Field Guide

When you see the black mask and striped tail of this medium-sized mammal, you know you’ve spotted a raccoon. These nocturnal omnivores are clever and adaptive.

The nutria is a large aquatic rodent native to South America. They were brought to the United States for the fur market. In Missouri, nutria are sometimes trapped in the southeastern part of the state.

Larger and yellower than the eastern cottontail, the swamp rabbit is confined to swamps of Missouri’s Bootheel. As a wetland dweller, it’s a good swimmer and diver, but lack of swamp habitat is making this rabbit’s numbers decline.

The red fox is doglike, with a long, pointed muzzle; large, pointed ears that are usually held erect and forward; moderately long legs; and a long, bushy tail. It occurs statewide but is more common in the northern and western sections of Missouri.

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.

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.