🌲 Forest animal reports, grades 3–4
22 sheets, one animal each, so every child in a group gets a different one. Pick another set or one animal.
My report: the tiger
Panthera tigris · Grades 3–4
| Length | 7.2 to 9.8 ft (2.2 to 3 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 249 to 375 lb (113 to 170 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 15 years |
Read about it
Every tiger's stripes are different, like a fingerprint. The stripes break up its shape in tall grass and shadows, so deer don't see it coming. Unlike most cats, tigers enjoy water and are strong swimmers.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Register 2010 (tiger delisting petition 90-day finding), federalregister.gov/d/2010-19895, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the bald eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 28 in to 3.2 ft (71 to 97 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 7 to 14 lb (3.2 to 6.4 kg) |
| Top speed | 35 to 40 mph (56 to 64 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 20 years |
Read about it
Bald eagles aren't bald: "bald" is an old word for white. They swoop down and grab fish from the water with their sharp talons. Young eagles are brown all over and get their white head and tail when they are a few years old.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service (North American bald eagle), nps.gov/articles/bald-eagle.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords, nps.gov/kefj/learn/nature/bald-eagle.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Upper Delaware, home.nps.gov/upde/learn/nature/baldeagles.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the ruby-throated hummingbird
Archilochus colubris · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3 to 3.5 in (7.5 to 9 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 0.11 to 0.12 oz (3 to 3.5 g) |
| Top speed | 60 mph (97 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 5 to 9 years |
Read about it
A hummingbird can hover in one place and even fly backwards. It sips nectar with a long tongue that reaches deep into flowers. The male ruby-throated hummingbird has a shiny red throat that flashes in the sun.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/media/ruby-throated-hummingbird-10, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network, nps.gov/articles/netn-species-spotlight-ruby-throated-hummingbird.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/story/2024-08/august-2024-bird-month-ruby-throated-hummingbird, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the gray wolf
Canis lupus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 5.9 ft (1.8 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 30 to 32 in (77 to 81 cm) |
| Weight | 90 to 110 lb (41 to 50 kg) |
| Top speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 4 to 5 years |
Read about it
A wolf pack is usually a family: a mother, a father and their pups from the last few years. They howl to call the pack together and to tell other packs where they are. Wolves can travel a long way in a day looking for food.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone (wolf facts), nps.gov/articles/yellowstone-wolf-facts.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the grizzly bear
Ursus arctos horribilis · Grades 3–4
| Length | 5 to 7 ft (1.5 to 2.1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 3.3 ft (1 m) |
| Weight | 243 to 661 lb (110 to 300 kg) |
| Top speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 25 years |
Read about it
A grizzly has a big hump of muscle on its shoulders, which powers its digging for roots and squirrels. It eats almost anything, from berries and pine nuts to salmon. In late summer it eats and eats to put on fat for its long winter sleep in a den.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Bears (brown bears), nps.gov/subjects/bears/brown-bears.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Yellowstone (grizzly vs black bear), nps.gov/articles/yell-wildlife-bear-differences.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- US Fish and Wildlife Service (grizzly bear species profile), fws.gov/species/grizzly-bear-ursus-arctos-horribilis, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Glacier, nps.gov/glac/learn/nature/bears.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the komodo dragon
Varanus komodoensis · Grades 3–4
| Length | 10 ft (3.1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 154 lb (70 kg) |
| Top speed | 9.9 to 12 mph (16 to 20 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 30 years |
Read about it
A Komodo dragon flicks out its yellow, forked tongue to pick up smells from the air, and can find food from far away. It is not a real dragon and can't breathe fire, but it is the heaviest lizard on Earth. Baby dragons live up in trees, where they are safer.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Komodo dragon, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/komodo-dragon, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the asian elephant
Elephas maximus · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 5.9 to 12 ft (1.8 to 3.8 m) |
| Weight | 3 to 6 tons (2.8 to 5.4 tonnes) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 47 years |
Read about it
An Asian elephant's trunk ends in one finger-like tip, while an African elephant's has two. Only some males grow long tusks. Asian elephants live in family herds led by an older female, and they need lots of water and plants every day.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/asian-elephant, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the reindeer (caribou)
Rangifer tarandus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 4.9 to 6.6 ft (1.5 to 2 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 30 in to 4.9 ft (76 cm to 1.5 m) |
| Weight | 130 to 600 lb (59 to 272 kg) |
