» wildlife guide

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Large Herbivores

Bighorn sheep can be found in the open, mountainous areas of Everfrost. These sheep can weigh up to 300 pounds and are built for climbing the mountains. The horns of the rams can weight up to 30 pounds on their own. Bighorn sheep range in color from light brown to grayish or dark, chocolate brown, with a white rump and lining on the back of all four legs. They are difficult to hunt because they prefer to use the mountains and cliffs as their home, though they do wander into valleys and hills

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Bison are powerful creatures, but they are rare in most of Everfrost. They can only be found in the southernmost tips of the land, but even there they are rare and only appear during the summer. Generally there is one small herd in the Everfrost area.Their main territory is much further south of Everfrost. Typically, they travel in large herds, though non-dominant bulls travel alone or in small groups. Hunting these creatures is not suggested, as they are dangerous and quickly protect their own.

The elk is one of the largest known species of deer and one of the largest mammals here in Everfrost. Bull elk have large, dangerous antlers that can cause a lot of damage to a rival or a predator, and cows are talented at using their hooves for protections. The elk in Everfrost are most often found in open forests and meadows, generally at mid to low levels of elevation.

The moose is the largest existing species in the deer family. Unlike most other deer, which have twig-like antlers, the moose has wide, dish-shaped antlers (called palmate antlers). While they are large, these monster deer are also fast, and can run up to thirty-five miles per hour, which allows them to sometimes outrun wolves, their main predator. Moose inhabit coniferous forests, lakes, slow streams, and marshy areas within Everfrost.

The mountain goat resides on high peaks and high elevation meadows. They are sure-footed climbers and can be elusive. Both male and female mountain goats have horns and beards. They have short tails and thick, woolly, double coats. Males are referred to as billies and females are referred to as nannies. The horns and beards of the billies are a little longer than those of the nannies. Billies also stand taller than nannies.

The mule deer gets it's name from it's large, mule-like ears. Distinguishing mule deer from whitetail deer is diffucult. The main differences are the ears and black-tipped tails of the mule deer. Mule deer run with a bounding leap, with all four feet coming down at once. The adult males are called bucks, adult females are called does, and young of both sexes are referred to as fawns. The antlers of bucks are bifurcated, meaning that they fork out as they grown instead of branching off of one main beam as the whitetail's antlers do. Mule deer can be found in open forests, meadows, and at higher elevations.

Though not a true antelope, the pronghorn greatly resembles one. The horns of male antelope are larger than those of the female and have a prong. Males are also distinguished of females by the patch of black fur at the corners of their jaws. It is the fastest animal in North America. Catching it is difficult, as it is fast and can maintain high speeds for a longer amount of time than other animals. However, it is a very poor jumper and is usually found in open plains. They are rare throughout most of Everfrost, though they can be found in abundance in the southernmost reaches of the land.

Whitetail deer can be found in coniferous forests, meadows, and creek and river bottoms. Their coats are a reddish brown throughout spring and summer and a gray-brown throughout fall and winter. They are named for the white undersides of their tail, which they raise during escape as a sign of alarm. Bucks regrow their antlers each year, while does do not have antlers. These deer can weigh up to 200 pounds, though it varies with diet and health among individuals.

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Rodents/Small Mammals/Birds & Waterfowl

The beaver can be found in streams and lakes everywhere in Everfrost. They build dams for protection against predators and to access food during the winter. Beavers are herbivores that eat leaves from trees and bushes as well as the bark from birch, poplar, and willow trees. They can be distinguished by their large, flat tails that they use to swim and build lodges and dams. They are common in Everfrost, but hard to catch, as they spend a lot of time in the water where they can easily escape and they are generally nocturnal.

Everfrost is home to hares, snowshoe hares, and rabbits. Distinguishing rabbits from hares is difficult, but hares are larger whereas rabbits are more compact. The young of hares are called leverets are are born with fur and eyes open, while rabbit young are called bunnies and they are born hairless and blind. Rabbits and hares are both generally brown during spring and summer, though rabbits shed their fur for a grayish color in the fall and winter, while hares usually turn white, especially if they life in colder regions. Rabbits are often found living together in warrens and males fight among themselves for dominance. Hares live along and rarely fight, instead simply pairing up during the mating season.

Yellow-bellied marmots and hoary marmots can both be found in Everfrost. Yellow-bellied marmots live in steppes, meadows, and talus fields, usually above 6,500 feet of elevation. Hoary marmots lives in rocky areas and alpine meadows. Both species weigh between five and eleven pounds and live in colonies. Marmots hibernate for seven or eight months each year. Hoary marmots get their name from the silvery-gray fur on their shoulders and back.

