Texas A&M Forest Service Nature Challenge
Life Around the Ponds
Animals offer many clues about their whereabouts besides paw prints. If you look closely, you may find scat (animal waste), owl pellets, fur, feathers, nests, skulls and bones, trail and chew marks on pecans, acorns and other things that an animal has left behind.
• Can you see where male deer have rubbed their antlers on young trees?
• Do you hear any birds or squirrels rustling in the leaves?
• Can you smell the hollow tree where the raccoon sleeps?
Details
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This Challenge is for:
- All Ages
- Formal Educators
- Informal Educators
- Landowners
Challenge Topics:
- Animals and Wildfire
- At Home
- Biodiversity
- Connecting Children with Nature
- Homeschool
- iNaturalist
- School Campus
This Challenge is accessible for:
- People with Visual Impairments
- People with Hearing Impairments
- People with Mobility Impairments
- People with Developmental Impairments
- People with Sensory Sensitivities
- People who speak Spanish
Things you’ll need...
To complete this challenge
Step one
Clues for Nature Detectives
Animals offer many clues about their whereabouts besides paw prints. If you look closely, you may find scat (animal waste), owl pellets, fur, feathers, nests, skulls and bones, trail and chew marks on pecans, acorns and other things that an animal has left behind.
Step two
Wildlife Tracks
A good place to start is where animals feed, drink, bathe, or gather food. You also need a good medium for tracks to show, like damp soil or mud. Edges of ponds, damp woods, and shady trails are places where animals are both likely to be and leave tracks.
Step three
Earn your badge!
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Texas A&M Forest Service and cooperators collectively known as “Nature Challenge” have not inspected the physical locations of challenges. No warranty of safecondition, or fitness for particular use is granted by Nature Challenge. Nature Challenge has not vetted whether the challenges, as formatted by the Provider, is safe. Anyone performing this challenge will be doing so at their own risk.
