Interesting Factoids

• The green heron (Butorides virescens) is one of the few tool-using birds. It commonly drops bait onto the surface of the aquatic and grabs the small fish that are attracted. It uses a variety of baits and lures, including insects, earthworms, twigs, or feathers.
• Having mated in autumn, a female Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) becomes pregnant after the winter hibernation when she ovulates and an egg is fertilized by sperm stored from the autumn mating. Pregnant females migrate to trees that serve as maternity colonies throughout the summer. The female births a single pup, which she tends for about a month before taking it on its first flight in tandem with her.
• Ohio has 2,300 different types of plants that grow wild. Of these, over 500 are non-native, and 65 are
  considered invasive.
• The Eastern wood frog (Rana sylvatica sylvatica) is found farther north than any other reptile or amphibian in North America. In Ohio, the wood frog is found in the eastern two-thirds of the state and hibernates on land. In order to survive, the wood frog produces large amounts of proteins and sugar which are pumped throughout the body. This keeps cells from freezing and prevents dehydration. Up to 45 percent of the frog’s body may turn to ice. During this period, the frog’s breathing, blood flow, and heartbeat stop. Another Ohio amphibian, the gray treefrog, can also freeze itself for the winter.
• The beaver found in Ohio today is not the first of its kind to live in the state. A relation, the giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis), roamed the land during the Ice Age. They reached lengths up to seven and a half feet, the size of a medium black bear! The historical presence of giant beavers has been documented mostly in the Till Plains of Ohio, which stretch from the state’s western boundary eastward to Columbus. They became extinct about 10,000 years ago.