Unit X: Mammals of Kansas
Information
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Badger
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
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.
Beaver
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
Beaver
Beaver skull
Beaver






Order: Rodentia, the rodents
Largest rodent in North America. 30-60 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.
Bobcat
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
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.
Eastern Cottontail
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.
Coyote
Coyote
Coyote
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
Coyote
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.
Big Brown Bats
Big Brown Bat
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 highpitched squeaks and hear how the sound
bounces off of objects and comes back to them.
Gray Squirrel
Gray Squirrel
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.
Fox Squirrel
Fox Squirrel
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.
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
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.
Mink
Taxidermy mount at
Prairie Park Nature
Center
Mink running video from
Ken Highfill
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.
Muskrat
Muskrat
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.
Virginia
Opossum
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.
Raccoon
Taxidermy mount at Prairie Park Nature Center
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.
Red Fox
Red Fox
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
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.
Striped Skunk
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
Striped Skunk
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
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.
White-footed
Mouse
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.
Woodchuck
Woodchuck
Woodchuck
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 25-30 feet long.
Other openings are dug from below and
concealed on surface.
Porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupine
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.
White-tailed Deer
White-tailed Deer rub
White-tailed Deer
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.
Pronghorn
Pronghorn
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.
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.
Nine-banded Armadillo
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).
American Bison
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.
Mountain Lion
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
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 65-80 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.
River Otter
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
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.
Blacktailed
Jackrabbit
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Taxidermy mount at KU Natural History Museum
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.
References


A Pocket Guide to Common Kansas
Mammals, by George Potts and Bob Gress
Mammals of Kansas Websitehttp://www.ksr.ku.edu/libres/Mammals_of
_Kansas/list.html#cat