Prerequisites:

MAMMAL STUDY:

3. Do ONE of the following:

(a) Spend three hours in two different kinds of natural habitats or at different elevations for a total of 6 hours. List the different mammal species and how many of each you identified by sight or sign. Tell why all mammals do not live in the same kind of habitat.
Resources: How to Find Mammal Signs (video)
Animal Tracks Identification Guide | Animal Footprint ID Charts (website)

(b) Spend three hours on five different days in at least a 4-acre area (about the size of 3 football fields) for a total of 15 hours. List the mammal species you identified by sight or sign.

(c) From study and reading, write a simple life history of one nongame mammal that lives in your area. Tell how this mammal lived before its habitat was affected in any way by humans. Tell how it reproduces, what it eats, and its natural habitat. Describe its dependency upon plants and other animals (including humans), and how they depend upon it. Describe how humans have benefited from the mammal you have chosen and whether the mammal has benefited from association with humankind.

4. Do ONE of the following:

(a) Under the guidance of a nature center or natural history museum, make two study skins of rats or mice. Tell the uses of study skins and mounted specimens respectively.
Resources: Skinning Your Rat (video)
Preparing Mammal Specimens (video)
Natural History Museums in the US (website)

(b) Take good pictures of two kinds of mammals in the wild. Record the date(s), time of day, weather conditions, approximate distance from the animal, habitat conditions, and any other factors you feel may have influenced the animal's activity and behavior.
Resources: Top 10 Wildlife Photography Shortcuts (video)
The Most Important Wildlife Photography (video)
The Ultimate Wildlife Photography Tutorial (website)
Wildlife Photography (website) 

(c) Write a life history of a native game mammal that lives in your area, covering the points outlined in requirement 3(c). List sources for this information.

(d) Make and bait a tracking pit. Report what mammals and other animals came to the bait.
Resources: Build Animal Track Station (video)
Creating a Backyard Animal Track Trap With Household Items (video)
Animal Tracking Basics - Track Traps, Measurements, Following Sign (video)

(e) Visit a natural history museum. Report on how specimens are prepared and cataloged. Explain the purposes of museums.
Resource: Natural History Museums in the US (website)

(f) Write a report of 500 words on a book about a mammal species.

(g) Trace two possible food chains of carnivorous mammals from the soil through four stages to the mammal.
Resources: Animal of the Week: Food Chains (video)
Food Chains & Food Webs (video)
Tundra Food Chain (website)

7. Do ONE of the following:

(a) Explore careers related to this merit badge. Research one career to learn about the training and education needed, costs, job prospects, salary, job duties, and career advancement. Your research methods may include—with your parent or guardian's permission—an internet or library search, an interview with a professional in the field, or a visit to a location where people in this career work. Discuss with your counselor both your findings and what about this profession might make it an interesting career.
Resource: 10+ Wildlife Biology Careers You Should Know About (& Salaries) (video)

(b) Explore how you could use knowledge and skills from this merit badge to pursue a hobby or healthy lifestyle. Research any training needed, expenses, and organizations that promote or support it. Discuss with your counselor what short-term and long-term goals you might have if you pursued this.
Resources: Top Tips to get into Wildlife Photography (video)
A Look Inside the Life of a Wildlife Rehab Volunteer (video)

REPTILE & AMPHIBIAN STUDY:

8. Do ONE of the following:

(a) Take custody of one or more reptiles or amphibians in a manner approved by your counselor. Maintain one or more reptiles or amphibians for at least a month. Record food accepted, eating methods, changes in coloration, shedding of skins, and general habits; or keep the eggs of a reptile from the time of laying until hatching; or keep the eggs of an amphibian from the time of laying until their transformation into tadpoles (frogs) or larvae (salamanders). Whichever you chose, keep records of and report to your counselor how you cared for your animal/eggs/larvae to include lighting, habitat, temperature and humidity maintenance and any veterinary care requirements. Unless you are the long-term owner, at the conclusion of this study, turn the animal(s) over to another responsible party approved by your counselor.
Resource: Pet Journaling: Track Your Pet's Needs and Your Time Efficiently (website)

(b) Choose a reptile or amphibian that you can observe or foster at a local zoo, aquarium, nature center, local rescue, or other such exhibit (such as your classroom or school). Study the specimen weekly for a period of three months. At each visit, sketch the specimen in its captive habitat and note any changes in its coloration, shedding of skins, and general habits and behavior. Discuss with your counselor how the animal you observed was cared for to include its housing and habitat, how the lighting, temperature, and humidity were maintained, and any veterinary care requirements.
Find out, either from information you locate on your own or by talking to the caretaker, what this species eats and what are its native habitat and home range, preferred climate, average life expectancy, and natural predators.
Also, identify any human-caused threats to its population and any laws that protect the species and its habitat. After the observation period, share what you have learned with your counselor.

9. Do TWO of the following:

(a) Identify at night three kinds of toads or frogs by their voices. Imitate the song of each for your counselor. Stalk each with a flashlight and discover how each sings and from where.
Resource: Frog Sounds: Why They Make Them (Examples) (video)

(b) Identify by sight eight species of reptiles or amphibians.
Resources: Reptiles of the United States (website)
Amphibians of the United States (website)

(c) Using visual aids, give a brief talk to a small group on three different reptiles and amphibians.