< >
Northwest Wildlife Online
Hoofed Mammals:
Order Perissodactyla and Order Artiodactyla
eBooks.com This is the widest collection of Nature and Wildlife ebooks that I have found on the net. If you like science you'll LOVE this site. Tremendous selection of other titles as well.
Birds Mammals Reptiles Amphibians Fish Invertebrates Library NWWOL Online Store Home
Mission Editor Bio Site Map Contact Wildlife Park Links Further Study Wild Employment Northwest Trek
The Mountain Goat, Oreamus americanus, and a fine example of a a pair of young Elk, Cervus elaphus, at the start of the rutting season.
Two Orders, 4 Familes and 10 Species of Hoofed mammals represent wildlife in the Northwest:
Order Perissodactyla - Odd Toed Hoofed Animals
Family Equidae - Horselike mammals:
Feral Horse - Equus caballus
Order Artiodactyla - Even Toed Hoofed Anmimals
Family Cervidae - Deerlike mammals:
Elk - Cervus elaphus
Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus
White-tailed Deer - Odocoileus virginianus
Moose - Alces alces
Caribou - Rangifer tarandus
Family Antilocapridae - Pronghorns:
Pronghorn - Antilocarpa americana
Family Bovidae - Cattle, Antelop, Sheep, and Goats:
Mountain Goat - Oreamus americanus
Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis
Family Suidae - Swine-like mammals:
Feral Pig - Sus scrofu
A beautiful and fairly common sight in the Northwest. If you own country property in these parts you might see a heard of elk grazing your grass quite often - probably even more often than you'd prefer. The Black-tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus, sometimes classified as a sub species of the mule deer, is a familiar sight in the coastal regions of the Northwest. Deer have been known to nibble on a shrub or two.
Read More About Hoofed Mammals
As a former Curator of Hoofstock I have a special affinity for the hoofed mammals. Whereas most of the other keepers could not interact in a hands on fashion with their animals, I could pretty well enter the enclosure of all of my charges anytime I wanted. Bars, fences, chicken wire - none of these things interfered with the view or feel I had with my hoofstock. Even the hippo was used to me.
The Moose, Alces alces. The largest member of the deer family and the largest antlered animal in the world.
Man in general has a special affinity for hoofed animals. Our relationship with the horse is so ingrained that there are still millions of them in the US alone; most kept simply for the enjoyment of having them around. The Army maintained enormous number right up to WW II, and continues to maintain several herds. Sheep and goats may well be the first species of wildlife ever domesticated. Cattle have had an enormous impact on the expansion and culture of humankind.
In its relationship with people, though, the distinctive feature of this class of mammals is actually not the hoof. Hoofed mammals come in two varieties: Even-toed, Artiodactyla, and the odd-toed Perissodactyla. In the Perissodactyla, the main axis of the foot terminates in on the third digit. Artiodactyla have the main axis of the foot passing between toes three and four. In both orders the nails are modified into hoofs. Obviously important to the animal this extension of the toe or toes into a tough, highly functional digit is of secondary importance to us.
A lone bull American Bison, Bison bison in late summer. On the right is a beautiful American Pronghorn Antelope, Antilocapra americana, photo taken in Idaho by Thomas Dahlen of Mooserun Photography
What matters to us is the amazing stomach of our hoofed friends and their ability to harness the power of symbiotic digestion of cellulose. This single faculty, being able to utilize microorganisms to break down the cell wall of plants, has contributed enormously to the success of hoofed mammals and man. This surprising stomach takes many forms. In the Suidae family it is mainly a single stomach like our own. The Equidae have a two chambered model. Camilidae have three chambers and the Cervidae, Bovidae, and Antilocapridae all posses four.
We are fortunate in our hoofed wildlife variety in the Northwest. White-tailed Deer and Mule Deer or Black Tailed Deer are exceptionally common and inhabit a wide range. Mule deer get their name from their exceptionally large ears. Although both species are very similar in appearance, the ears and antlers display the most notable differences. Mule deer antlers are high, branched, and project up and forward; normally four points to the side. White tail antlers curve up, out, and forward, then somewhat over the face of the animal, and have about eight points to the side. This animal has historically been so widespread in North America that its eating habits have greatly impacted the plant species throughout the continent.
Our wild Mountain Goat has an almost mystical appearance. Superbly adapted to its mountain domain this 300 pound can balance its entire body on a two inch rock ledge. Bighorn Sheep with their impressive, rolling horns have a much wider range.
The lone member of the Antilocapridae family is the Antelope. This distinctive looking sprinter and speedster of the open plains is often seen in groups of 4 to 6 animals close to our highways in Idaho and open southeastern areas of Oregon.
Elk congregate in herds of over 30 animals and are notorious for wiping out the gardens of rural landowners. The less common moose is a creature of northern Washington; it is the largest living species of deer in North America.
Caribou are also inhabitants of far north Washington and are distinguished as the only member of the Cervidae family in which both the male and female grow antlers.
I have seen Feral Pigs in Europe and throughout the US. Current reports in the Northwest place them in isolated pockets of Oregon, but I expect them to soon range across the region if not already. Often called Wild Boars they are tough, smart, and ferocious if provoked. I have seen males the size of black bears. These are not animals to trifle with.
Our Feral Horses of western Oregon have strayed into our area from the Great Basin populations. These hearty mammals, also called Mustangs, have been a part of the American wildlife scene for centuries. Even though they are an introduced European animal these wild horse are synonymous with the wide open west.
Birds
Mammals
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fish
Invertebrates
Library
NWWOL Online Store
Home
Mission Editor Bio Site Map Contact Wildlife Park Links Further Study Wild Employment Northwest Trek