List of mammals of Minnesota

This list of mammals of Minnesota includes the mammals native to Minnesota. It also shows their status in the wild. There are 81 native and 5 introduced mammal species found in the state. American bison, caribou, and wolverines were extirpated from the state. Minnesota does not have a state mammal but several have been proposed: The northern white tailed deer was proposed eight times, the eastern wolf was proposed six times, the American black bear and thirteen-lined ground squirrel were each proposed once.[1]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; those on the left are used here, those in the second column in some other articles:

EX EX Extinct No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW EW Extinct in the wild Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized population well outside its historic range.
CR CR Critically endangered The species is in imminent danger of extinction in the wild.
EN EN Endangered The species is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU VU Vulnerable The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT NT Near threatened The species does not qualify as being at high risk of extinction but is likely to do so in the future.
LC LC Least concern The species is not currently at risk of extinction in the wild.
DD DD Data deficient There is inadequate information to assess the risk of extinction for this species.
NE NE Not evaluated The conservation status of the species has not been studied.

Didelphimorphs

Opossums

  • Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana LC

Rodents

Squirrels

  • Northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus LC
  • Southern flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans LC
  • Woodchuck, Marmota monax LC
  • Least chipmunk, Neotamias minimus LC
  • Eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis LC
  • Fox squirrel, Sciurus niger LC
  • Franklin's ground squirrel, Spermophilus franklinii LC
  • Richardson's ground squirrel, Spermophilus richardsonii LC
  • Thirteen-lined ground squirrel, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus LC
  • Eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus LC
  • American red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus LC
  • Black-tailed prairie dog, Cynomys ludovicianus LC introduced

Beavers

  • American beaver, Castor canadensis LC

Gophers

  • Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius LC
  • Northern pocket gopher, Thomomys talpoides LC

Pocket mice

  • Plains pocket mouse, Perognathus flavescens LC

Cricetids

Murids

Jumping mice

Porcupines

Hares

Cottontail rabbits

Shrews

Moles

Evening bats

Procyonids

Mustelids

Skunks

Canines

Felines

Bears

Deer

  • Moose, Alces alces LC
  • Elk, Cervus canadensis LC
  • White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus LC
    • Northern white-tailed deer, O. v. borealis LC[4]
    • Dakota white-tailed deer, O. v. dacotensis LC[4]
    • Kansas white-tailed deer, O. v. macrourus LC[4]
  • Caribou, Rangifer tarandus VU extirpated
  • Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus LC
  • Sika deer, Cervus nippon LC introduced

Pronghorn

Bovids

Pigs

References

  1. ^ "Unofficial, Proposed, or Facetious State Symbols - Minnesota". Minnesota State Legislature. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  2. ^ "red fox". MinnesotaSeasons.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  3. ^ "Super rare video of cougar in northern Minnesota". YouTube. 3 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "whitetail deer". MinnesotaSeasons.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  • Burt, W. H., and R. P. Grossenheider (1976). Field Guide to the Mammals: North America North of Mexico. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, US.
  • Gunderson, H. L., and J. R. Beer (1953). "Mammals of Minnesota". Occasional Papers, Minnesota Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota. 6: 1-190.
  • Hazard, E. B. 1982. Mammals of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • Heany, L. R., and E. C. Birney (1975). "Comments on the distribution and natural history of some mammals in Minnesota". Canadian Field-Naturalist. 89 (1): 29-34.
  • Wiche, J. M. and J. F. Cassel (1978). "Checklist of North Dakota mammals. (Revised)". The Prairie Naturalist 10 (3): 81-88.
  • Wilson, D. E., and F. R. Cole (2000). Common Names of the Mammals of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., US.