Animals living in mixed forests are generally characteristic of the entire forest zone of Russia. Hares, foxes, hedgehogs and even wild boars can also be found in well-developed forests. Squirrels already feel great not only in the wild, but also in an ordinary city park. On rivers far from settlements, one can still see beaver huts. There are also such animals of mixed forests as bear, marten, wolf and badger. Moose are also quite common on the roads and outskirts of villages.
Inhabitants of mixed broadleaf forests
In the mixed broad-leaved forest, representatives of the fauna of the taiga forests also feel great: white hare, squirrel. In parallel, the most typical animals of mixed forests live: elk, brown bear, badger.
Moose
The European elk is called the forest giant for a reason. It is one of the largest animals living in the zone of mixed deciduous forests. Its average weight reaches three hundred kilograms. The head of the male is decorated with huge horns. The coat of this animal is usually gray orblack-brown shade.
These inhabitants of mixed forests feed mainly on the shoots of young trees, preferring aspen, willow or mountain ash. In winter, moose choose needles, mosses and lichens as their main food. These animals are excellent swimmers. An adult can safely swim for a full two hours at a fairly good speed (up to 10 km / h). The end of spring and the very beginning of summer is the time when the moose cow gives birth. As a rule, these are one or two calves that live with their mother during the entire summer period.
Badger
Common badger is found throughout the territory of mixed forests. In size, this animal can be compared with a small dog. The body length reaches 90 cm, and the average weight of a badger is approximately 25 kg. He hunts exclusively at night for insects, digs up nutritious roots and various worms along the way. He loves frogs very much. The badger is a nocturnal animal, it spends daylight hours in its hole.
Badger hole is a very interesting structure. It usually has several floors and a huge number of entrances and exits. Sometimes their number reaches 50. The central hole can reach a length of up to 10 meters and is located at a depth of up to 5 meters. The badger is a very clean animal: he always buries all the sewage in the ground. They live in colonies. The badger spends the winter hibernating.
Common hedgehog
Hedgehogs are animals that live in mixed forests. This small animal has very poor eyesight, but hearing and smell are superbly developed. ATin case of danger, the hedgehog rolls up, taking the shape of a ball. And then none of the predators can cope with it (this animal has about 5000 needles, the length of which is 2 cm).
On the territory of mixed forests of Russia, hedgehogs are most often found, the needles of which have a gray tint and dark transverse stripes are clearly visible.
As food, the hedgehog prefers insects and invertebrates: earthworms, slugs and snails. It hunts frogs, snakes, destroys the nests of birds living on the ground. Sometimes eats wild berries.
Hedgehog has two holes: summer and winter. The winter hole serves him for sleeping, which lasts from mid-autumn until April, and the summer version of the dwelling is used for the birth of offspring. Hedgehog cubs are born naked, a little later (within a few hours) soft white needles appear, which change their color to the usual color within 36 hours.
Mole
There are quite a lot of moles in mixed forests. These completely blind animals spend most of their lives underground. They feed mainly on insects, larvae, and earthworms. Moles do not hibernate during the winter, as at this time of the year they do not experience problems with a lack of food.
Mixed Forest Animals
Hair Hare
The habitat of this animal is not limited to the zone of mixed forests. It can be found both in the tundra and in the steppe bushes. In winter, the color of its skin becomes completely white. Just the tipsears are still black. The paws are overgrown with more fluffy fur. In summer, these animals of mixed forests have a familiar gray color.
The white hare feeds on grass, shoots and bark of trees: willow, birch, aspen, maple, oak and hazel. A hare does not have a permanent hole as such. At the slightest danger, this animal prefers to flee.
A hare twice during the summer period brings up to 6 rabbits. The young become adults after wintering with their mother.
Bison
Animal world of mixed forests of Russia quite recently could boast of such a magnificent animal as a wild bull. They were found everywhere in the northwestern regions of Russia. But, unfortunately, the bison population was almost completely exterminated. To date, a lot of work has been done in the country to restore the number of these animals.
