# Presentation: 468745

##  Mammals of Pipestone National Monument  Compiled by: Brittany HummelBiological Technician  2002

## Canidae Red Fox  Vulpes vulpes

**Identification:*** *Fur is yellowish red. Some rare red foxes have the color of black, silver, or brown. All undersides and tip of the tail are white. Legs are black.
**Range:** Northern hemisphere of Eurasia and North America. Throughout Minnesota.
**Habitat:** Semi-open country and continuous forest.
**Diet:**** **Ground and tree squirrels, rabbits, mice, small birds, snakes, turtles, and frogs. Occasionally insects and fruits.

## CastoridaeBeaverCastor canadensis

**Description: **Brown fur. Stoat build. Broad, flat, scaly tail. Webbed feet with long claws.
**Range:** Majority of the United States and Canada.
**Habitat: **Open and wooded country near streams, lakes, marshes, or swamps.
**Diet: **Vegetarian.

- Kristof Zyskowski

## Identification: Coat is reddish brown during the summer and grayish brown during the winter. The throat, belly, rump, and under side of tail are white. Young fawns have white spots. Male deer grow forward facing antlers in the spring which they shed in the winter. Mainly crepuscular.
Range: From southern Canada through most of the U.S. except the Southwest. Throughout Minnesota.
Habitat: Prefers, but is not limited to relatively open wooded cover. Attempts to avoid dense woods and expanses of open prairie.
Diet: Summer: leaves, twigs, and wildflowers. Winter: buds, twigs, young bark, nuts, fruits, and conifer foliage.

**Range:** From southern Canada through most of the U.S. except the Southwest. Throughout Minnesota.
**Habitat:** Prefers, but is not limited to relatively open wooded cover. Attempts to avoid dense woods and expanses of open prairie.
**Diet:** Summer: leaves, twigs, and wildflowers. Winter: buds, twigs, young bark, nuts, fruits, and conifer foliage.

-  Cervidae**White-tailed Deer***Odocoileus virginianus*

- Copyright Justin W. Moore, All rights reserved.
- _[www.outdoorphoto.com](http://www.outdoorphoto.com/)__ _

## Cricetidae Meadow Vole   Microtus pennsylvanicus

**Identification:*** *Largest vole in Minnesota. Dark brown back and slightly lighter sides. Underside has gray-brown fur tipped with silver. Long  tail. Ears deeply hidden within fur.
**Range:*** *Alaska to Georgia. Not found in southwestern United States. Occurs throughout Minnesota, but rare in extreme northeast.
**Habitat:*** *Prefers open land with dense grass cover, but is occasionally found in woodland.
**Diet:*** *Green plants, fungi, carrion, seeds,  occasionally insects.

## CricetidaeMuskratOndatra zibethicus

**Description: **Light to dark brown fur. Silver fur underneath. Long, black, scaly tail. Short legs with webbed feet.
**Range:** Northern North America to the Gulf coast and the Mexican border. Throughout Minnesota.
**Habitat: **Ponds, lakes, swamps, and marshes.
**Diet:** Roots of aquatic plants, crustaceans (crayfish, clams, snails), and small water animals.

## Cricetidae Prairie Deer MousePeromyscus maniculatus bairdii

**Identification: **Brown fur on back and sides, white underneath. Tail is short and two-toned, black on top  and white underneath. Nocturnal.
**Range: **From the Dakotas to much of western and southern Minnesota and continuing to the Appalachians.
**Habitat: **Prairies and meadows.
**Diet: **Mainly seeds. Occasionally clover or insects.

## CricetidaePrairie VoleMicrotus ochrogaster

**Description:**** **Fur is gray to dark brown with flecks of yellow . Fur underneath is white to yellow. Short tail. Ears nearly hidden in fur. This mammal is currently designated as a species of special concern on the list of Minnesota’s endangered species.
**Range:**** **From southern prairie regions to Canada. Sporadically occurring throughout Minnesota except for the northeast.
**Habitat:**** **Treeless, undisturbed, grassland or prairie.
**Diet:**** **Mushrooms, seeds, bark, and green parts of plants.

## CricetidaeWhite-footed MousePeromyscus leucopus

**Description:** Fur is pale to reddish brown on top and white underneath. Large ears and long tail.
**Range: **Most of North America - from the Arctic  Ocean to South Panama. Throughout Minnesota, except for the extreme northeast.
**Habitat: **Forests, woodlands, prairies, desert.
**Diet: **Seeds, berries, nuts, insects, grains, fruits, and fungi.