Minks, weasels and otters are related species. The mink is darkly colored brown and weighs about two pounds. They prey on aquatic life and smaller mammals, such as rabbits. They are generally hunted by owls, bobcats, and foxes. Minks live near creeks and lake edges.
Weasels are long with short legs and are very active hunters. They prey on smaller mammals such as rabbits as well as birds and thier eggs. They are more colorful than minks, though are still generally some shade of brown or white. In Everfrost there are three subspecies of weasel: the least weasel, short-tailed weasel, and long-tailed weasel. Weasels live in open forests, coniferous forests, grasslands, and meadows.

A variety of other small mammals inhabit Everfrost. Pika, lemming, shrews, mice, and pine martins are all common in different parts of the land. Pika can be found in rocky areas of many different elevations. It is a relative of the rabbit and is a small, hamster-like rodent with rounded ears, short limbs, and a short tail. They are herbivores that eat a variety of plant matter. The subspecies of lemming living in Everfrost is called the northern bog lemming and lives in coniferous forests. They have cylindrical bodies with gray or brown fur and paler underparts. They are herbivores that prefer wetlands and eat green vegetation. Pygmy, masked, vagrant, montane, and northern water shrews are all common in Everfrost, all about the size of a mouse. They live in open coniferous forests, meadows, pond and stream edges, and higher elevation forests. Mice are also common, and live just about everywhere. Pine martins are about the size of a domestic cat, live in coniferous forests, and preys on small mammels such as the ones listed above.

The sharp spines of porcupines help protect them from potential predators. They weigh anywhere between twelve and thirty-five pounds. They make their home in coniferous forests throughout the land. They can also be found on rocky hillsides and grasslands. They spend most of their time in search of grubs to eat and natural salt licks that can provide them with the salt they need to survive.

Golden-mantled ground squirrels, columbian ground squirrels, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, richardson ground squirrels, and northern flying squirrels all make their home in Everfrost. They live in high open forests, rocky areas, open woodlands, grasslands, alpine meadows, and coniferous forests. Least chipmunks, yellow pine chipmunks, and red-tailed chimpunks reside in high open forests, brushy rocky areas, and alpine meadows. Other small rodents also make their home in everfrost, such as gophers, rats, muskrats, and several species of voles.

The woodchuck, also known as the groundhog, is a rodent belonging to a group of ground squirrels known as marmots that weighs up to thirty pounds. They are excellent at digging with their curved, thick claws. They eat wild grasses, other vegetation, and berries. They hibernate during the winter, and even build a separate burrow below the frost line that stays a constant temperature that is above freezing. It prefers to live in open country on the edges of woodland.

Many different kinds of waterfowl inhabit the lakes and rivers of Everfrost. Harlequin ducks, herons, cranes, canada geese, and swans all make there home here.

Many birds, from song birds to hardy mountain birds, make their home here. Jay, bluebirds, sparrows, cardinals, and hundreds of other species exist in Everfrost.

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Small Predators

Badgers live in open grasslands and prey on earthworms, insects, and grubs, as well as small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and fruits and roots. They shelter underground in burrows called setts that can be quite extensive in size. They can be nasty creatures and tend to keep to themselves or family groups.

The river otter can be found in almost all of the lakes and rivers of Everfrost. They are semi-acquatic fish-eating mammals. They have long, slim bodies with short limbs and are related to weasels and minks. They have long, sharp claws and powerful tails. They are highly active creatures with high metabolisms to keep them warm and energized. often they eat fifteen to twenty-five percent of their body weight in food every day.

The raccoon is a predator that lives in open forests and stream bottoms of Everfrost. They weigh anywhere from seven to twenty pounds and prey on invertebrates (grubs, worms, etc.), plant material, and some small mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. These mammals sample food with their front paws to remove unwanted parts. This action is helped by placing the object and the paws under the water, which softens the raccoon's paws.

Foxes live in the open grasslands and open forests of Everfrost. The foxes that live in Everfrost are red foxes, so their fur is generally a reddish-brown in coloration, though there is a gray morph in the species. They generally weigh about seven to seventeen pounds and prey on insects, earthworms, mollusks, crayfish, berries, rodents, rabbits, birds, eggs, amphibians, reptiles, and even prey as large as deer fawns. They are a danger to wolf pups and other young creatures, though they would never hunt with the parents around.

The skunk also lives in open forests and grasslands. When this mammal feels threatened it is known to spray a foul smelling liquid. They can be colored black-and-white to brown or cream colored. They can weigh about four pounds to eighteen pounds and eat insects, larvae, earthworms, small rodents, lizards, salamanders, snakes, frogs, birds, moles, and eggs. They will also eat berries, root, leaves, grasses, fungi, and nuts.

Little brown bats, long-legged bats, big brown bats, silver-haired bats, and hoary bats live in Everfrost. They are nocturnal, meaning they only come out at night. They live in coniferous forests, meadows, and in or around caves, eating insects mostly, and occasionally fruit.

