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Learn About Pennsylvania Mammals
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).
PA Species Of Special Concern
Please take some time to learn about these species of special concern.
Endangered
Threatened
Candidate (At Risk)
Candidate (Rare)
Mammal Status Definitions
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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