Animals of the Taiga
Many animals call the taiga their home. Large predators, such as lynx (left), grizzly bears, black bears, red foxes and wolves reside in the taiga. All these animals have a thick layer of fur on them, which keeps them warm enough to survive the winter. Winters are cold in the taiga, so all the animals who live there have adapted in ways which benefit them. For instance, bears hibernate, a process which allows them to store energy and make it through winter.
Many herbivores live in the taiga, such as moose, elk, deer, snowshoe rabbit and river otter. They feed on the grasses, lichens and moss, and have been able to adapt to the cold weather and snow. Moose have thick fur to trap in the warmth, and snowshoe rabbits have a pure white coat that blends in with the snow in the winter, and then turns brown to blend in with the ground and mud in the spring.
Many birds migrate to the taiga to feed and nest, including finches, sparrows, bald eagles, and ravens. The herbivore birds like wrens and finches are usually only in the Taiga for part of the year, when they migrate there in the summer. The omnivorous birds, such as the raven, often remain there year round.
Below is an example of a food web that would exist in the Taiga