Eagles, hawks, osprey, and kestrels are the predators of the skies during daylight hours. They build nests high in trees or on cliffs and hunt small rodents and mammals, like mice and rabbits, as well as fish and small birds. Eagles will also target the young of coyotes, wolves, foxes, and other smaller predators, such as lynx, bobcat, and badgers.

Owls rules the skies during the night, hunting for mice, rabbits, or anything else that might venture from the safety of it's nest in the dark. They will live anywhere, including hollows of trees and small caves in rocks. The species that inhabit Everfrost include great horned owls and barn owls, as well as several other species.

Wolverines are common in Everfrost. It is stocky and muscular, getting to be as large as seventy pounds if they are healthy. They have dark, oily fur that is resistant to frost, allowing them to live in cool areas. They will eat anything that they can catch or find, and are often referred to as gluttons. They are not friendly creatures and can pose a threat to anyone who gets in their way.

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Larger Predators

Black bears roam in forests, slide areas, and alpine meadows. It is the smallest and most common species of bear. Though they are not thickly populated, they are found in abundance in Everfrost. They can pose a danger to wolves and their cubs, as well as to other animals, though they rarely bother anyone who does not bother them. Black bears can be blond, cinnamon, light brown, dark chocolate brown, jet black, or even a blue-tinged black. They are more active during the daytime, while their grizzly counterparts are more active during the night. Almost eighty-five percent of the black bear's diet consists of vegetation. The remaining fifteen percent consists of deer fawns and moose calves. They may also go after smaller mammals or the eggs and chicks of birds.

Bobcats inhabit open forests and bushy areas. It resembles the lynx, though it is smaller. It is generally tan or grayish in color, with black streaks and dark bars on it's legs. The ears are black-tipped and pointed with small tufts of black fur at the tips. Bobcats prefer to hunt prey that is between one and twelve pounds, though will occasionally go after larger prey. Rodents, fish, squirrels, birds, and insects are all prey for the bobcat. They will also hunt foxes, mink, and skunks, as well as similar prey, fawns, and baby mountain goats or bighorn sheep.

The cougar is also known as the mountain lion, puma, mountain cat, and panther. It is a stalk-and-ambush predator that is known to hunt a variet of prey. It lives in a variety of ranges in Everfrost, though it favors forests where it can find places to hide and stalk or stash prey. It competes with the wolf, black bear, and grizzly bear for territory and can pose a threat to a lone wolf. These big cats can be up to eight feet long and weigh over two hundred pounds. Typically, they are a tawny color, but can range from silver-gray to reddish with lighter underparts. It will eat anything that it can catch, from insects to moose. It is a carnivore and does not eat vegetation. It's favorite prey is mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, and occasionally moose, as well as bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

The coyote inhabits the forests and grasslands of Everfrost. It is smaller than it's cousin, the wolf, but more adaptable. It is a grayish brown to a yellowish gray on the upper parts of it's body, with white on the underparts. It weighs anywhere from fifteen to forty-six pounds. Coyotes are opportunistic and will eat whatever is available, though they are ninety percent carnivore. They eat small mammals such as voles, rabbits, squirrels, and mice, but will also eat birds, snakes, lizards, deer, as well as insects. They will also scavenge carcasses. They often compete with and are preyed upon by wolves, especially when their territories overlap. They generally hunt in pairs but will often form packs of six adults and their pups.

The grizzly bear inhabits forests, slide areas, and alpine meadows throughout Everfrost. They are larger than the black bear and pose a greater threat to wolves. They can weigh anywhere from three hundred to nine hundred pounds. Grizzlies can be white, black, and any shade in between, though they are commonly brown, which is how they also received the name brown bear. Their diet consists of both plants and animals. They prey on large mammals, when available, including moose, deer, bighorn sheep, elk, bison, and even black bears. They will go after wolf cubs and the young of other animals.

The lynx is similar to the bobcat, though it is larger in size. It has a short tail and tufts of black fur on the tips of its ears. Their paws are large and padded for walking in snow, since their territory often includes heavy winter snowfall. Lynx inhabit territory similar to the mountain lion; it varies, but it favors the coniferous forests of Everfrost. It is usually a tan or tawny color with black spots and a white chest. They have a similar diet to the bobcat, including rodents, fish, squirrels, birds, and insects are all prey for the bobcat. They will also hunt foxes, mink, and skunks, as well as similar prey, fawns, and baby mountain goats or bighorn sheep.

The wolf was not a native species here, but during the wars outside of the protected land of Everfrost they began to migrate here. Now they are a powerful force that challenges even the forces of the cougars and bears. Strange things have been happening to them. The wolf is a carnivore and does not eat any kind of vegetation. It will hunt anything from fish and birds to small mammals and deer, including the mighty moose.