| Top speed | 6 mph (9.7 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 12 to 16 years |
Read about it
Reindeer eat lichen, a crusty growth on rocks and soil, which they dig out from under the snow with their wide hooves. In summer they eat grasses and leaves. Herds travel together across the open land.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, nps.gov/bela/learn/nature/caribou.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Caribou: Did You Know?, nps.gov/articles/caribou-did-you-know.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, fs.usda.gov/database/feis/animals/mammal/rata/all.html, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the moose
Alces alces · Grades 3–4
| Length | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 5 to 7 ft (1.5 to 2.1 m) |
| Weight | 701 to 1,400 lb (318 to 635 kg) |
| Top speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 15 to 25 years |
Read about it
A male moose grows wide, flat antlers, which fall off each winter and grow back in spring. Moose have long legs for stepping over fallen logs and wading through deep snow and lakes. They wade into ponds to eat water plants, and they can even dive under the surface to get them.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords, nps.gov/kefj/learn/nature/moose.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Rocky Mountain, nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/moose.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Denali, nps.gov/dena/learn/nature/moose.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Grand Portage, nps.gov/articles/000/mooz-moose.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the white-tailed deer
Odocoileus virginianus · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 30 to 36 in (76 to 91 cm) |
| Weight | 90 to 300 lb (41 to 136 kg) |
| Top speed | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 10 years |
Read about it
When a white-tailed deer senses danger, it raises its tail to show the bright white underside and bounds away. This flag warns other deer to run too. A fawn has white spots that help it hide on the forest floor, and almost no smell.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Jewel Cave, nps.gov/jeca/learn/nature/white-tailed-deer-odocoileus-virginianus.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Prince William Forest Park, home.nps.gov/prwi/learn/nature/deer.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Chattahoochee River, home.nps.gov/chat/blogs/the-park-after-dark-white-tailed-deer.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the red fox
Vulpes vulpes · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3.6 ft (1.1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 15 to 20 in (38 to 51 cm) |
| Weight | 9 to 11 lb (4.1 to 5 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 3 to 4 years |
Read about it
A red fox has big pointy ears and very good hearing. When it hears a mouse in the grass or under the snow, it leaps high and dives down on it. Most red foxes have a white tip on the tail and black socks on their legs.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/red-fox.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Pipestone, nps.gov/pipe/learn/nature/mammals.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service (The Clever Red Fox), nps.gov/articles/fox.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/vuvu, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the raccoon
Procyon lotor · Grades 3–4
| Length | 24 in to 3.1 ft (60 to 95 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 9 to 12 in (23 to 31 cm) |
| Weight | 15 to 40 lb (6.8 to 18 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 1.8 to 3.1 years |
Read about it
A raccoon's front paws are very sensitive, especially when they are wet, so it can feel what it is holding without looking. It often dunks its food in water before eating it, which is where its science name, lotor, comes from: it means the washer. At night raccoons climb, wander and look for fruit, nuts, eggs, frogs and insects.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service (raccoon quick facts), nps.gov/articles/racoon.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Pipestone, nps.gov/pipe/learn/nature/mammals.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/prlo, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the north American beaver
Castor canadensis · Grades 3–4
| Length | 35 in to 3.3 ft (89 cm to 1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 35 to 60 lb (16 to 27 kg) |
| Top speed | 5 mph (8.1 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 8 to 10 years |
Read about it
A beaver's orange front teeth never stop growing, and chewing wood keeps them short. It piles sticks and mud across a stream to make a dam, and the water behind the dam becomes a pond. In the pond the family builds a lodge, a dome of sticks with a door that opens underwater.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/beaver.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Acadia, nps.gov/articles/north-american-beaver-acadia.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Prince William Forest Park, nps.gov/prwi/learn/nature/beaver.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the giant panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3.9 to 5.9 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 24 to 35 in (60 to 90 cm) |
| Weight | 351 lb (159 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 15 years |
Read about it
A giant panda eats bamboo for most of the day, even though pandas belong to the bear family. It holds the bamboo with a special wrist bone that works like a thumb. Newborn cubs are pink, tiny and blind, and they grow fur and learn to climb as they get older.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Giant Panda species page, fws.gov/species/giant-panda-ailuropoda-melanoleuca, checked 2026-10-30
