List of mammals of West Virginia
Encyclopedia
The state of West Virginia is home to at least 70 wild mammal species. Four – the Virginia big-eared bat, the Indiana bat
, the West Virginia northern flying squirrel and the (potentially extirpated) eastern cougar
– are federally listed as endangered. Several additional species are rare in the state and warrant close monitoring.
Some mammals which have thrived despite human disturbance include the opossum, which is more abundant and more widely distributed due to human activities. Also doing well are mammals that prefer farm and early successional habitats. The coyote is expanding its range eastward in the United States and now occurs throughout the state.
Family Talpidae
Family Dipodidae
Family Cricetidae
Family Muridae
Family Leporidae
Family Canidae
Family Mustelidae
Family Felidae
in January 1900.
In 1936 came the last officially confirmed record of cougar tracks in the state; by a Smithsonian worker, near Cranberry Glades in Pocahontas County. Currently, the eastern cougar is federally listed as "endangered" in West Virginia and sporadic, unconfirmed accounts of its presence (tracks and sightings) continue to be reported.
(Cervus canadensis canadiensis) populations did not long survive the advance of white settlement into western Virginia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The last individual in the region around what became Doddridge County
was killed by settler Winter Hutson (1814–1895) shortly after he arrived there in 1837. Elk survived longest in the rugged Alleghenies to the east. In about 1843, three were killed in Canaan Valley
, Virginia, by members of the Flanagan and Carr families, local settlers who habitually hunted there. These were long thought to be the last elk found wild in the region that later became West Virginia. Sporadic elk sightings were again reported, however, near the headwaters of the Tygart
and Greenbrier River
s as late as 1875. If this is accurate, they were nonetheless certainly gone by 1880 when the subspecies as a whole is considered to have been completely exterminated.
The neighboring state of Kentucky actively reintroduced elk (various subspecies from Canada, Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah) to their eastern woodlands in 1997, and by 2009 the population had increased to over 10,000 animals. This expanding population began to enter western Virginia and the southwestern counties of West Virginia. In 2011, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
(WVDNR) drafted an Elk Management Plan to encourage the passive reintroduction of elk to the state.
(Bison bison pennsylvanicus) by some experts.) Numerous place names in Pennsylvania and West Virginia
attest to how frequently these animals were encountered here. In the late 18th century, white hunters and explorers in the trans-Allegheny region of the state reported seeing sizable populations especially along the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. These herds had beaten down traces or paths between salt licks. Many of these paths became the Indian “roads” later used by the pioneering white settlers. Many decades later, the same bison paths would become the routes followed by early turnpikes and government road systems. Dr. Thomas Walker
recorded that 13 bison were killed during his 1743 expedition of the area west of the Alleghenies. Although valued as a source of food by white settlers, many of them engaged in the wanton killing of bison as a sport. Walker noted that, "game in these parts and would have been of much greater advantage to the inhabitants than it has been if the hunters had not killed the Buffaloes for diversion."
Bison in the east were rarely seen by 1800, one was killed near Charleston
in 1815, but no more were reported until 1825 when one was killed at Valley Head
, the source of the Tygart River in Randolph County
. It had been chased from Webster County by dogs.
If the "eastern wood bison" is a legitimate subspecies (it is disputed), this individual may have been the last one in existence.
As hunting regulations were enacted, law enforcement personnel hired, game refuges established and restocking started, the deer population gradually was reestablished. In January 1930, eight deer procured from Michigan were released in the Monongahela National Forest near Parsons
. Between 1937 and 1939, a total of 17 more deer were released in the Flatrock-Roaring Plains area of Tucker County (DeGarmo 1949). These 25 deer are the only recorded deer releases in Tucker County. Today, this animal is prolific throughout the state.
