North American Giants

North American Giants Exhibit

North American Giants Exhibit

Meet some of North America's enormous freshwater species.

North American Giants Exhibit

North American Giants Exhibit

See how many species you can find.

North American Giants Exhibit

North American Giants Exhibit

This exhibit offers three separate viewing areas.

North American Giants Exhibit

North American Giants Exhibit

Information about each species can be found on either side of the exhibit.

North American Giants

North American Giants

This exhibit offers three large viewing windows.

About The North American Giants Exhibit

The animals that reside in our North American Giants exhibit can be found across much of the Midwest and Eastern United States, from the Missouri River to the Great Lakes and from the Delaware river to the Gulf of Mexico. With such a wide range, these animals are tolerant of a wide variety of environmental parameters including temperature, water flow, oxygen levels and salinity, or water “saltiness.” Many of the species exhibited in this display can tolerate near-seawater level salinity and are often found in brackish marshes and river deltas. They can also survive winter temperatures that may cause lakes and ponds to freeze over. Gar belong to an ancient group of fishes that can actually breathe air by gulping at the surface, allowing them to live in areas where oxygen saturation is extremely low. This enables the gar to exploit habitats and resources that many other species of fish can not take advantage of.

A typical habitat for many of the species in our North American Giants exhibit would be slow to medium paced warm waters with a fairly high level of turbidity (or murkiness), such as those found in oxbow lakes, large reservoirs, stagnant ponds, sloughs, and canals. Areas with plenty of aquatic vegetation would be inhabited by young of all of these species in an attempt to avoid predation. As they grow, many would move to deeper waters, although they would still seek shelter from fallen trees or large overhangs on the banks. Many of the species in our exhibit, such as the Buffalo Carp thrive best in habitats with, these species thrive best in habitats with soft bottoms and lots of aquatic vegetation to support a large planktonic community on which to feed.

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