River beavers
The animal world of mixed forests represents such an interesting and unusual animal as the river beaver. Previously, they were found almost everywhere. But because of their very valuable fur, they were almost completely exterminated.
Beavers prefer to choose quiet forest rivers for their homes, the banks of which are covered with dense thickets. These animals feed on young shoots of trees and their bark.
The home of a beaver is called a hut. Beavers use tree branches as building material. The size of the hut has no strict restrictions. Each beaver builds it in its own way, but it must be repaired without failevery year.
The dams that these animals skillfully build are of particular interest. Beavers build dams in case the water level drops very sharply in the river. The finished dam can easily support the weight of an adult.
Wild boar
Wild boar is a very strong and fast animal. Despite some outward clumsiness, he moves easily and quickly on his strong legs. Wild boars live in small herds, which consist of males and females with piglets. The eyes of the boar are small and besides, this animal is somewhat blind. Therefore, the main sense organs for the boar are hearing and smell. This fully explains the typical behavior of a wild boar in case of possible danger: he raises his nose to the top, sniffing and at the same time pricking his ears.
Wild boars are nocturnal animals of the forest, as they are active mainly at night. Wild boars spend daylight hours in hard-to-reach places. Boars are absolutely omnivorous.
But not only herbivores live in mixed forests, but also forest predators: bears, wolves, foxes and martens.
Wolves
The most dangerous animals in mixed forests are, of course, wolves. They have always caused a lot of trouble, but nevertheless, the call for the complete extermination of the population of this animal is completely unjustified. The wolf is a predatory animal, but it destroys mainly sick or severely weakened animals. In this way, he helps to improve the population of animals living in the area. In areas where the number of these predatorsrelatively small, there is practically no harm from this animal.
Marten
Marten is another bright representative of predatory animals that live in mixed forests. This animal arranges nests in hollows of trees, choosing rather high places for this. Leading a nocturnal lifestyle, the marten quite often ruins squirrel nests. The squirrel is active during daylight hours, and at night it sleeps soundly in the hollow, so it becomes a very easy prey for the marten. But the marten also eats food of plant origin: fruits or berries. He loves to eat wild honey. Because of this weakness, it can live for quite a long time directly next to the bee nest. Sometimes several martens can gather in one place at the same time.
Fox
The fox is a very cautious predator. The body length of this animal reaches a meter and the famous fox tail is almost the same size. The fur of this animal most often has a red color, the breast and abdomen are light gray, but the tip of the tail is always white.
These animals prefer mixed forests, which alternate with clearings, ponds and meadows. The fox can be seen on the outskirts of the villages, and in the groves among the meadows.
The sight of the fox is rather poorly developed, so it navigates the terrain with the help of smell and excellent hearing. The fox uses abandoned badger holes as a dwelling. Sometimes it digs a hole on its own, the depth of which reaches 4 meters. Necessarilythere are several emergency exits.
Foxes prefer to lead a sedentary lifestyle. They are nocturnal predators. The fox feeds on rodents, hares or birds. In very rare cases, it attacks a baby roe deer. The life expectancy of a fox is no more than 8 years.
Lynx
Lynx is another representative of predators living in mixed forests. The lynx hunts from ambush. She can track prey for quite a long time, hiding among the branches of trees or dense shrubs. This predator has long powerful paws that help the lynx to jump long distances.
The main prey of the lynx is roe deer or deer. But she does not disdain small mammals. With pleasure he will drive a hare or catch a bird. The lynx equips its hole in advance in order to calmly give birth to offspring. Usually the number of kittens in a litter ranges from 2 to 4 cubs. They live next to their mother for 9 months.
Animals of Russian mixed forests
Thus, mixed forests have a fairly diverse wildlife. Among the inhabitants of this natural zone, there are both predators and herbivores, both inhabitants of the taiga forests and the “indigenous” inhabitants of the forest-steppe zone. Many animals go into deep hibernation, while others are active all year round.
