If you were to walk through the taiga you would
see quite a few animals. Some of them might be the
beaver, meadow vole, ermine, and the red fox. While
the red fox and ermine are nocturnal, the beaver and
meadow voles are daytime animals. Animals of the
taiga can live in burrows in the snow because the snow
captures the air so they don’t freeze. While they
are in the snow they can survive cold and harsh
weather.
One of the less common animals you would see in
the taiga is the Amur, or Siberian Tiger. Amur tigers
are the largest members of the cat family. Their
forelimbs are shorter than their hind limbs to help
them jump. They also have a loose stomach, which
helps to minimize injury when an enemy kicks them.
The Siberian tiger is also a carnivore that eats
antelope, buffalo, cattle, deer, pigs, and young
elephants. This tiger is one of the many nocturnal
animals in the taiga. There are only 400 amur left in
the world due to loss of prey and habitat. Poisoning
and poachers are another threat. Humans hunt them
to make rugs, meat, and love potions.
The ermine is another animal a person would see
in the taiga. Someone might mistake this animal for a
weasel or ferret with white fur and a short tail.
Ermines eat small mammals, (mice, rabbits squirrels)
insects, berries and birds. Their predators are
martens and owls. They mainly use their sense of
smell and consume 40% of their body weight each day.
The ermine is found in the Arctic Tundra as well as
the Taiga. This animal is known also as the stoat or
short-tailed weasel.
The last animal I will tell you about is the red
fox. Foxes are the smallest members of the dog
family. Red foxes have auburn colored fur and look
like a dog. They eat rabbits, birds, invertebrates,
wild fruit, and rodents. They survive in this biome by
resting in a burrow during the day. Red foxes are
also nocturnal and teach their pups how to hunt for a
few weeks after nursing. After learning the pups
become individual hunters.