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Mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates that give birth to and nurse their young, have highly evolved skeletal structures and are covered with hair either during maturity or at some stage of their embryonic development. Mammals generally have two pairs of limbs, although some aquatic species, such as whales and dolphins, have evolved without hind limbs. Mammals are an extremely diverse class of animals, with individual species ranging from the hedgehog and the fruit bat to the humpback whale. Many mammals inhabit the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Deer and raccoon are two of the most familiar land mammals in the Bay watershed. The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), of the family Cervidae, are swift-running, shy herbivores that consume leaves, twigs, grasses, fruit, seeds, mosses and lichens–as well as cultivated crops–in the Bay watershed. Males of the species develop antlers, which they use as weapons during the mating season. Though they prefer habitat along streams, they occupy a wide variety of habitats in the Bay watershed and are hunted enthusiastically.
Some mammals divide their time between land and water, such as the river otter. In the watershed, otters live in dens next to streams and rivers and often construct underwater entrances. Otters have short, strong legs and webbed feet with claws, a characteristic that permits them both to dive for fish and to feed on smaller mammals and fish. The Bay also is home to several species of aquatic mammals, including dolphins and manatees. Dolphins enter the Bay from the Atlantic Ocean in search of food–mainly fish and squid. Dolphins are fairly easy to spot in the deep waters near the mouth of the Bay because they have to surface to breathe nearly every two minutes. Manatees prefer estuaries, rivers or coastal waters. They have large, paddle-shaped tails and fins that allow them to maneuver near the Bay and ocean bottom in search of underwater vegetation. Other mammals common to the Bay watershed include beaver, opossum, skunk, red fox, gray squirrel, muskrat and Eastern cottontail rabbit. To bookmark this page, please use this URL: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/mammals.htm For more information, contact the Chesapeake
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The
raccoon, Procyon lotor, is an omnivorous nocturnal mammal with
a heavy gray, black and brown coat, a black mask and black-ringed tail.
Often hunted for its fur, the raccoon nevertheless has adapted to civilization
and frequently forages for food in suburban trash cans. In the watershed
the raccoon prefers to inhabit trees, preferably near streams, springs
or rivers. Raccoons also hunt at night, feeding on mice, insects, fish
and frogs.
