In addition to animals like black bear and foxes, you can also see mountain lions and wolves, which once called West Virginia home. Fish and Wildlife Service. West Virginia is a rugged, mountainous state located in the Appalachian Region (a 205,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi) on the Cumberland and Allegheny Plateaus. Racers and Whipsnakes Black Racer (Coluber constrictor) is the general name for one of the most widespread of all … As with West Virginia's remote mountain forests, the farms and lands with meadows and woodlots near urban areas also hold whitetail deer, chipmunks, raccoons, skunks, groundhogs, opossums, weasels, field mice, flying squirrels, cotton-tail rabbits, gray foxes, red foxes, gray squirrels, red squirrels and a cave bat to name a few. Ownership of such exotic animals was an impetus for the Dangerous Wild Animals … [11][12][13] Recently, the eastern cougar was federally listed as "endangered" in West Virginia and sporadic, unconfirmed accounts of its presence (tracks and sightings) continued to be reported. 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. A recent estimate has only 84 of these snails living on the Cheat Mountain Watershed.[4]. Some of the more dangerous animals of West Virginia are now completely extinct, such as the mammoth, giant bear, vampire bat, and Jefferson’s ground sloth. Not often present even in suitable habitat. 10pp. Mammals in the region today include whitetail deer, chipmunk, raccoon, skunk, groundhog, opossum, weasel, field mouse, flying squirrel, cottontail rabbit, gray foxes, red foxes, gray squirrels, red squirrels and several types of bat. Some Icterid birds visit West Virginia, as well as the hermit thrush and wood thrush. Beast America … But, the mink, beaver and at one time the eastern cougar (Puma concolor couguar) are very rarely seen near farms, even the farthest from towns. They survived longer in this area, however, than in other parts of the eastern United States. Charleston, West Virginia. The bobcat (Felis rufus) is the only native feline predator in West Virginia. 1948. Free Wi-Fi and cable television are provided in the cabin for all of our visitors to enjoy. Right now, there’s no state law preventing someone from owning a gorilla as a pet in West Virginia. There are more than 70 species of odonate, about 18 species of spiders and a dozen species of stonefly. The eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus lycaon),[9] a subspecies of the gray wolf, roamed throughout the state in pre-settlement days. I love learning about the animals in my state, unless it is a snake! Other wild mammals such as bears, bobcats, groundhogs and coyotes sometimes test positive for rabies. There are 35 prevalent species including Bluegill, Trout, Catfish, Bass, Musky … During the early half of the 20th century, the West Virginia Department of Resources accidentally hatched a somewhat golden rainbow trout. Cranberry Mountain Nature Center at (304)653-4826 and during the winter months at the Gauley Ranger District at (304)846-2695. Some mammals which have thrived despite human disturbance include the opossum, which is more abundant and more widely distributed due to human activities. The gradual comeback of beaver started in 1933 when 6 beaver were released on Beaver Dam Refuge in Randolph County. Read Success Stories. This excitement in the state hatchery fueled the effort to produce the West Virginia "golden rainbow trout." Can be commonly seen in suitable habitat within current range. Various water habitats of West Virginia hold the following sport fish:American eel, black crappie, bluegill, brook trout, brown trout, bullhead catfish, burbot, channel catfish, flathead catfish, freshwater drum, green sunfish, hybrid striped bass, lake trout, largemouth bass, longear sunfish, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rainbow trout, redear sunfish, rock bass, sauger, saugeye, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, striped bass, walleye, warmouth, white bass, white crappie, white perch and yellow perch. [16] Sporadic elk sightings were again reported, however, near the headwaters of the Tygart and Greenbrier Rivers as late as 1875. Dogs, cats, pigs and goats that have wandered off or were abandoned have established or feral populations in portions of the state. Queen snake, common water-snake, northern brownsnake, northern red-bellied snake, common ribbonsnake, eastern gartersnake, eastern smooth earthsnake, mountain earthsnake, eastern hog-nosed snake, northern ring-necked snake, eastern wormsnake, northern black racer, rough greensnake, smooth greensnake, cornsnake, black ratsnake, northern pinesnake, eastern kingsnake, black kingsnake, eastern milksnake. Pairs of turkey vultures can be seen while driving along the open highway. With 1.6 million acres (6,475 square kilometers) of protected land in the state, there are lots of places to get outdoors and enjoy the wildlife, from nature preserves and parks to wildlife refuges and the forests. & Ospina-Garces, S. 2016. My brain wanted to say it was a wild dog or a deer, but it was not. Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, http://lutra.dnr.state.wv.us/cwcp/appendix2.shtm, http://lutra.dnr.state.wv.us/cwcp/flatspiredthreetoothedlandsnail.shtm, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fauna_of_West_Virginia&oldid=981689642, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 3 October 2020, at 21:14. What to do if I see a wild animal. West Virginia landscape . Several additional species are rare in the state and warrant close monitoring. 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). Four – the Virginia big-eared bat, the Indiana bat, the West Virginia northern flying squirrel and the newly extinct eastern cougar – are federally listed as endangered. The American goldfinch, northern cardinal, bluejay, catbird, northern mockingbird, American sparrow, some wrens, and even crows can be found passing through urban lawns to meadows and cattail ponds or a farmer's field. You cannot tell that an animal has rabies just by looking at it; so stay away from wild animals and stray cats and dogs while camping. All of those animals came from the Ice Age. ), Many of these paths became the Indian "roads" later used by the pioneering European settlers. The state of West Virginia is home to 72 wild mammal 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. Naturalist John James Audubon reported that by 1851 a few eastern elk(Cervus canadensis canadiensis) could still be found in the Alleghany Mountains of what became West Virginia, but that by then they wer… I found nothing at all. 