1. Unit X: Mammals of Kansas Information

2. Introduction to Mammals
Class Mammalia
There are 88 species of mammals native to Kansas.
Mammals are covered with fur/hair and they nurse their young with milk produced by mammary glands. Males and females have these glands, but they are only functional in females.

3. Mammals cont. Three types of mammals
Monotremes: egg-laying mammals. They are not very common at all. The platypus is an example.
Marsupials: give birth to partially-developed young that then crawl into a pouch on the mothers belly to nurse and finish development.
Placentals: mammals who are born fully developed (although need further care), and who are attached to the mother by the placenta in the uterus, which provides nutrients, oxygen and waste removal for the fetus.

4. Mammals cont. Mammals have very specialized teeth.
Herbivores eat only plants, and they generally have large, flat teeth for grinding the plant material.
Carnivores eat only meat, and they generally have very sharp, razor-like teeth for killing and tearing the flesh of their prey.
Omnivores eat both plants and animals, and they have a combination of both types of teeth.

5. Mammals cont.
Mammals have brains larger and more complex than most other animals.
Opossums are North Americas only marsupial. Most marsupials are found in Australia.
Humans are mammals, which means we can share diseases with other mammals. We can get very sick from rodents, or even share colds with our dogs or cats.

6. Mammals, cont. How to identify mammals:
Tracks are a great way to determine which mammals have been in the area. You can find tracks in dirt, sand, mud and snow.
If you find skulls, you can observe the teeth. There are various keys for mammal teeth that you can use to determine what species you are looking at.

7. Badger
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

8. Badger Order: Carnivora, the carnivores
Pound for pound, they are probably the most powerful mammals in Kansas.
If threatened, they attack explosively.
Dig their dens in hillsides and road embankments, with a conspicuous dirt mound at the entrance.
Eat mostly smaller rodents such as gophers, prairie dogs, mice, rabbits and insects.

9. Beaver
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

10. Beaver

11. Beaver skull

12. Beaver Order: Rodentia, the rodents
Largest rodent in North America lbs.
Builds stick and mud dams across streams or a large conical hut in water for shelter.
Tail shaped like a paddle.
Feeds on small bark and twigs from birch, poplar, maple, willow. Has very sharp teeth.
Lives in family groups.

13. Bobcat
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

14. Bobcat Order: Carnivora, the carnivores Weighs 15-35 lbs. Short tail.
Prefers forest edge habitat, brushy areas.
Mostly nocturnal and solitary, very secretive.
Eats small mammals, birds, carrion if not tainted. Is the main predator for deer in eastern Kansas.

15. Eastern Cottontail

16. Eastern Cottontail Order: Lagomorpha, rabbits and hares
Habitat is heavy brush, forest strips with open areas.
Feeds on green vegetation in summer, bark and twigs in winter.
Most important small-game mammal for human hunters.

17. Coyote

18. Coyote

19. Coyote
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

20. Coyote

21. Coyote Order: Carnivora, the carnivores. Weighs 20-50 lbs.
Habitat is prairie and open woodlands.
Dens in ground.
Has almost always had a bounty on it in some part of the country, although hunting has not reduced its numbers.
Very adaptable, intelligent animal.
Eats mostly rodents, an does a great service by keeping rodent population down.

22. Big Brown Bats

23. Big Brown Bat

24. Big Brown Bat Order: Chiroptera, the bats
May be the most common bat in Kansas.
Hibernate in caves, buildings, rock crevices, mines.
May live up to 19 years in the wild
Eat primarily beetles and can eat 1/3 of their body weight in insects each night.
Hunt by echolocation, where they emit high-pitched squeaks and hear how the sound bounces off of objects and comes back to them.

25. Gray Squirrel

26. Gray Squirrel

27. Gray Squirrel Order: Rodentia, the rodents
They are found in the eastern quarter of Kansas, in Oak-Hickory forest and in towns with oak trees.
Build nests out of leaves.
Often seen leaping from tree to tree or resting on the tree branches.

