Mammals

Look for white-tailed deer cooling off in the river on hot days.

NPS/Peterson

Over 50 species of mammals live in St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and chances are most visitors will at least see some of the more common mammals, such as Eastern Gray Squirrels or White-Tailed Deer. Some visitors may even be lucky enough to spot a Black Bear in the woods, River Otters in the rivers, and bats in sky.

Smaller mammals, such as Shrews, Moles, Voles, and Mice all make up the often overlooked critters in the Riverway, as they spend much of their lives underground or hidden under the leaves on the forest floor.

Learn more about some of the mammals of the Riverway in the informative below!

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.

 

Checklist

2/26/2004 / 8/2023

INSECTIVORA - insectivores

Soricidae - shrews
___ Masked Shrew Sorex cinereus
___ Water Shrew Sorex palustris
___ Arctic Shrew Sorex arcticus
___ Pygmy Shrew Microsorex hoyi
___ Short-tailed Shrew Blarina brevicauda
Talpidae - moles
___ Eastern Mole Scalopus aquaticus
___ Star-nosed Mole Condylura cristata

CHIROPTERA - bats
___ Big Brown Bat Eptesicus fuscu
___ Eastern Red Bat Lasiurus borealis
___ Hoary Bat Lasiurus cinereus
___ Silver-haired Bat Lasionycteris noctivagans
___ Little Brown Myotis Myotis lucifugus
___ Northern Long-Eared Bat Myotis septentrionalis
___ Tricolored Bat Perimyotis subflavus
___ Evening Bat Nycticeius humeralis

LAGOMORPHA - hares, rabbits, pikas
___ Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
___ Snowshoe Hare Lepus americanus
___ White-tailed Jackrabbit Lepus townsendii

RODENTIA - rodents
Sciuridae - squirrels
___ Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus
___ Least Chipmunk Eutamias minimus
___ Woodchuck Marmota monax
___ Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel Spermophilus tridecemlineatus
___ Franklin's Ground Squirrel Spermophilus franklinii
___ Eastern Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
___ Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger
___ Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
___ Southern Flying Squirrel Glaucomys volans
___ Northern Flying Squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus
___ Plains Pocket Gopher Geomys bursarius
Castoridae - beavers
___ Beaver Castor canadensis
Muridae - rats, mice, voles, lemmings
___ Western Harvest Mouse Reithrodontomys megalotis
___ Deer Mouse Peromyscus maniculatus
___ White-footed Mouse Peromyscus leucopus
___ Southern Red-backed Vole Clethrionomys gapperi
___ Meadow Vole Microtus pennsylvanicus
___ Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
___ Southern Bog Lemming Synaptomys cooperi
___ Norway Rat Rattus norvegicus
___ House Mouse Mus musculus
Zapodidae - jumping mice
___ Meadow Jumping Mouse Zapus hudsonius
___ Woodland Jumping Mouse Napeozapus insignis
Erethizontidae - New World porcupines
___ Porcupine Erethizon dorsatum

CARNIVORA - carnivores
Canidae - dogs
___ Coyote Canus latrans
___ * Gray Wolf Canus lupus
___ Red Fox Vulpes vulpes
___ Gray Fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Ursidae - bears
___ Black Bear Ursus americanus
Procyonidae - raccoons and allies
___ Raccoon Procyon lotor
Mustelidae - weasels, skunks, and badgers
___ * Marten Martes americana
___ Fisher Martes pennanti
___ Ermine Mustela erminea
___ Least Weasel Mustela nivalis
___ Long-tailed Weasel Mustela frenata
___ Badger Taxidea taxus
___ Striped Skunk Mephitus mephitus
___ River Otter Lutra canadensis
Felidae - cats
___ Bobcat Lynx rufus

ARTIODACTYLA - hoofed mammals
Cervidae - deer
___ White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus

* Population is listed as endangered, threatened, rare, or of special concern by state or federal agencies.

Visit the NPSpecies datebase for a species list. Select the species in question using the 'Category' drop-down box and enter 'Search'.