(Martes pennanti) — also known as Pennant’s marten — being trapped in West Virginia and pelts being sold in the 1870s. They were rare in West Virginia by around 1900, with the last reports coming from the high elevation red spruce forests. By 1912, however, the animals were believed to be rare or completely extirpated. They were reintroduced to the state in the winter of 1969, when twenty-three fishers were translocated from New Hampshire
to two sites within the boundaries of the Monongahela National Forest at Canaan Mountain in Tucker County and Cranberry Glades in Pocahontas County.
in Pocahantas County and elsewhere in the early 1960s. In a restoration effort, a total of 245 river otters were released by the WVDNR into 14 major river systems in West Virginia between 1984 and early 1997 Based on otter sightings, sign and trap mortalities, the river otter is known to be successfully reestablished in the state.
, Logan
, Raleigh
, and Wyoming
. Since the late 1990s the numbers of wild boar have been decreasing, primarily due to a combination of habitat loss and food competition from the expanding populations of native black bear and whitetail deer.
Indiana bat
The Indiana bat is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in eastern and midwestern states and in parts of the south of the United States. The Indiana bat is gray, black, or chestnut in colour and is 1.2–2 inches and weighs about 1/4 an ounce...
, the West Virginia northern flying squirrel and the (potentially extirpated) eastern cougar
Eastern Cougar
The North American Cougar , is the cougar subspecies once commonly found in eastern North America and still prevalent in the western half of the continent...
– are federally listed as endangered. Several additional species are rare in the state and warrant close monitoring.
Some mammals which have thrived despite human disturbance include the opossum, which is more abundant and more widely distributed due to human activities. Also doing well are mammals that prefer farm and early successional habitats. The coyote is expanding its range eastward in the United States and now occurs throughout the state.
The taxa
The following letters indicate the likelihood of finding each animal in West Virginia:| C | Common | Can be commonly seen in suitable habitat within current range. |
| U | Uncommon | Seldom seen because habitat restricted and/or behavior secretive. |
| R | Rare | Not often present even in suitable habitat. |
| E | Exotic | Not native to North America. |
| X | Extirpated | No longer present in West Virginia. |
Family Didelphidae (New World Opossums)
- Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) C
Family Soricidae (Shrews)
- Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus) C
- Southeastern Shrew (Sorex longirostris) U
- Smoky Shrew (Sorex fumeus) U
- Long-Tailed Shrew (Sorex dispar) U
- Water Shrew (Sorex palustris) R
- Pygmy Shrew (Sorex hoyi) U
- Northern Short-Tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) C
- Least Shrew (Cryptotis parva) R
Family TalpidaeTalpidaeThe family Talpidae includes the moles, shrew moles, desmans, and other intermediate forms of small insectivorous mammals of the order Soricomorpha...
(Moles)
- Hairy-Tailed Mole (Parascalops breweri) C
- Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus) U
- Star-Nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) U
Family Vespertilionidae (Common Bats)
- Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) C
- Northern Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) U
- Indiana Myotis (Myotis sodalis) R
- Eastern Small-Footed Myotis (Myotis leibii) R
- Gray Myotis (Myotis grisescens) R
- Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) U
- Eastern Pipistrelle (Perimyotis subflavus) C
- Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) C
- Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis) C
- Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus) U
- Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) R
- Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) R
- Virginia Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) R
Family Sciuridae (Squirrels)
- Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) C
- Woodchuck/Groundhog (Marmota monax) C
- Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) C
- Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) C
- Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) C
- Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans) C
- West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus) R
Family DipodidaeDipodidaeThe Dipodidae, or dipodids, are a family of rodents found across the northern hemisphere. This family includes over 50 species among the 16 genera....
(Jumping Mice)
- Meadow Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius) U
- Woodland Jumping Mouse (Napaeozapus insignis) C
Family CricetidaeCricetidaeThe Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, and New World rats and mice...
(New World Mice and Rats)
- Eastern Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys humulis) R
- Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatusPeromyscus maniculatusPeromyscus maniculatus is a rodent native to North America. It is most commonly called the Deer Mouse, although that name is common to most species of Peromyscus and is fairly widespread across the continent, with the major exception being the southeast United States and the far north.Like other...