28. Fox Squirrel

29. Fox Squirrel

30. Fox Squirrel Order: Rodentia, the rodents
Bushy, fox-like tails that have orange fringe and reddish-orange fur.
Larger than Gray Squirrels and spend more time on the ground
Builds nests out of leaves.
Common in oak-hickory woodlands, wooded parks and neighborhoods throughout Kansas.

31. Black-tailed Prairie Dog

32. Black-tailed Prairie Dog

33. Black-tailed Prairie Dog

34. Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Order: Rodentia, the rodents
Live in the western half of Kansas, on the High Plains
Known for their “barks” when the lookouts spot danger.
Live in complex network of burrows called “towns”.
Often they are poisoned out by landowners, but they provide critical habitat for many High Plains animals, such as spiders, salamanders, toads, box turtles, snakes and especially burrowing owls.

35. Mink running video from Ken Highfill
Taxidermy mount at Prairie Park Nature Center
Mink running video from Ken Highfill

36. Mink Order: Carnivora, the carnivores Small, weasel-like mammal.
Lives near streams and rivers.
Usually dark brown with a white chin-patch that can be hard to see.
Very common.
Feeds on fish, small mammals, birds, eggs, frogs, crayfish.
One of the most valuable fur animals.

37. Muskrat

38. Muskrat

39. Muskrat Order: Rodentia, the rodents
Tail long and thin, naked like a rat.
Lives in streams and ponds, wetlands.
Much smaller than beaver.
2-4 lbs.
Builds conical houses out of marsh vegetation.
Eats aquatic plants.
Fur extremely soft, thick and waterproof if maintained.

40. Virginia Opossum

41. Opossum Order: Didelphimorphia, the opossums
The only marsupial in North America.
Has more teeth than any other Kansas mammal: 50!
Have prehensile tail that they use to grasp branches for balance (they do NOT hang upside down from their tails).
Female bears housefly-sized young that crawl across her belly and into the pouch and attach to a nipple, where they finish their development for the next two months.
The term “playing possum” refers to the opossums habit of freezing and/or passing out when startled, such as by a car, which is why so many get hit on the roads.
Opossums are currently being studied for the fact that they do not seem to carry the rabies virus.

42. Raccoon
Taxidermy mount at Prairie Park Nature Center

43. Raccoon Order: Carnivora, the carnivores.
12-35 lbs. Size of small-med dog.
Very intelligent and inquisitive.
Feeds mostly along streams and lakes, omnivorous, prefers crawdads, eggs, insects, fruits.
Extremely sensitive hands—touches and feels things.
Very cute when young, but once they hit puberty, they will defend territory. Do NOT make good pets—illegal to keep.
80% of raccoons in Kansas carry some type of communicable disease.

44. Red Fox

45. Red Fox
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

46. Red Fox Order: Carnivora, the carnivores.
Has the appearance of a small dog.
Forest and open country is preferred.
Eats other animals from insects to rabbits, and berries and fruit.
Usually have more than one den and moves pups around.
Have a bounty on them in much of their range, but it should be removed as they do more good than harm overall.

47. Striped Skunk
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

48. Striped Skunk
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

49. Striped Skunk Order: Carnivora, the carnivores
Scent glands located near base of tail.
Size of house cat.
Lives in semi-open country, prairie and brush.
Omnivorous: east grubs, berries, mice, eggs, insects, carrion.
Does not hibernate, is active all winter.

50. White-footed Mouse

51. White-footed Mouse Order: Rodentia, the rodents.
Lives in prairies, woodlands, many habitats.
Nests on ground, but sometimes in trees.
Important part of the cycle for Lyme disease and can also carry other diseases communicable to humans.
Important prey item for many animals.

52. Woodchuck

53. Woodchuck

54. Woodchuck

55. Woodchuck Order: Rodentia, the rodents. a.k.a. Groundhog or Marmot.
5-10 lbs.
Habitat is open woods, brushy and rocky ravines.
Feeds on tender plants.
Burrow with 2 or more openings, may be 4-5 feet deep and feet long.
Other openings are dug from below and concealed on surface.

