Burrowing Owl
Burrowing owls live in North, Central, and South America. In the U.S., they're found in the southwestern desert and western grasslands northward into Canada, as well as in Florida. The ground-dwelling creatures typically use burrows dug out by other animals as a place to lay eggs and for safety, but they can dig their own if the soil is loose enough. 

Preferring open country with sparse vegetation that allows a good view of landscape, burrowing owls can be found on golf courses, cemeteries, airports, vacant lots, university campuses, and pastures. Unlike most owls, which are nocturnal, burrowing owls are active at dawn, daytime, and dusk, and they feed on beetles, grasshoppers, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, scorpions, and smaller birds. Their predators include larger owls, hawks, falcons, badgers, skunks, ferrets, armadillos, snakes, and domestic cats and dogs.

Burrowing owls are a species on the decline, in part because their burrows are disappearing. In parts of Florida, people are trying to rid their property of venomous snakes by smoking them out of burrows or pouring gasoline into the burrows. The snakes are often fast enough to escape, but gopher tortoises aren't, and are subsequently caught and killed. The gopher tortoise is a threatened species. Without them around to dig the holes, burrowing owls will have nowhere to go. In the Southwest, farmers have been trying to eradicate prairie dogs because they're considered a nuisance to their cattle. But because they also dig burrows, they are important because they provide habitat for other species like the burrowing owl.

Arctic Fox
The only mammal native to Iceland, the Arctic fox has tiny ears, a short muzzle and limbs, and hairy foot pads for insulation and grip on snow and ice. Weighing about 10 pounds, these foxes have a white coat in the winter, which sheds in spring and turns into a gray-black-brown coat in summer, providing camouflage in all seasons. Their winter coat is extremely insulating and keeps them warm in cold temperatures.

Predators of the arctic fox include wolves, polar bears, and golden eagles. Arctic foxes feed on small rodents, nestling birds, and sometimes seal pups and fish. They have great hearing -- they listen for rodents under the snow, and then pounce. Global warming is their biggest threat.

Canadian Lynx
Found in boreal forest in Canada and the northern U.S., the Canadian lynx has feet shaped like gigantic snowshoes. Weighing between 20 and 30 pounds, they are nocturnal creatures similar in appearance to bobcats, only taller, with larger feet and grayer fur. Bobcats have striped tails, but the lynx just has a black tip. They generally live between 10 and 20 years in the wild.

The Canadian Lynx is a threatened species in the U.S., due to habitat loss and fragmentation (logging of boreal forest), hunting and trapping, and getting hit by cars. Their primary prey is the snowshoe hare. When the snowshoe hare population goes up and down, it affects the lynx -- high populations of snowshoe hare equals high population of lynx and vice versa.

Spider Monkey
Named for their disproportionately long limbs, spider monkeys live in evergreen and tropical forests from Mexico to Brazil and rarely come down to the jungle floor, preferring the upper, undisturbed portions of the forest. Spider Monkeys differ from other primates in that they don't have opposable thumbs. They are more adapted for life in trees, using their hands as hooks as they move through the forest. As they evolved, the thumb wasn't necessary. With a very advanced tail that is almost like a fifth hand -- which they sometimes use to pick fruit -- these monkeys are known to be agile and acrobatic, using their long arms and prehensile tail to move from branch to branch. Adults reach an average of 20 inches tall, and live in groups of about 30 monkeys, but forage in smaller groups of five to six. The groups are led by dominant females who decide where to forage.

In the wild, spider monkeys eat fruit, seeds, leaves, flowers, bark, and honey; a very small portion of their diet consists of insects, larvae, and bird eggs. Seeds pass through their digestive tract, which helps regenerate the forest. Their fairly large brains help with social interaction and remembering where fruit trees are in forest, and they can live between 20 and 30 years in the wild. The biggest threats to these monkeys are the destruction of tropical forests and hunting.

Eurasian River Otter
Found throughout Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa, Eurasian River Otters weigh between 20 and 30 pounds, and can grow to be about 3 feet long. They're semi-aquatic creatures, meaning, they spend some time in water for hunting and hiding from predators, but otherwise are on land. They use their sensitive paws to feel around for food or pebbles they want to play with while their eyes are above water, looking out for potential danger. While these river otters are competent swimmers, they are not as at home in the water as sea otters. Their den, called a holt, has an underwater entrance, with the living chambers above ground, lined with grass and dry leaves.

Eurasian river otters have a dense coat with waterproof guard hairs that keep the undercoat and skin dry. They can close their ears and nostrils when underwater. However, they lack a blubber layer and rely solely on their coat to keep them warm. Intelligent and curious creatures, these river otters feed on fish, frogs, crayfish, crabs, and other aquatic invertebrates. They catch their prey with their mouths, not their paws.

Eurasian river otters are a vulnerable species, whose threats include over-hunting by people, habitat destruction, water pollution from pesticides and oil spills, and getting hit by cars.

Resources
Special thanks to the National Wildlife Federation's David Mizejewski for sharing this information in celebration of National Wildlife Week, March 16 to 20, 2009. The National Wildlife Week website offers free resources to make spending time outdoors easier than ever; to download free activities, Wildlife Watch lists of local plants and animals, Ranger Rick's tips for going green, and more, visit nwf.org/nationalwildlifeweek. Special thanks to Sterling Publishing Company for giving copies of the National Wildlife Federation's "Field Guide to Birds of North America," available on wildlifeweekonline.org, to our studio audience.