Only two beavers the American and the Eurasian are alive. The world's second-largest rodent (after the South American capybara) may reach 50 60 pounds. Big, stocky American beavers have webbed feet, short legs, and scaled tails.

The brown bear is one of North America's biggest and strongest terrestrial carnivores. Despite its half-ton (454 kg) size, this ursine can gallop at 35 mph (56 kph) in search of food and possesses non-retractable claws for digging.

The American alligator is a North American institution, not as lethal as its reputation but nonetheless common enough in the Southeast to worry locals, particularly pond and pool owners. Some mature alligators may reach 13 feet (4 m).

The American moose, the biggest deer, has a massive body, long legs, a long head, a flexible upper lip and snout, enormous ears, and a pronounced neck dewlap. The American moose's dark brown (nearly black) fur fades in winter.

Important species like the monarch butterfly have black bodies with white spots and vivid orange wings with black borders and veins (some black regions are mottled with white dots). Monarch caterpillars take milkweed toxins.

The nine-banded armadillo, the world's most ubiquitous, lives in North, Central, and South America. Nine-banded armadillos are nocturnal, solitary insectivores that weigh 5 to 15 pounds (2 7 kg) and measure 14 to 22 inches (36 56 cm.

The tufted titmouse, a little songbird, is distinguished by its gray head crest, huge black eyes, black forehead, and rust-colored sides. Tufted titmice are recognized for their fashion sense, including using rattlesnake scales.