-                                                  P. Myers
- http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu

## CricetidaeWestern Harvest MouseReithrodontomys megalotis

**Description: **Fur color can range from pale gray to light brown above and white to dark gray below. Rare in Minnesota.
**Range: **Extends through Mexico, the southwest United States and through the upper Midwest. Southwestern Minnesota.
**Habitat: **Grassy fields and neglected roadsides.
**Diet: **Seeds of various plants and some invertebrates - such as caterpillars and insect larva.

## DidelphidaeVirginia OpossumDidelphis virginianus

**Description: **Fur appears gray. Muzzle is long and narrow with a gaping mouth. Stoat body and short legs with opposable big toe. Long, bare, prehensile tail. Marsupial.
**Range: **Throughout Mexico and the United States - except for the Rocky Mountain region. Common in the southern region of Minnesota - rarely north of Minneapolis.
**Habitat:** Woodland, brush, and cultivated habitats.
**Diet: **Omnivore.

-                                                  P. Myers
- http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu

## GeomyidaePlains Pocket GopherGeomys bursarius

**Description: **Large forearms. Long, heavy claws. Shiny brown fur. Each of the upper incisors have two prominent grooves. Small eyes and ears. Short tail. Albinos are common.
**Range: **North Dakota to Texas. Throughout Minnesota, except for the northeast region.
**Habitat: **Prairie and open woodland.
**Diet: **Vegetarian.

- Color photo by Robert M. Timm. Copyright 1999. All rights reserved.

## Leporidae Eastern Cottontail  Sylvilagus floridanus 

**Identification:*** *Grayish brown with rusty colored fur behind its ears  and on its neck. Fluffy, cottony, white tail. Nocturnal & crepuscular.
**Range:** Southern Canada, most of the Central and Eastern United States, much of Mexico and Central America
**Habitat:*** *Pastures, open woodlands, near wetlands
**Diet:*** *Summer: Forbs such as alfalfa, dandelion, clover. Winter: tree bark, shrubs, and coprophagy.

## LeporidaeWhite - Tailed Jackrabbit  Lepus townsendi

**Identification:*** *Much larger than cottontail. Summer: brownish gray with a white or pale gray stomach. Its tail is mostly white. Winter: All white except for a black patch on its ear. Nocturnal & crepuscular.
**Range:** Great plains and  parts of western mountain range. Absent from Northeast Minnesota.
**Habitat:** Open country - rarely brushy areas.
**Diet:** Summer: Forbs such as clover & alfalfa, Winter: buds, twigs & bark.

## MuridaeHouse MouseMus musculus

**Description:** Fur is grayish-brown, slightly lighter underneath. Large ears. Short tail. Short hair.
**Range:** All of the United States and Mexico. Most of Canada. Throughout Minnesota.
**Habitat:** Northern United States and Canadian house mice must have shelter from humans to survive the winter. Often found in fields or in buildings.
**Diet:** Grain and crumbs from food.

- ©KAYTEE products, Inc.

## MustelidaeMinkMustela vison

**Description:**** **Long body and short legs. The tail is one third the total length, somewhat bushy, and blackish toward the tip. Fur is blackish brown, except for a patch of white on the chin.
**Range:**** **Throughout Canada and the United States. Absent from the Southwestern United States.
**Habitat:**** **Woodland near open water.
**Diet:**** **Muskrats, rabbits, red squirrels, waterfowl, snakes, frogs, fish, and crayfish.

## MustelidaeErmine, Short-tailed WeaselMustela erminea

**Description: **Long, slender body.** **Fur reddish brown to ginger above, white to cream below.  Some turn white in winter. Black-tipped tail year round.
**Range: **North America and Northern Eurasia. Throughout Minnesota, but uncommon in southwest counties.
**Habitat: **Grasslands, woodland, and brush piles.
**Diet: **Mice, new-born rabbits, insects, small rodents, and carrion.

## Mustelidae Striped Skunk Mephitis mephitis

**Identification:*** *Black in color except for a thin white stripe starting at the forehead , continuing to the neck where it forks into two stripes which run along the upper sides of the body to the rump. Rarely, some are nearly all black. Large black, bushy  tail which often contain some white
**Range:*** *Throughout the contiguous 48 states, Southern Canada and Northern Mexico. Occurring throughout Minnesota, but rare in  northeast coniferous forests.
**Habitat:*** *Common in a variety of habitats, but rare in continuous closed forest or extensive lowlands where the  water table is close to the surface.
**Diet:*** *Insects, fruit, small mammals, bird, turtle eggs, mollusks, crustaceans, nuts, carrion, and earthworms.

## ProcyonidaeRaccoonProcyon lotor

**Description: **Black fur mask covers the eyes. Bushy tail is encircled by black rings. Stout body. Fur ranges from light brown to gray.
**Range: **From Central America to Southern Canada.Throughout Minnesota, except for extreme northeast regions.
**Habitat:** Deciduous forest, prairie, farming areas.
**Diet:** Crayfish, clams, grasshoppers, fish, frogs, turtle and bird eggs, fruits, acorns, grain, and handouts from people.

