Hobbies And Interests
Roosevelt Elk
The Roosevelt elks of the Olympic Rainforest inhabit a far more forgiving climate than elk species up in the Rocky Mountains or in the snows of the north. The temperate climate has led them to adapt a non-migratory lifestyle as -- unlike the mountain elk who migrate along the melt liens of snowfields -- they have been able to find sustenance in the forest all year round. This conserves energy at key times of year but has also led to the elk becoming more independent of one another. This is because they don't have a concerted migration pattern to bring them together. The forest elk have also adapted a darker coat to camouflage themselves beneath the shade of trees.
Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated woodpeckers are un-discerning about their habitats and have been found in both deciduous and coniferous forests as well as cypress swamps and more built up areas. These woodpeckers have adapted to life in the Olympic Rainforest by developing a digestive tract that can handle almost any biological matter and a high tolerance to poison. This allows the pileated woodpecker to have an enormously varied diet; not only do these woodpeckers hunt insects in the trees, they also eat the berries of poison ivy and sumac, which would be poisonous to humans. This allows pileated woodpeckers to have a constant access to food, even when one source is scarce. They have also adapted to laying their eggs slightly later in this more northern part of the woodpecker's range to prevent the unhatched chick succumbing to the cold.
Cougar
Cougar's are notoriously adaptable animals, a trait that has seen them populate lands from the Tierra del Fuego in the far south of the South American continent to the Canadian Yukon. This is partly due to the cougar's efficiency as a predator and its ability to subsist off a variety of prey. In the Olympic Rainforest they have adapted to hunt the Roosevelt elk and the blacktailed deer as well as other, smaller animals which abound. The keen eyes of a mountain lion allows them to operate nocturnally, which is one thing when hunting on an open plain but quite another in a densely packed forest. Because of these restrictions, forest cougars have adapted to their terrain and become tremendously stealthy and agile predators.
Douglas Squirrel
Amongst the smaller inhabitants of the Olympic Rainforest is the Douglas squirrel. These animals spend much of their time high in the canopy to evade ground-based predators. They have adapted to become agile and effective climbers; they are equipped with tough, curved claws powerful hind legs for leaping great distances, meaning that fatal falls are unusual. Douglas squirrels have also adapted touch receptive whiskers and keen eyes to allow the to operate at night and in dim light. This allows them to avoid being spotted by predators.