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**__New Species of Plants and Animals Discovered__ By: Jeanna, Jessica, Jeff, and Alexis **


 * Our topic is New Species of Plants and Animals Discovered by Lewis and Clark on their expedition. On their journey they discovered many different types of plants and animals. Below are some that we researched. Among these are the North American moose, the black-tailed prairie dog, the bighorn sheep, the buffalo berry, the star-mallow, puma, ermine, Canadian Wild ginger, and the Oregon grape. Some of these plants helped Lewis and Clark survive on their expedition when they were starving. Overall, these were all documented and oberved for science. **

Bull Moose Sound media type="file" key="Moose Grunt 2.mp3" width="235" height="51"** Moose ** The moose is one of the largest mammals in North America. It is part of the Cervidae family, which is primarily deer. Seeing as how Lewis and Clark mainly traveled on the plains, the moose of the northern forests were rarely seen. There were two passages about them, however. But they were only sightings. The moose can.... -live 8-25 years -grow up to 7ft tall -weigh up to 1500 pounds [] [] []



**Black-tailed Prairie Dog** Black-tailed prairie dogs are tough animals that live in and around holes deep within the prairie dirt. They grow to between 14 and 17 inches long and weigh about 2 to 3 pounds. They are tan with a whitish or buff-white belly. The tips of their tails are sparsely covered by black hair. They have short ears and compared to their body size, they have big black eyes. Prairie dogs live from 3 to 5 years. [] []

 The natural range of //Bighorn sheep// was once in the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada to Colorado, but is now reduced to areas where small bands are protected by trackless habitat. The desert subspecies ranges from Nevada and California to west Texas and south into Mexico. Another rare group inhabits the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. [] []
 * Bighorn Sheep**

**Buffaloberry** A tall, thorny, thick forming native shrub. Well adapted to dry, moderately basic and salty soils. Stands in barren soils, in part because of its ability to fix and take in berries used for jellies.



**Star-mallow** The Greek name of this weed means Star-mallow, and the whole plant is silvery gray with stiff, star-shaped hairs, which are said to have a bad effect on the digestive tracts of grazing cattle and horses, though sheep seem to take no harm and appear to be very fond of the plant. Puma Sound media type="file" key="PUMA.wav" width="300" height="50" align="center"

**Puma** The puma is one of the largest predatorial animals encountered by the Corps of Discovery. They are nocturnal, so it was quite hard for the Corps to capture one. However, Reubin Fields shot on at the mouth of a creek, which soon became known as panther creek. []



**Ermine** The male ermine reaches maturity at 12 months. The female reaches maturity at 2 months of age. The mating season is during late spring and summer. They have babies every year. Three to thirteen young are born each mating season. The birth size of the ermine is a half an ounce. When the kits (babies) are 8 weeks old their mother teaches them to how to hunt. After the mother teaches them how to hunt the female kits are ready to mate. []



**Canadian Wild Ginger** The Canadian Wild Ginger was discovered at the mouth of the Osage river on the first of June by Lewis. When it was further examined in the years to come, it came to be used as a medicinal plant that is still used today. []



**Oregon Grape-Barbary Berry** This plant was discovered in April by Lewis while he was traveling up the Columbia River. He found it while it was flowering, so he did not get a chance to see the fruits until later on. As the Indians discovered, when grinding up the bark of the plant it makes a brilliant yellow dye. As the Americans discovered, the fruits are quite sour but make an excellent jam. []