- Research Nebraska magazine, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Agricultural Research Division

## Sciuridae Fox Squirrel Scuirus niger

**Identification:*** *Feet, underside, and tops of its ears and tail are dull orange in color. Its back and sides are dull orange mixed with gray.
**Range:*** *Eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains. Occurs sporadically throughout Minnesota - abundant in southern Minnesota, rare in northern Minnesota.
**Habitat:*** *Groves, woodland, rarely continuous forest.
**Diet:*** *Mast, buds, corn,  fruit-including cocklebur, which is toxic to many mammals, and occasionally meat.

## Sciuridae Thirteen-lined Ground SquirrelSpermophilus tridecemlineatus

**Identification:*** *Seven narrow,  pale stripes and six broad, dark brown stripes run from the neck to the tail. The dark brown stripes contain a row of pale dots that  run down the center of the stripe. The tail is about a third of the size of the entire body. Legs are short.
**Range:*** * Middle of the United States- From Pennsylvania, down to Texas, and ending at  the Rocky Mountains.  Throughout Minnesota, except for the extreme northeast.
**Habitat:** Grassland, prairie, and farmland.
**Diet:*** *Mainly seeds. Also green plants, insects, small mammals, ground-nesting birds, and lizards.

## SciuridaeWoodchuck, Whistle-pig, GroundhogMarmota monax

**Description: **Stocky body. Short ears. Short legs. Medium length. Slightly bushy tail. Fur is brown and white. Legs and underside are reddish brown. Feet are black.
**Range: **Eastern Canada and United States, except for the Deep South.
**Habitat: **Woodland - coniferous and deciduous, meadows, and fields
**Diet: **Green vegetation.

##  Soricidae Masked Shrew Sorex cinereus

**Identification:*** *One of Minnesota’s smallest mammals. Pointed, elongated nose. Tail is over one third the total length of the body. Soft, dark brown fur covers the top of the animal, and dark gray fur covers the bottom. Eyes and ears are inconspicuous.
**Range:*** *Most of northern United States and Canada. Throughout all of Minnesota.
**Habitat:*** *Woodland, grassland, and forests- both deciduous and coniferous. Generally wherever there is adequate ground cover.
**Diet:*** *Insects, small mammals, earthworms and a small amount of plant material.

## SoricidaeShort-tailed ShrewBlarina brevicauda

**Description:** Soft, gray fur - slightly lighter underneath. Small eyes. Ears completely hidden by fur. Snout is shorter and wider than other shrews.
**Range:** Most of North America from southern Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia to central Nebraska and Georgia.
**Habitat:** Woodlands and bushy bogs.
**Diet:** Insects, seeds, salamanders, frogs, snakes, mice, earthworms, other shrews, and snails.

-                                                  P. Myers
- http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu

## VespertilionidaeBig Brown BatEptesicus fuscus

**Description: **Larger body than most other bats. Fur is uniformly brown. Wing and tail membranes are black. Large ears. Small eyes.
**Range: **Southern Canada through the lower forty-eight states into Mexico and Central America.
**Habitat: **Human-made structures, open areas with scattered trees.
**Diet: **Insects-mainly beetles.

- Used with permission of the WNC Nature Center
- _[wildwnc.org](file:///bin/query_sponsor_us%3Fp=brown+bat&hq=site:wildwnc.org)__ _

## ZapodidaeMeadow Jumping MouseZapus hudsonius

**Description: **Adults have a dorsal dark or olive brown band of fur, which is paler in juveniles. The sides are a pale yellowish-brown and the belly is white. Long tail that is dark on top and light underneath. Long hind legs.
**Range: **Throughout northern North America.
**Habitat: **Grassland, densely vegetated borders of streams, ponds, or marshes.
**Diet: **Seeds, berries, fruits, and insects.

-                                            P. Myers
- http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu

## Bibliography

- Burt, William H.; Grossenheider, Richard P. 1976. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA.
- Hazard, Evan B. 1982._The Mammals of Minnesota._ University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, USA.
- Shaina Aguilar; Toni Lynn Newell; Jocelyn Smith. 1996, 1997, 2000. *animaldiversity.umnz.umich.edu*
- Stokes, D. & L. 1986. Stokes Nature Guides - A Guide to Animal Tracking and Behavior. Little, Brown
- 	and Company. New York, New York, USA.

## Glossary

*Marsupial: *Having a pouch for carrying the immature young.
*Nocturnal: *Most active at night.
*Crepuscular: *Becoming active at twilight or before sunrise.
*Omnivore: *An animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances.
*Carrion: *Dead and decaying flesh.
* *