What is a mammal? A mammal is any animal that has hair and produces
milk. Sometimes the hair is modified, like the quills of a porcupine or the
bristles of a whale, but the presence of hair is the easiest way to identify a
mammal. Humans are mammals, as are the dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and gerbils that
live in our houses as pets.
Pennsylvania has a great diversity of wild mammals, too. Some of Pennsylvania's
wild mammals are game animals, meaning that people are allowed to hunt or trap
them for their fur or meat. Examples are the white-tailed deer, black bear, red
fox, gray fox, coyote, eastern cottontail, eastern gray squirrel, bobcat,
muskrat, American mink, American beaver, and some others.
Many of the Commonwealth's mammal species (varieties) are considered nongame.
Some, like the fisher and northern river otter, are considered nongame because
there are not very many of them in Pennsylvania, so they need to be protected.
Other nongame mammals, like the little brown bat, short-tailed shrew, and
white-footed mouse, are very abundant, but are not very valuable for hunting or
trapping purposes. Finally, some nongame species have declining (shrinking)
populations, and have been "listed" by the Pennsylvania Biological Survey. This
means that they need special attention and protection.
The IMA program recognizes that all Pennsylvania mammals, game and nongame, are
important to our natural diversity. The enjoyment we experience because of their
presence on our land gives us a strong desire to conserve all of our natural
resources.
Available to you is an
electronic field guide to most of the mammal species in Pennsylvania.
This guide is provided by the National Wildlife Federation's eNature website.
The photographs are especially clear and colorful.
A great deal of other information about mammals is available both in print and
through internet sources. There is a scientific society with members devoted to
the study of mammals (American Society
of Mammalogists), which includes a complete listing of
PA mammals.
The National Wildlife Federation website
eNature allows you to
search for information about specific mammals.
To learn more about PA mammals (distribution maps, foods, habitats), see the
Carnegie Museum of Natural History On-Line Mammals of Pennsylvania Resource.
For additional status information, consult the
Mammal Technical
Committee and other
DCNR web information. You may also wish to obtain a copy of Guide to
the mammals of Pennsylvania by Joe Merritt (University of Pittsburgh Press).
Please take some time to learn about these species of special concern.
Endangered
- Least Shrew (Cryptotis parva)
- Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis)
- Fisher (Martes pennanti)
- Delmarva Peninsula Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger cinereus)
Threatened
- West Virginia Water Shrew (Sorex palustris punctulatus)
- Small-footed Bat (Myotis leibii)
- Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)
- Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister)
Candidate (At Risk)
- River Otter (Lontra canadensis) - otter reintroduction in PA
- Eastern Spotted Skunk (Spilogale putorius)
- Rock Vole (Microtus chrotorrhinus)
- Appalachian Cottontail (Sylvilagus obscurus)
- Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus)
Candidate (Rare)
- Northern Water Shrew (Sorex palustris albibarbis)
- Northern long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis)
- Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)
- Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis)
Endangered: is in imminent danger of extinction in Pennsylvania
Threatened: is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future
At risk: is particularly vulnerable to further habitat modifications or exploitation
Rare: is found in either a few restricted areas or over a broad area at low numbers
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