Field Guide

An excellent digger, the American badger is a powerful predators of rodents in grasslands and other open areas. Note its brawny build, impressive digging claws, and the black and white facial pattern.

The American mink is a semiaquatic predator and a member of the weasel family. It is famous for its durable, soft, valuable fur.

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.

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.

Chipmunks are sleek, attractive, active ground-dwelling squirrels. They live in tunnels but are generally out during the day, making them one of the few mammals that people can enjoy watching.

The eastern cottontail is a rabbit with a perfect name. Its tail, when raised, has a conspicuously white undersurface, resembling a fluff of cotton.

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.

Of the two species of skunks in Missouri, the eastern spotted skunk is less common and lesser known. It has been declining drastically in recent years because of habitat loss.

Feral hogs could cost Missouri 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.

Long-tailed weasels are small but voracious predators. They are rare in our state but are most common in the south-central and southwestern portions. In summer, they are brown with yellow beneath. In winter their fur is paler or white. The tail has a black tip.