List of mammals of Alabama explained

The U.S. state of Alabama is home to these known indigenous mammal species.^[1] Historically, the state's indigenous species included one armadillo species, sixteen bat species, thirteen carnivore species, six insectivore species, one opossum species, four rabbit species, twenty-two rodent species, and three ungulate species.^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] Four of these native species have become extirpated within the state, including the American bison (Bos bison), cougar (Puma concolor), red wolf (Canis rufus), and the elk (Cervus canadensis).^[1] ^[8]

There are six known introduced mammal species in the state. These include the black rat, brown rat, fallow deer, wild boar, house mouse, and nutria.^[8]

Human predation and habitat destruction has placed several mammal species at risk of extirpation or extinction. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources lists the conservation status of each species within the state with a rank of lowest, low, moderate, high, and highest concern.^[3] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8]

Armadillo

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	Dasypus novemcinctus	nine-banded armadillo common long-nosed armadillo		Low

Bats

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	Corynorhinus rafinesquii	Rafinesque's big-eared bat		Highest
	Eptesicus fuscus	big brown bat		Lowest
	Lasionycteris noctivagans	silver-haired bat		Moderate
	Lasiurus borealis	eastern red bat		Lowest
	Lasiurus cinereus	hoary bat		Moderate
	Lasiurus intermedius	northern yellow bat		High
	Lasiurus seminolus	Seminole bat		Lowest
	Myotis austroriparius	southeastern myotis		High
	Myotis grisescens	gray bat		Highest
	Myotis leibii	eastern small-footed myotis		Moderate
	Myotis lucifugus	little brown bat		High
	Myotis septentrionalis	northern long-eared myotis		High
	Myotis sodalis	Indiana myotis		Highest
	Nycticeius humeralis	evening bat		Lowest
	Perimyotis subflavus	eastern pipistrelle tricolored bat		Lowest
	Tadarida brasiliensis	Mexican free-tailed bat Brazilian free-tailed bat		High

Carnivores

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	Canis latrans	coyote		Lowest
	Canis rufus	red wolf	Canidae	Extirpated
	Urocyon cinereoargenteus	gray fox	Canidae	Lowest
	Vulpes vulpes	red fox		Lowest
	Ursus americanus	American black bear		Highest Range limited to northeast Alabama and Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. Designated as state land mammal.
	Procyon lotor	raccoon		Lowest
	Lontra canadensis	North American river otter	Mustelidae	Low
	Neogale frenata	long-tailed weasel		High
	Neogale vison	American mink		Low
	Mephitis mephitis	striped skunk		Low
	Spilogale putorius	eastern spotted skunk		High
	Lynx rufus	bobcat	Felidae	Lowest
	Puma concolor	cougar mountain lion panther puma		Extirpated

Eulipotyphlans

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	Blarina brevicauda	northern short-tailed shrew		Moderate
	Blarina carolinensis	southern short-tailed shrew		Moderate
	Cryptotis parva	North American least shrew		Moderate
	Sorex hoyi	American pygmy shrew		High
	Sorex longirostris	southeastern shrew		Moderate
	Scalopus aquaticus	eastern mole		Low

Opossums

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	Didelphis virginiana	Virginia opossum North American opossum		Low

Rabbits

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	Sylvilagus aquaticus	swamp rabbit		Low
	Sylvilagus floridanus	eastern cottontail		Lowest
	Sylvilagus obscurus	Appalachian cottontail		High
	Sylvilagus palustris	marsh rabbit		High