) C
- White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) C
- Golden Mouse (Ochrotomys nuttalli) U
- Allegheny Wood Rat (Neotoma magister) U
- Southern Bog Lemming (Synaptomys cooperi) U
- Southern Red-Backed Vole (Myodes gapperi) C
- Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) C
- Rock Vole (Microtus chrotorrhinus) U
- Woodland Vole/Pine Vole (Microtus pinetorum) C
- Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster) R
- Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) C
Family MuridaeMuridaeMuridae is the largest family of mammals. It contains over 600 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. They have been introduced worldwide. The group includes true mice and rats, gerbils, and relatives....
(Old World Mice and Rats)
- House Mouse (Mus musculus) E
- Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus) E
- Black Rat (Rattus rattus) E
Family Erethizontidae (New World Porcupines)
- Common Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) U
Family LeporidaeLeporidaeLeporids are the approximately 50 species of rabbits and hares which form the family Leporidae. The leporids, together with the pikas, constitute the mammalian order Lagomorpha. Leporids differ from pikas in having short furry tails, and elongated ears and hind legs...
(Hares and Rabbits)
- Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus) U
- Appalachian Cottontail (Sylvilagus obscurus) U
- Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) C
Family CanidaeCanidaeCanidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...
(Wolves, Dogs, and Foxes)
- Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) C
- Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) C
- Coyote (Canis latrans) U
- Eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus lycaon) X
- Feral/Domestic Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) E
Family MustelidaeMustelidaeMustelidae , commonly referred to as the weasel family, are a family of carnivorous mammals. Mustelids are diverse and the largest family in the order Carnivora, at least partly because in the past it has been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa...
(Mustelids)
- Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis) U
- Long-Tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata) U
- Mink (Neovison vison) U
- Fisher (Martes pennanti) X
- River Otter (Lontra canadensis) U
Family Mephitidae (Skunks)
- Eastern Spotted Skunk (Spilogale putorius) U
- Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) C
Family FelidaeFelidaeFelidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
(Cats)
- Bobcat (Lynx rufus) U
- North American Cougar (Mountain Lion) (Puma concolor couguar) X
- Feral/House Cat (Felis catus) E
Family Cervidae (Deer)
- Virginia (or Southern) White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus virginianus) C
- Eastern elk (Cervus canadensis canadiensis) X
Family Bovidae (Cattle)
- Eastern wood bison (Bison bison pennsylvanicusWood BisonThe Wood Bison, Bison bison athabascae, also called Mountain Bison, Wood Buffalo or Mountain Buffalo, is a distinct northern subspecies or ecotype of the American Bison...
) X
- Domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) E
Eastern timber wolf
The eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus lycaon), a subspecies of the gray wolf, roamed throughout the state in pre-settlement days. Bounties were paid on their “scalps” in West Virginia through the late 1890s with the last recorded one being killed by Stofer Hamrick in Randolph CountyRandolph County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
in January 1900.
North American cougar
The last officially accepted wild cougar kills in both Virginia and West Virginia were in the 1880s and the animal — eastern cougar, or mountain lion, puma or panther (Puma concolor couguar) — was considered totally exterminated in West Virginia by 1900.In 1936 came the last officially confirmed record of cougar tracks in the state; by a Smithsonian worker, near Cranberry Glades in Pocahontas County. Currently, the eastern cougar is federally listed as "endangered" in West Virginia and sporadic, unconfirmed accounts of its presence (tracks and sightings) continue to be reported.
Elk
Substantial eastern elkEastern elk
The Eastern elk is one of six subspecies of elk that inhabited northern and eastern United States, and southern Canada. The last Eastern elk was shot in Pennsylvania on September 1, 1877. The subspecies was declared as extinct by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1880...