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.". River otter Bobcat, snowshoe hare, and black bear are also found in the more remote forests and parks. West Virginia has about 100 cases of animal rabies per year. Fish and Wildlife Service Concludes Eastern Cougar Extinct", "Elk Restoration and Management Options for Southwest Virginia", "Draft: West Virginia Elk Management Plan, 2011–2015", Unpublished MS: Historical Review of Wildlife Management in Canaan Valley and Surrounding Area, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_mammals_of_West_Virginia&oldid=979469856, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The state has guidelines for persons applying for West Virginia scientific collecting permits.[1]. These and major rivers also hold snapping turtles, hunted as a delicacy with a WVDNR permit. West Virginia plans to ban, tax and regulate a wide range of animals. These islands serves as a habitat for great blue heron, wood ducks, cormorants, Canada geese, migrating loons, and tundra swans. Their headlines are exotic animals but a little research makes the broader story come to light. The state of West Virginia is currently home to at least 70 wild mammal species. Wild in West Virginia. Four – the Virginia big-eared bat, the Indiana bat, the West Virginia northern flying squirrel and the newly extinct eastern cougar – are federally listed as endangered. 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. The wildlife center is also home to French Creek Freddie, West Virginia’s own psychic groundhog , who determines whether we’ll be in … This expanding population began to enter western Virginia and the southwestern counties of West Virginia. Dr. Thomas Walker recorded that 13 bison were killed during his 1743 expedition of the area west of the Alleghenies. The neighboring state of Kentucky actively reintroduced elk (various subspecies from Canada, Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah[17]) to their eastern woodlands in 1997, and by 2009 the population had increased to over 10,000 animals. When the state was a Native American hunting ground, buffalo, elk, bears, cougars, deer, and other large mammals, roamed the territory. And lucky for us, we also have some great photographers. Beaver Compton, Mildreth Hutson, "Trails of Our Hutson Heritage", In: Hutson, Rex (1996). A partial list of non-game fish follows: “ The walk through zoo near the top has a good variety of animals goats, kangaroos, monkeys, tigers, giraffes etc. Despite the abundant wild landscape, there are three animals that have been extirpated from West Virginia. Some anglers claim the state received a golden trout from the west to help culture this. The following letters indicate the likelihood of finding each animal in West Virginia: In addition, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies one of these species as vulnerable (VU) and five as near-threatened (NT). The sandhill crane lumbers at flight over the large rivers to conservation ponds. Four of West Virginia's mammals-the Virginia big-eared bat, Indiana bat, West Virginia northern flying squirrel and potentially extirpated eastern cougar-are federally listed as endangered. Of the wasps, some meadows may have a burrow of yellowjackets. It had been chased from Webster County by dogs. These were long thought to be the last elk found wild in the region that later became West Virginia. The American buffalo, or bison (Bison bison), was once common in West Virginia, roaming in large herds over the entire state. Among them are hellbenders and salamanders, as well as toads and frogs such as the northern leopard frog and mountain chorus frog. Wildlife Guide. Most wild animals keep their distance from people, and you should keep your distance from wildlife. 407 likes. "Efforts to restore wolves to the northeastern United States have been confounded by a new taxonomic proposal: that the wolf historically inhabiting this region was not, as previously thought, a subspecies of gray wolf commonly called the eastern timber wolf (. It is the West Virginia burrowing mayfly (Ephemera triplex) along with the mountain stream's terrestrials and the other insects. 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. Several additional species are rare in West Virginia and warrant close monitoring. Four species (or subspecies) – 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. Those animals are the gray wolf, the elk and the bison. Naturalist John James Audubon reported that by 1851 a few eastern elk (Cervus canadensis canadiensis) could still be found in the Alleghany Mountains of what became West Virginia, but that by then they were virtually gone from the remainder of their range. The eastern mountain lion used to reside in the Mountain State in the 1800s but … The state's streams and lakes provides habitat for about 54 species of mussel which are protected from harvest by WVDNR. In about 1843, three were killed in Canaan Valley, Virginia, by members of the Flanagan and Carr families, local settlers who habitually hunted there. By 1912, however, the animals were believed to be rare or completely extirpated. The copperhead is the most common venomous snake throughout the state. West Virginia trout has but one mayfly on which to feed. While the moccasin can be seen crossing over brooks and along larger rivers, the timber rattlesnake is found among rocks and fallen tree in the highland forests and mountainous areas. WVU Extension specialists and agents are knowledgeable about wildlife species and how to identify different animals, as well as management practices useful to property owners and residents. 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. The flat-spired three-toothed land snail (Triodopsis platysayoides) is listed as a threatened priority one according to the U.S. Fisher The three hybrid sport fish are the Hybrid Striped Bass (Morone chrysops x M. saxatilis), Hybrid Saugeye (Stizostedion canadense x S. vitreum) and Hybrid Tiger Musky (Esox lucius x E. masquinony). 70 pp. eastern blacknose dace, bluntnose minnow, bigmouth buffalo, black redhorse, bowfin, brook silverside, brook stickleback, buffalo, carp, creek chub, central stoneroller, channel darter, emerald shiner, fathead minnow, gizzard shad, golden redhorse, golden shiner, grass carp, grass pickerel, greenside darter, johnny darter, leastbrook lamprey, logperch darter, longnose gar, mosquitofish, northern hogsucker, paddlefish, quillback, pugnose minnow, rainbow darter, shovelnose sturgeon (Ohio River), silver lamprey, silver jaw minnow, southern redbelly dace, stonecat, striped shiner, sturgeon, trout-perch, western banded killfish and white sucker. 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