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Giant panda, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giant-panda, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the koala
Phascolarctos cinereus · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 8.8 to 33 lb (4 to 15 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A koala eats mostly eucalyptus leaves, which are tough and even poisonous to many animals. They give very little energy, so a koala sleeps most of the day. A baby koala, called a joey, grows in its mother's pouch and then rides on her back.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Register 2000 (Threatened Status for the Koala), federalregister.gov/documents/2000/05/09/00-11507/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-final-determination-of-threatened-status-for-the-koala, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the eastern gray squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis · Grades 3–4
| Length | 9 to 12 in (23 to 31 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 1 year to 6 years |
Read about it
An eastern gray squirrel races along branches and fences, using its bushy tail to balance. In fall it collects acorns and nuts and buries them in many hiding places, then sniffs them out later, even under snow. It sleeps and raises babies in a nest of leaves up in a tree, called a drey.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Castle Clinton, nps.gov/cacl/learn/nature/index.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Lowell, nps.gov/lowe/learn/nature/squirrel.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the little brown bat
Myotis lucifugus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 9.1 to 11 in (23 to 28 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 0.5 oz (14 g) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 6.5 years |
Read about it
A little brown bat makes clicks and squeaks too high for people to hear and listens for the echoes that bounce back from insects, which is how it finds them in the dark. In the daytime it sleeps hanging upside down in a hidden, dark place such as a barn, a cave or a hollow tree.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Lassen Volcanic, nps.gov/lavo/learn/nature/bats.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Jewel Cave, nps.gov/jeca/learn/nature/bats.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the great horned owl
Bubo virginianus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 18 to 25 in (46 to 63 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 2.2 to 3.8 lb (998 g to 1.7 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 13 to 15 years |
Read about it
The "horns" of a great horned owl are only tufts of feathers, not real horns. Its eyes cannot move in their sockets, so it turns its whole head to look around. Soft feathers on its wings help it fly almost without a sound.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon, nps.gov/brca/learn/nature/owls.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Golden Spike, nps.gov/gosp/learn/nature/birds.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the wild turkey
Meleagris gallopavo · Grades 3–4
| Length | 4 ft (1.2 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 3.9 ft (1.2 m) |
| Weight | 15 to 25 lb (6.8 to 11 kg) |
| Top speed | 54 mph (87 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 3 to 5 years |
Read about it
A male turkey, called a tom, fans his tail and puffs out his feathers to show off. The bumpy skin on his head can turn red, white or blue, and a flap of loose skin called a wattle hangs under his chin. At dusk, wild turkeys fly up to sleep high in the trees.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Bluestone, nps.gov/blue/learn/nature/wild-turkey.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/wild-turkey, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the spotted salamander
Ambystoma maculatum · Grades 3–4
| Length | 4.4 to 9.8 in (11 to 25 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 20 to 30 years |
Read about it
Spotted salamanders spend most of their lives underground, in animal burrows or under logs. On the first warm, rainy nights of spring, they walk to woodland pools to lay jelly-like eggs. The young swim with feathery gills, then grow legs and leave the pool in summer.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, nps.gov/chat/learn/nature/spotted-salamander.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Minute Man National Historical Park, nps.gov/mima/learn/nature/reptiles-and-amphibians.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the wood frog
Lithobates sylvaticus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 2 to 3 in (5.1 to 7.6 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
Wood frogs spend winter under fallen leaves, where parts of their bodies freeze. Their hearts stop beating and they stop breathing until the spring warmth thaws them. A natural sugar in their bodies keeps the ice from harming their cells.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, nps.gov/gaar/learn/nature/wood-frog-page-1.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the coyote
Canis latrans · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 16 to 20 in (41 to 51 cm) |
| Weight | 25 to 35 lb (11 to 16 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 6 years |
Read about it
A coyote eats almost anything, from mice and rabbits to insects and berries, so it can live in deserts, forests, farms and even big cities. Coyotes yip, bark and howl, and just a few together can sound like a whole crowd. A mother and father raise their pups in a den, and the pups grow up learning from their family.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/coyote.htm, checked 2026-10-30