(Cervus canadensis canadiensis) populations did not long survive the advance of white settlement into western Virginia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The last individual in the region around what became Doddridge County
Doddridge County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,403 people, 2,845 households, and 2,102 families residing in the county. The population density was 23 people per square mile . There were 3,661 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile...
was killed by settler Winter Hutson (1814–1895) shortly after he arrived there in 1837. Elk survived longest in the rugged Alleghenies to the east. In about 1843, three were killed in Canaan Valley
Canaan Valley
Canaan Valley is an oval, bowl-like upland valley in northeastern Tucker County, West Virginia, USA. Within it are extensive wetlands and the headwaters of the Blackwater River which spills out of the valley at Blackwater Falls...
, Virginia, by members of the Flanagan and Carr families, local settlers who habitually hunted there. These were long thought to be the last elk found wild in the region that later became West Virginia. Sporadic elk sightings were again reported, however, near the headwaters of the Tygart
Tygart Valley River
The Tygart Valley River — also known as the Tygart River — is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, approximately long, in east-central West Virginia, USA...
and Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
s as late as 1875. If this is accurate, they were nonetheless certainly gone by 1880 when the subspecies as a whole is considered to have been completely exterminated.
The neighboring state of Kentucky actively reintroduced elk (various subspecies from Canada, Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah) to their eastern woodlands in 1997, and by 2009 the population had increased to over 10,000 animals. This expanding population began to enter western Virginia and the southwestern counties of West Virginia. In 2011, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia. While formerly known as the cabinet-level Department of Natural Resources, it is now part of the West Virginia Department of Commerce...
(WVDNR) drafted an Elk Management Plan to encourage the passive reintroduction of elk to the state.
Bison
The American buffalo, or bison (Bison bison), was once common in West Virginia, roaming in large herds over the entire state. (The local subspecies has been called the eastern wood bisonWood Bison
The Wood Bison, Bison bison athabascae, also called Mountain Bison, Wood Buffalo or Mountain Buffalo, is a distinct northern subspecies or ecotype of the American Bison...
(Bison bison pennsylvanicus) by some experts.) Numerous place names in Pennsylvania and West Virginia
Buffalo Creek
-Waterways:In Pennsylvania*Buffalo Creek *Buffalo Creek , tributary of the Casselman River*Buffalo Creek *Buffalo Creek In West Virginia...
attest to how frequently these animals were encountered here. In the late 18th century, white hunters and explorers in the trans-Allegheny region of the state reported seeing sizable populations especially along the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. These herds had beaten down traces or paths between salt licks. Many of these paths became the Indian “roads” later used by the pioneering white settlers. Many decades later, the same bison paths would become the routes followed by early turnpikes and government road systems. Dr. Thomas Walker
Thomas Walker (explorer)
Dr. Thomas Walker was a physician and explorer from Virginia who led an expedition to what is now the region beyond the Allegheny Mountains area of British North America in the mid-18th century...
recorded that 13 bison were killed during his 1743 expedition of the area west of the Alleghenies. Although valued as a source of food by white settlers, many of them engaged in the wanton killing of bison as a sport. Walker noted that, "game in these parts and would have been of much greater advantage to the inhabitants than it has been if the hunters had not killed the Buffaloes for diversion."
Bison in the east were rarely seen by 1800, one was killed near Charleston
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
in 1815, but no more were reported until 1825 when one was killed at Valley Head
Valley Head, West Virginia
Valley Head is an unincorporated census-designated place in Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. Valley Head is located on U.S. Route 219 south-southwest of Huttonsville. Valley Head has a post office with ZIP code 26294. As of the 2010 census, its population was 267.-Notable...
, the source of the Tygart River in Randolph County
Randolph County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
. It had been chased from Webster County by dogs.
If the "eastern wood bison" is a legitimate subspecies (it is disputed), this individual may have been the last one in existence.