56. Porcupine

57. Porcupine

58. Porcupine

59. Porcupine Order: Rodentia, the rodents. Weigh 27-33 lbs.
Have quills on back, rump and tail, but not on belly.
When threatened, they arch their back and slap the aggressor with quills on tail.
Live up to 20 years in wild.
Live in wooded areas of central and southwestern Kansas.
Feeds on cottonwood trees, alfalfa, corn, grasses, forbs.

60. White-tailed Deer

61. White-tailed Deer rub

62. White-tailed Deer

63. White-tailed Deer Order: Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates
Habitat is forests, open brushy areas, forest edge.
Eats twigs, shrubs, fungi, acorns, green vegetation.
Most important big game mammal in East.
More here now than ever before due to increase in edge habitat and elimination of predators, and safety and cover in urban areas.
Many starve in winter due to overpopulation.
Deer populations should be thinned out (by hunting) because there is not enough food for them all, so many starve in winter. Also they eat many of the oaks and hickory nuts and saplings, changing the structure of our forests and they out compete many other native animals who depend on the oak-hickory forest.

64. Pronghorn

65. Pronghorn

66. Pronghorn Order: Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates
Often called antelope.
Can run up to 60 miles per hour.
Rarely jump fences, but prefer to crawl under them.
Found in the western quarter of Kansas.

67. Nine-banded Armadillo
Yes, this armadillo is dead, however this is mostly how they are seen here in Kansas. They get hit at night on the roads. The body decomposes, but the “shell” can stay around for a long time.

68. Nine-banded Armadillo

69. Nine-banded Armadillo
Order: Xenarthra, the Armadillos
Have two immovable plates near head and tail that are connected by nine movable, smaller plates. Head and tail are also armored.
Feed at night, primarily on earthworms, larvae and insects, eggs, birds, fruit.
Live up to 4 years in wild.
When they are startled they jump straight up into the air. Often are hit by cars.
Habitat is in shrubs and woodlands. Is expanding its range north, and now can be found in summers as far north as southern Nebraska, possibly as a result of global warming. (Many animals and plants are expanding their ranges due to warmer temperatures).

70. American Bison

71. American Bison Order: Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates.
The heaviest land mammal native to North America, weighing 900-2,000 lbs.
Prior to settlement, there were an estimated 60 million.
Major resource for the Great Plains Indians, providing food, clothing, shelter, fuel, tools and dozens of other items.
Last wild bison in Kansas was killed in 1879, north of Elkhart.
Public and private captive herds are scattered across Kansas.
Can live up to 30 years.

72. Mountain Lion
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

73. Mountain Lion Order: Carnivora, the carnivores.
Classified as “presently extinct” in Kansas, although sightings are not uncommon.
Originally ranged throughout Kansas, especially southern part of the state.
Deer make up percent of prey, porcupines 20 percent, and other mammals make up the rest.
Territories range from 3-15 square miles.
Last confirmed mountain lion in Kansas taken in Ellis County in 1904.

74. River Otter
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

75. River Otter Order: Carnivora, the carnivores.
At one time River Otters were distributed along all the major rivers and many permanent streams throughout Kansas.
60 percent of diet is fish, although they’ll also eat voles, muskrat, voles, frogs, insects, worms, etc.
Like other members of the Mustelidae family, River Otters have anal musk glands which are used if the otter is threatened.

76. Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

77. Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum

78. Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Order: Lagomorpha, rabbits and hares.
Although referred to as a rabbit, is actually classified as a hare because of its long ears and feet, and precocial young.
The black tailed jack rabbit is found throughout the state, but is more common on the prairies of western Kansas. Open prairie or fields of short cultivated grasses are preferred to brush or fields of tall cultivated crops.
Food of the black-tailed jack rabbit consists of grasses, herbage, and any available green vegetation. In winter more dry vegetation is consumed, including cacti, shrubs, and the bark of trees. Most of their water is obtained from plants.

79. References
A Pocket Guide to Common Kansas Mammals, by George Potts and Bob Gress
Mammals of Kansas Website-