters fish and play in the snow.
Beaver eating local
B
eavers spend most of autumn
harvesting willow, aspen, and
alder branches to eat throughout
the winter. ey store their harvest under-
water and because they build lodges with an
underwater entrance, they never have to expose
themselves to the cold winter air. Beavers some-
times allow muskrats into their lodges.
Muskrats bring underwater plants, perhaps
for bedding, and beavers let them eat some of
their food. Otters fish for trout all winter and are
equally at home on land as in the water. Otters
are very playful and seem to slide on the snow's
slippery surface just for fun. eir fur is water
repellent which help keeps them warm. Pika
work tirelessly all summer gathering mouthfuls
of grass which they then store under rocks and
overhangs on the talus slopes where they live.
ese haystacks sustain them all winter while
they are buried under a thick layer of insulat-
ing snow. Red squirrels store pine cones each
autumn and eat the seeds during winter. ey
stay warm by building nests made of grass high
up in a tree. Sometimes they nest in a witches'
broom. A witches' broom is an abnormal growth
in a tree caused by disease. Long-tailed weasels
turn snow white in winter except for their black-
tipped tail. is color change helps them avoid
predators and to avoid being seen by their prey.
eir slender bodies give them the appearance
of swimming across the snow. at is if you can
find one.
Rather than hibernating, a Badger spends
winter in 29 hour torpid cycles with brief
active periods.
A Cedar Waxwing gorges on Mountain Ash berries.
p
photo by
CINDY
GOEDDEL
p
p
photo by
STEVE
AKRE
photo by
MATT
ROGERS
p
photo by
CINDY
GOEDDEL
