Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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  • Some fowl, such as the ruffed grouse, wild turkey and a few others are found generally distributed throughout the region but are relatively scarce. The red fox has probably been the cause of this scarcity. Wild turkeys keep to the grassy "balds" during the breeding season. The bob-white, usually a dweller in the cultivated valleys, is occasionally seen on these mountain-top meadows. Dense thickets which keep the predatory mammals and hirds from their prey, protect that prey. For this reason, the smaller rodents are exceedingly numerous. They are, however, nocturnal in habit and so are not often observed. The vole, or red-backed mouse, is a large, typically Canadian- zone rodent, seen on peaks and high ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains. It is not found again until the New ^ ork region is reached, and then not again until Labrador. The white-footed mouse, smaller and brown, is found at lower elevations. The jumping mouse, common at all elevations in the park region, has short front legs, long hind legs and an exceptionally long tail for balance while jumping. This mouse jumps for unbelievably long distances, especially if frightened. The groundhog stays in open woods and along the streams. Since it has little liking for the damp spruce woods it is relatively scarce. The chipmunk or ground squirrel lives in the areas frequented by the groundhog. Lbe red squirrel, or "boomer", is plentiful, friendly and inquisitive, making its presence known when man is near. The less hardy gray squirrel stays at lower altitudes. Hirds of the mountain region are classed in three zones, M tire the mammals and other animals. The bird zones are: the Canadian, from 4,000-4,500 feet and upward; the Alle- ghanian or transition from 4,000 down to 2,500 feet; and ti'c Carolinian or upper Austral, below 2,500 feet. The birds of the Great Smokies are nearly all of the Canadian zone. 105
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).