Field Guide

Skunks are omnivorous mammals notorious for their ability to discharge an obnoxious scent when provoked. The striped skunk is the most commonly encountered skunk in our state.

The common muskrat is one of the most abundant commercial furbearers in Missouri. This semiaquatic rodent has benefited from the construction of thousands of farm ponds throughout the state.

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.

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.

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 eastern gray squirrel and eastern fox squirrel are both very common in Missouri. Their names describe their general coat color: the first is grayish, the other a foxy red.

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.