To determine the lateral area of the pentagonal prism illustrated in the figure, we begin the calculation.
According to the definition:

Where:
: Represents the lateral area
: Refers to the perimeter of the base
h: Denotes the height
By substituting the known values:

Result:

To determine the number of animals observed per hike, you first calculate: For Rivers Edge, it's 3 km with 8 animals, resulting in 8/3 = 2.67 animals per km. For Wooded Marsh, it's 8 km with 20 animals, totaling 20/8 = 2.5 animals per km. Finally, Canyon Creek has 15 km with 35 animals, leading to 35/15 = 2.33 animals per km. The order from highest to lowest is Canyon Creek, Wooded Marsh, and Rivers Edge!