Mammal Photos

This young bunny is only about half-grown and does net yet exhibit the distinctive long legs and long ears, relative to other rabbits in the east.

Widespread in the western US in sagebrush, grasslands, some wooded areas.

Smaller ears, legs, and tail help identify this cottontail of marshes and swamps in the coastal plain of the southeastern US.

Fairly new beaver dam developing along New Hope Creek in the Duke Forest.

Beavers build lodges out of sticks in the middle of the pond that forms behind the dams they build.

Here is a sure sign that beavers live in the area!

Fairly widespread in North America except in the southeast and parts of the great plains and western midwest.

Living in coniferous forests of the North and high elevations, this is an energetic & feisty species. In NC, they're found only in the mountains, and this is near the southernmost edge of their range in the Eastern U.S.

Click here for more Red Squirrel photos.

Very common over much of eastern North America and certainly the most common squirrel in NC, this species is excellent at raiding bird feeders!

Click here for more Gray Squirrel photos, including an all black race.

A constant battle takes place between backyard bird enthusiasts providing seed and shelter for birds and the opportunistic squirrels who believe those gifts are for them!

Click here for more Gray Squirrel photos.

Click here for more Gray Squirrel photos.

The largest squirrel in the eastern U.S., they are abundant in some parts of their range and are found begging at every park bench. In NC, however, they are rare and are found primarily in dry remnant longleaf pine habitats. Their body coloration is variable from grayish and/or rufous to quite blackish with white on the face.

Click here for more Fox Squirrel photos.

Click here for more Fox Squirrel photos.

Click here for more Fox Squirrel photos.

Largest chipmunk in North America. Note indistinct face stripes and reddish rump area.

Cheek pouches are full of seeds!

Appropriately named, this is one of the smallest chipmunks and is found from Michigan's upper peninsula west throughout Canada and down into much of the mountainous areas of the western U.S.

Strongly marked facial pattern and colorful tail distinguish this species, found from se British Columbia to sw MT.

Click here for more Yellow-pine Chipmunk Photos

Endemic to the Cascade Mountains of Washington and British Columbia

Endemic to central CA.

Found in and around the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades in the western U.S.

Found in mountainous regions of western North America

Found in rocky habitats at high altitudes from the northwestern U.S., through Canada, and into Alaska

The only marmot in the eastern U.S. and absent from most of the western U.S., groundhogs range from Alabama & Georgia to northeastern Canada and west through Canada all the way to Alaska! In NC, they're primarily in the mountains & piedmont of the state and are more common in the northern counties.

Introduced to North America in the 1940s, Nutrias have become a pest in parts of the southeastern U.S. They thrive in both fresh and saltwater habitats eating vegetation and invertebrates.

Nutria are accomplished swimmers.

Several Nutria sunning in a huddle!

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Common throughout Central and North America, especially where there's water, Raccoons are the epitomy of omnivorous. They eat nearly everything from fruits and vegetables to worms, insects, crustaceans, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and small mammals.

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

The also enjoy dog food.

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

The only marsupial (pouched mammal) in the US, "possums" are common in both rural and suburban habitats near woods and streams. They eat many different things from insects to fruits to snakes to carrion.

Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

Opossums have prehensile tails they can use to grab branches and hold themselves up.

Widespread coast to coast in North America but absent in many interior states. They're frequently seen along the coast in estuaries and tidal areas. River Otters are semiaquatic and feed on a variety of animals from crayfish and fish to reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, and birds, fruits, and vegetables.

Widespread coast to coast in North America where native and introduced to Europe and S. America. Minks are semiaquatic and feed on a variety of animals from crayfish and fish to amphibians, small mammals, and birds.

Badgers live in central and western North America, especially in prairie and other habitats with soil soft enough for them to dig. They feed on various snakes, small mammals, and whatever else they feel like eating!

Click here for more American Badger photos.

Native to and widespread throughout the American tropics north to desert southwestern U.S., peccaries resemble pigs but are actually in different families. It's best to observe them from a safe distance as they can give a vicious bite when annoyed.

Native to and widespread throughout the Americas, Gray Foxes often live in burrows in forests.

Three members of the Lamar Pack. The white one is the collared alfa female. I got lucky and got this shot of all 3 howling. These pics were hand-held digiscoped with an iPhone.

Bison don't care about no wolves...

The den site was somewhere up there.

Widespread across both North Carolina and North America, Bobcats are mostly nocturnal, secretive, and seldomly seen, so Bill Bouton was definitely in the right place at the right time to snap these photos!

Courting pair way up in the snowbank. These Grizzly pics were handheld digiscoped with an iPhone.

The female wasn't much interested in the male's advances.

The male was persistent, however.

Found mostly in the mountains and coastal plain in North Carolina, American Black Bears may be locally fairly common.

Click here for more American Black Bear photos.

Native to North America, Europe, and Asia, Wild Horses evolved millions of years ago. The species went extinct in North America about 8,000 - 10,000 years ago, but domesticated versions of the same species were re-introduced by European settlers in the 15th century.

Feral Horses are horses that currently live in the wild but descended from domesticated horses. Many such populations exist in North America and offer insight to the biology and behavior of Wild Horses. The horses in these photographs are from an untamed feral population that's been living in the wild for over a hundred years. The "fences" seen here are actually exclosure fences, keeping ungulates out of protected areas, rather than fences that keep the horses pastured. If approached, this herd takes the defensive posture of facing the approacher, and they will become aggressive if the approacher gets too close!

Baby Bison are called "red dogs".

Click here for more White-tailed Deer photos and information.

Youngster enjoying a mushroom.

Common in a variety of habitats in western North America. Note the black in the tail.

Click here for additional Moose photos

Formerly widespread across North America, now common only in parts of the West. Reintroduction programs are being successful in parts of the east from Michigan to North Carolina. Click here for more Elk photos!

Large bull photographed at low light from a long distance. Hand-held at 200x. Looks like a nice oil painting!

Bull Elk rub trees to remove velvet from antlers and mark their territories.

Rare to fairly common in desert and mountainous regions of Western North America where grassy areas for foraging exist.

Click here for more Bighorn Sheep photos and info.

This is a youngster as noted by large-looking head and overall gray coloration. Older individuals are warmer brownish.

Balancing on the edge of a dip net.

This nest was under tin in the gamelands. A few grayish youngsters were tucked under mama.

Common and widespread across North America except for the Southeast.

Vole field identification can be difficult. This is most likely a Montane Vole (Microtus montanus), but I'm not sure that Meadow Vole (M. pennsylvanicus) can be ruled out.

The bedraggled look to this individual is due to being wet in the bottom of the bucket. These shrews dig many burrows and are found in moist woodlands in the eastern 2/3 of NC. They eat insects, worms, nuts, berries, etc.