Rodents

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	Castor canadensis	North American beaver		Lowest
	Glaucomys volans	southern flying squirrel		Lowest
	Marmota monax	woodchuck groundhog	Sciuridae	Lowest
	Sciurus carolinensis	eastern gray squirrel	Sciuridae	Lowest
	Sciurus niger	fox squirrel eastern fox squirrel Bryant's fox squirrel	Sciuridae	Low
	Tamias striatus	eastern chipmunk		Lowest
	Geomys pinetis	southeastern pocket gopher		High
	Microtus ochrogaster	prairie vole		Moderate
	Microtus pinetorum	pine vole woodland vole		Low
	Neotoma cinerea	eastern woodrat Florida woodrat		Moderate
	Neotoma magister	Allegheny woodrat		High
	Ochrotomys nuttalli	golden mouse	Cricetidae	Lowest
	Ondatra zibethicus	muskrat		Lowest
	Oryzomys palustris	marsh rice rat		Lowest
	Peromyscus gossypinus	cotton mouse	Cricetidae	Lowest
	Peromyscus leucopus	white-footed mouse	Cricetidae	Lowest
	Peromyscus polionotus	oldfield mouse beach mouse	Cricetidae	Moderate
	Peromyscus polionotus ammobates	Alabama beach mouse	Cricetidae	Highest Range limited to Fort Morgan Peninsula and Ono Island in Baldwin County.
	Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis	Perdido Key beach mouse	Cricetidae	Highest Range limited to the barrier island of Perdido Key in Baldwin County, Alabama and Escambia County, Florida.
	Reithrodontomys humulis	eastern harvest mouse		Moderate
	Sigmodon hispidus	hispid cotton rat		Lowest
	Mus musculus	house mouse		Introduced
	Rattus rattus	black rat		Introduced
	Rattus norvegicus	Norway rat brown rat		Introduced
	Zapus hudsonius	meadow jumping mouse		High
	Myocastor coypus	nutria coypu river rat		Introduced

Cetaceans

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	Eubalaena glacialis	North Atlantic right whale		Critically endangered
	Balaenoptera ricei	Rice's whale		Critically endangered
	Balaenoptera acutorostrata	common minke whale		Least concern
	Balaenoptera borealis	sei whale		Endangered
	Balaenoptera brydei	Bryde's whale		Least concern
	Balaenoptera musculus	blue whale		Endangered
	Balaenoptera physalus	fin whale		Vulnerable
	Megaptera novaeangliae	humpback whale		Least concern
	Physeter macrocephalus	sperm whale		Vulnerable
	Kogia breviceps	pygmy sperm whale		Least concern
	Kogia sima	dwarf sperm whale		Least concern
	Mesoplodon bidens	Sowerby's beaked whale		Least concern
	Mesoplodon densirostris	Blainville's beaked whale		Least concern
	Mesoplodon europaeus	Gervais' beaked whale		Least concern
	Peponocephala electra	melon-headed whale		Least concern
	Ziphius cavirostris	Cuvier's beaked whale		Least concern
	Feresa attenuata	pygmy killer Whale		Least concern
	Globicephala macrorhynchus	short-finned pilot whale		Least concern
	Grampus griseus	Risso's dolphin		Least concern
	Lagenodelphis hosei	Fraser's dolphin		Least concern
	Orcinus orca	killer whale		Data deficient
	Pseudorca crassidens	false killer Whale		Near threatened
	Stenella frontalis	Atlantic spotted dolphin		Least concern
	Stenella coeruleoalba	striped dolphin		Least concern
	Stenella attenuata	pantropical spotted dolphin		Least concern
	Stenella longirostris	spinner dolphin		Least concern
	Stenella clymene	Clymene dolphin		Least concern
	Steno bredanensis	rough-toothed dolphin		Least concern
	Tursiops truncatus	common bottlenose dolphin		Least concern

Ungulates

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	Bison bison	American bison American buffalo	Bovidae	Extirpated
	Cervus canadensis	elk		Extirpated; reintroduction in 1920s failed^[9]
	Dama dama	fallow deer		Introduced
	Odocoileus virginianus	white-tailed deer Virginia deer		Lowest
	Sus scrofa	wild boar	Suidae	Introduced

Notes and References

Book: Mirarchi, Ralph E. . Alabama Wildlife: Volume One . 2004 . University of Alabama Press . Tuscaloosa, Alabama . 978-0-81735-1304 . 185–202 .
Book: Alden, Peter . National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States . 1999 . Alfred A. Knopf . New York, New York . -0-679-44683-4 . 350–375 .
Web site: Bats . Outdoor Alabama . Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources . October 14, 2012.
Web site: Carnivores . Outdoor Alabama . Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources . October 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022075620/http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/what/Mammals/Carnivores/ . October 22, 2012 . dead .
Web site: Insectivores . Outdoor Alabama . Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources . October 14, 2012.
Web site: Rabbits . Outdoor Alabama . Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources . October 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120914001425/https://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/what/mammals/Rabbits/ . September 14, 2012 . dead .
Web site: Rodents . Outdoor Alabama . Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources . October 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022080110/http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/what/Mammals/Rodents/ . October 22, 2012 . dead .
Web site: Mammals . Outdoor Alabama . Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources . October 14, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120927012032/http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/what/Mammals/ . September 27, 2012 .
Web site: The Alabama Elk Experiment.