List of mammals of Minnesota

This list of mammals of Minnesota includes the mammals native to Minnesota. It also shows their status in the wild. There are 81 native and 5 introduced mammal species found in the state. American bison, caribou, and wolverines were extirpated from the state. Minnesota does not have a state mammal but several have been proposed: The northern white tailed deer was proposed eight times, the eastern wolf was proposed six times, the American black bear and thirteen-lined ground squirrel were each proposed once. ^[1]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; those on the left are used here, those in the second column in some other articles:

EX	EX	Extinct	No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW	EW	Extinct in the wild	Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized population well outside its historic range.
CR	CR	Critically endangered	The species is in imminent danger of extinction in the wild.
EN	EN	Endangered	The species is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU	VU	Vulnerable	The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT	NT	Near threatened	The species does not qualify as being at high risk of extinction but is likely to do so in the future.
LC	LC	Least concern	The species is not currently at risk of extinction in the wild.
DD	DD	Data deficient	There is inadequate information to assess the risk of extinction for this species.
NE	NE	Not evaluated	The conservation status of the species has not been studied.

Didelphimorphs

Opossums

• Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginianaLC

Rodents

Squirrels

• Northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinusLC
• Southern flying squirrel, Glaucomys volansLC
• Woodchuck, Marmota monaxLC
• Least chipmunk, Neotamias minimusLC
• Eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensisLC
• Fox squirrel, Sciurus nigerLC
• Franklin's ground squirrel, Spermophilus frankliniiLC
• Richardson's ground squirrel, Spermophilus richardsoniiLC
• Thirteen-lined ground squirrel, Spermophilus tridecemlineatusLC
• Eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatusLC
• American red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicusLC
• Black-tailed prairie dog, Cynomys ludovicianusLC introduced

Beavers

• American beaver, Castor canadensisLC

Gophers

• Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursariusLC
• Northern pocket gopher, Thomomys talpoidesLC

Pocket mice

• Plains pocket mouse, Perognathus flavescensLC

Cricetids

• Eastern deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatusLC
• White-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopusLC
• Western deer mouse, Peromyscus sonoriensisNE
• Western harvest mouse, Reithrodontomys megalotisLC
• Northern grasshopper mouse, Onychomys leucogasterLC
• Northern bog lemming, Synaptomys borealisLC
• Southern bog lemming, Synaptomys cooperiLC
• Rock vole, Microtus chrotorrhinusLC
• Prairie vole, Microtus ochrogasterLC
• Woodland vole, Microtus pinetorumLC
• Meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicusLC
• Eastern heather vole, Phenacomys ungavaLC
• Southern red-backed vole, Myodes gapperiLC
• Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicusLC

Murids

• House mouse, Mus musculusLC introduced
• Brown rat, Rattus norvegicusLC introduced

Jumping mice

• Meadow jumping mouse, Zapus hudsoniusLC
• Woodland jumping mouse, Napaeozapus insignisLC

Porcupines

• North American porcupine, Erethizon dorsatumLC

Lagomorphs

Hares

• Snowshoe hare, Lepus americanusLC
• White-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus townsendiiLC

Cottontail rabbits

• Eastern cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanusLC

Eulipotyphlans

Shrews

• Northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicaudaLC
• North American least shrew, Cryptotis parvaLC
• Arctic shrew, Sorex arcticusLC
• Masked shrew, Sorex cinereusLC
• American pygmy shrew, Sorex hoyiLC
• American water shrew, Sorex palustrisLC

Moles

• Star-nosed mole, Condylura cristataLC
• Eastern mole, Scalopus aquaticusLC

Bats

Evening bats

• Big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscusLC
• Silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagansLC
• Hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereusLC
• Eastern red bat, Lasiurus borealisLC
• Little brown bat, Myotis lucifugusEN
• Northern long-eared myotis, Myotis septentrionalisNT
• Eastern pipistrelle, Pipistrellus subflavusVU

Carnivorans

Procyonids

• Common raccoon, Procyon lotorLC

Mustelids

• Wolverine, Gulo guloLC extirpated
• Northern river otter, Lontra canadensisLC
• American marten, Martes americanaLC
• Least weasel, Mustela nivalisLC
• American ermine, Mustela richardsoniiNE
  • Western Great Lakes stoat, M. r. bangsiNE
• Beringian ermine or stoat, Mustela ermineaLC
• Long-tailed weasel, Neogale frenataLC
• American mink, Neogale visonLC
• Fisher, Pekania pennantiLC
• American badger, Taxidea taxusLC

Skunks

• Striped skunk, Mephitis mephitisLC
• Eastern spotted skunk, Spilogale putoriusVU

Canines

• Coyote, Canis latransLC
• Gray wolf, Canis lupusLC
• Eastern wolf, Canis lycaonVU
• Gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteusLC
• Swift fox, Vulpes veloxLC vagrant
• Red fox, Vulpes vulpesLC
  • American red fox, V. v. fulvaLC
  • Northern plains fox, V. v. regalisLC ^[2]

Felines

• Canada lynx, Lynx canadensisLC
• Bobcat, Lynx rufusLC
• Cougar, Puma concolorLC vagrant ^[3]

Bears

• American black bear, Ursus americanusLC

Artiodactyls

Deer

• Moose, Alces alcesLC
• Elk, Cervus canadensisLC
• White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianusLC
  • Northern white-tailed deer, O. v. borealisLC ^[4]
  • Dakota white-tailed deer, O. v. dacotensisLC ^[4]
  • Kansas white-tailed deer, O. v. macrourusLC ^[4]
• Caribou, Rangifer tarandusVU extirpated
  • Woodland caribou, R. t. caribou extirpated
• Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionusLC
• Sika deer, Cervus nipponLC introduced

Pronghorn

• Pronghorn, Antilocapra americanaLC vagrant

Bovids

• American bison, Bison bisonNT extirpated
  • Plains bison, B. b. bison extirpated

Pigs

• Wild boar, Sus scrofaLC introduced

References

1. "Unofficial, Proposed, or Facetious State Symbols - Minnesota". Minnesota State Legislature. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
2. "red fox". MinnesotaSeasons.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-3vBfXAOOs&t=4s
4. "whitetail deer". MinnesotaSeasons.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.

• Burt, W. H., and R. P. Grossenheider (1976). Field Guide to the Mammals: North America North of Mexico. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, US.
• Gunderson, H. L., and J. R. Beer (1953). "Mammals of Minnesota". Occasional Papers, Minnesota Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota. 6: 1-190.
• Hazard, E. B. 1982. Mammals of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Heany, L. R., and E. C. Birney (1975). "Comments on the distribution and natural history of some mammals in Minnesota". Canadian Field-Naturalist . 89 (1): 29-34.
• Wiche, J. M. and J. F. Cassel (1978). "Checklist of North Dakota mammals. (Revised)". The Prairie Naturalist10 (3): 81-88.
• Wilson, D. E., and F. R. Cole (2000). Common Names of the Mammals of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., US.