Virginia (southern) white-tail deer
This subspecies (Odocoileus virginianus virginianus) of white-tail deer originally ranged over all of West Virginia, but was nearly exterminated within the state due to over-hunting. By 1890, the white-tail deer population of West Virginia was officially reported as “near zero”.As hunting regulations were enacted, law enforcement personnel hired, game refuges established and restocking started, the deer population gradually was reestablished. In January 1930, eight deer procured from Michigan were released in the Monongahela National Forest near Parsons
Parsons, West Virginia
The town of Parsons is the county seat of Tucker County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 1,463 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Parsons is Dorothy Judy and the city administrator is Jason Myers...
. Between 1937 and 1939, a total of 17 more deer were released in the Flatrock-Roaring Plains area of Tucker County (DeGarmo 1949). These 25 deer are the only recorded deer releases in Tucker County. Today, this animal is prolific throughout the state.
Beaver
North American beaver (Castor canadensis) were almost completely exterminated from the area now known as West Virginia by 1825 due to trapping by early settlers (Swank 1948). The gradual comeback of beaver started in 1933 when 6 beaver were released on Beaver Dam Refuge in Randolph County. In 1935, 40 animals were released with ten placed in Tucker County.Fisher
There were reports of the fisherFisher (animal)
The fisher is a medium-size mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. The fisher is closely related to but larger than the American Marten...
(Martes pennanti) — also known as Pennant’s marten — being trapped in West Virginia and pelts being sold in the 1870s. They were rare in West Virginia by around 1900, with the last reports coming from the high elevation red spruce forests. By 1912, however, the animals were believed to be rare or completely extirpated. They were reintroduced to the state in the winter of 1969, when twenty-three fishers were translocated from New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
to two sites within the boundaries of the Monongahela National Forest at Canaan Mountain in Tucker County and Cranberry Glades in Pocahontas County.
River otter
The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) is a native species in West Virginia but its population declined due to loss of habitat and excessive trapping. The last otter was reported to have been trapped in Tucker County in 1954; then a few were seen on the Greenbrier RiverGreenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
in Pocahantas County and elsewhere in the early 1960s. In a restoration effort, a total of 245 river otters were released by the WVDNR into 14 major river systems in West Virginia between 1984 and early 1997 Based on otter sightings, sign and trap mortalities, the river otter is known to be successfully reestablished in the state.
Introduced species
During colonial times, the black rat (roof rat), Norway rat and house mouse all came to North America, including the future West Virginia, with European settlers and traders. Dogs, cats and goats that have wandered off or were abandoned have established or feral populations in portions of the state.Wild boar
European wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) were introduced into south-eastern West Virginia in 1971 (one source says “the late 1960s”) as an additional large game animal for hunting. Populations are located in the counties of BooneBoone County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,535 people, 10,291 households, and 7,460 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 11,575 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile...
, Logan
Logan County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 37,710 people, 14,880 households, and 10,936 families residing in the county. The population density was 83 people per square mile . There were 16,807 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
, Raleigh
Raleigh County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,220 people, 31,793 households, and 22,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 130 people per square mile . There were 35,678 housing units at an average density of 59 per square mile...
, and Wyoming
Wyoming County, West Virginia
Wyoming County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,796. Its county seat is Pineville. Wyoming County was created in 1850 from Logan County and named for the Delaware Indian word meaning "large plains."-Geography:According to the U.S...
. Since the late 1990s the numbers of wild boar have been decreasing, primarily due to a combination of habitat loss and food competition from the expanding populations of native black bear and whitetail deer.
Other sources
- Mammals of West Virginia: A Field Checklist (2001); West Virginia Division of Natural ResourcesWest Virginia Division of Natural ResourcesThe West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia. While formerly known as the cabinet-level Department of Natural Resources, it is now part of the West Virginia Department of Commerce...
, Wildlife Resources Section; Accessed 18 September 2010.