The Coati (co-AH-tee) is a relative of the raccoon with a long nose, masked face, and a striped tail. Coatis are curious and energetic, just like kids!
Coati Club News, Fall 2016
Fall is in the air, and so are many animals that are flying south for the winter. Many animals, such as birds, bats, and even butterflies, head south to warmer weather. A large aquatic mammal, the Gray Whale, makes a long journey through ocean waters. This journey is called migration, and the animals that make it are called migrants. Some migrants stay in the Sonoran Desert region. Others pass through on their way south. You’ll get to meet some of these fall migrants along with some fun migration facts in this issue!
In late summer, Monarch butterflies make an amazing trip each year that lasts about a month. Monarchs from east of the Rocky Mountains group together and migrate south to Mexico from as far north as Minnesota and Canada. Another population, west of the Rocky Mountains, migrates to the California coast. Migrating Monarchs travel about 50 miles a day. They stop along the way to drink sweet flower nectar. This fuels their flight and builds up fat to live off of over the winter. They visit many kinds of flowers but especially depend on milkweed flowers.
Monarchs that migrate to Mexico make their long journey to the oyamel fir forest, nestled on the mountains near the town of El Rosario in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. There, the El Rosario Monarch Sanctuary is prime habitat where millions of butterflies stay for about five months. When they arrive, they cluster upon the fir branches, turning the green boughs orange and black. This habitat provides a cool place where Monarchs slowly burn their stored energy. The surrounding trees protect them from snow and wind. Fog and clouds bring the water they need for moisture.
After five months, the butterflies head north again. These butterflies won’t live long enough to make the long journey back to Minnesota. Instead, females lay eggs on milkweed plants along the way. Their young caterpillars eat milkweed leaves until they, too, turn into butterflies. They continue the migration northward as spring moves north, laying their own eggs. In August, the great-great-great grandchildren of the butterflies who spent the winter in Mexico will head south again.
Monarch migration still poses mysteries to scientists. How are they are able to travel so far? Scientists think that Monarchs conserve their “fuel” in flight by gliding on air currents as they travel. They also wonder why these butterflies winter together in groups. They have observed that clusters of Monarchs forming late in the day appear to be tighter on evenings with cooler temperatures. Could this behavior help protect them from the cold, or does it help give an individual Monarch a better chance of escaping if a predator attacks a large cluster?
Closer to home, scientists in Southern Arizona wonder about the Monarchs that pass through the Sonoran Desert region. Are they on their way to spend the winter with the eastern Monarchs in Mexico, or are they headed to California? What questions do you have?
From high in the sky to under the ocean water is another animal that makes an incredible migration – the Gray Whale!
Every year, Gray Whales travel about 12,000 miles – the longest known migration of any mammal. Around October, they swim from cold Arctic Alaskan and Siberian waters, where they have been eating small shrimplike animals and tube worms, preparing for their long migration to winter lagoons off Baja California’s Pacific coast. They arrive there about December and January. These warm, shallow, salty bays are perfect calving grounds and the extra-salty water makes it easier for baby whales to float while nursing, resting, and practicing to becoming good swimmers. By late April or May, the adult Gray Whales, along with the young whales born over the winter, begin the long trip back to the colder northern waters.
Both tiny Monarch butterflies and huge Gray Whales face dangers on their yearly migration. Predators, pollution, loss of habitat, and climate change are a few things that can affect or prevent some of these amazing animals from completing their journeys. We can help all animal migrants by making less pollution, protecting their habitat, and, especially for butterflies and birds, planting gardens with native plants to give them food and a place to rest.
What other things can you do to help our migrating animals? Here are a couple of websites you can check out to learn more animal facts and ways you can help!
Rufous hummingbirds are known for their reddish brown tones and an occasional flash of bright orange. In certain light, their throat feathers shine and shimmer brightly. This is called iridescence. You can make a shiny Rufous hummingbird. Here’s how!
You will need:
Instructions:
Can Monarchs fly when it rains? Print out this puzzle, use the code chart to decode the words, and find out!
Answer:
Heavy rainfall could drive Monarchs to the ground where they would be unprotected.
We have talked a lot about migration in this issue of Coati Club News. Choose an animal that migrates into or out of the desert. Here is a list of some you might choose from:
Do a little research on this animal to find out the following questions:
Add any other interesting facts you find. Draw a picture of your animal and write or record your answers to these questions to complete your migration research. Then share what you have learned with friends and family!
Photo credits: Swainson's Hawk, Monarch Butterfly, and Caterpillar, Jim Honcoop; Rufous Hummingbird, Don and Shea Sorenson; Gray Whale, Julie Xelowski-Brooker