Mammals
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Scientific Name
Canis latrans
Description
The coyote is a much-maligned member of the dog family. It does a great service to the ecosystem by helping to hold populations of rabbits and mice in check. In addition, their yips and barks add to nature's music to rural nights.
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Scientific Name
Marmota monax
Description
One of the best-known wild mammals in Missouri, the woodchuck, or groundhog, is a rodent in the squirrel family. They hibernate in burrows from late October to sometime in February.
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Scientific Name
Taxidea taxus
Description
An excellent digger, the American badger is a powerful predator of rodents in grasslands and other open areas. Note its brawny build, impressive digging claws, and the black and white facial pattern.
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Scientific Name
Lynx rufus
Description
The bobcat is a short-tailed wild cat with a distinctive streaked and spotted pattern, a wide face, and pointy ears often with black tufts.
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Scientific Name
Odocoileus virginianus
Description
In summer, white-tailed deer are reddish-brown to tan above; in winter, they are grayish. The throat and belly are white. This common Missouri deer is named for the bright white of its flaglike tail.
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Sus scrofa
Description
Feral hogs cause millions of dollars in agricultural, environmental, and property damage. As they root and wallow, they plow the soil to depths of 2–8 inches — sometimes for many acres! And this is just the beginning of the trouble they can cause to humans, livestock, and the environment.
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Scientific Name
Dasypus novemcinctus
Description
There’s no other animal in Missouri that can be mistaken for an armadillo! In the 1950s, they were not considered residents, but now they are regularly found in the southern half of the state.
See Also
About Mammals in Missouri
More than 70 species of wild mammals live in Missouri: opossums; shrews and moles; bats; rabbits; woodchuck, squirrels, beaver, mice, voles, and other rodents; coyote, foxes, bear, raccoon, weasels, otter, mink, skunks, bobcat, and other carnivores; deer and elk; and more. Most of us recognize mammals easily — they have fur, are warm-blooded, nurse their young, and breathe air.