Mammals

Also known as the cinnamon bear, the American black bear is a common bear whose color varies from black to yellow-brown.

The beaver is a large, brown, semi-aquatic mammal with a distinctive flattened, paddle-like tail. It lives in lakes, streams and forested wetlands throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The big brown bat is a large copper or chocolate brown bat with long fur, rounded ears and a broad nose.

The bobcat is a wild cat that is brownish with dark spots and stripes. It lives mostly in forested and mountainous areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The bottlenose dolphin is a large, grayish aquatic mammal that visits the lower and middle Chesapeake Bay in summer.

The Delmarva fox squirrel is a large, gray squirrel that lives in quiet forests on the Delmarva Peninsula. 

The eastern cottontail is a brownish, medium-sized rabbit that lives in fields, farms, woods and backyards throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The eastern gray squirrel is a grayish-brown, bushy-tailed rodent that lives in forests, parks and backyards throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The fisher is a dark brown furry predator about the size of a house cat. It can be found in coniferous forests throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The Florida manatee is a large, gray aquatic mammal that occasionally visits the Chesapeake Bay’s shallow waters in summer.

The gray fox has coarse, gray fur and a black-tipped tail. It can be found from southern Canada to the northern Columbia and Venezuela.

The humpback whale is a school bus-sized mammal that occasionally visits the Chesapeake Bay. It is known for its knobbed head and acrobatic breaching displays.

The little brown bat is a small, mostly nocturnal flying mammal with long, brownish fur. It lives in buildings, trees, caves and similar areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The long-tailed shrew is a mid-sized shrew with a slender body and long tail. It lives in cool, rocky, forested areas and can be found year-round in the Appalachian Mountains.

The marsh rabbit is a brownish, medium-sized rabbit. In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, it is only found in the marshes and swamps of southeastern Virginia.

The marsh rice rat is a grayish-brown rodent with a long tail. It lives in tidal marshes near the Chesapeake Bay in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

The meadow vole is a small, dark brown rodent that is common in grassy marshes throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

The muskrat is a semi-aquatic mammal with brownish fur and a long, rudder-like tail. It is found in marshes and other shallow-water areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The North American porcupine is a native rodent with an iconic feature⁠—quills—that it uses for defense. 

Nutria are large, brown, semi-aquatic rodents that live in marshes and wetlands on the Delmarva Peninsula and other parts of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. They are an invasive species.

The raccoon is a grayish mammal with a distinctive long, ringed tail and black “mask” over its eyes. It lives in nearly every part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, from cities and suburbs to swamps and marshes.

The red fox is a small, reddish, dog-like mammal that lives in swamps, forests and farms throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The river otter is a large, brown, weasel-like mammal found along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and lakes, streams, rivers and marshes throughout the Bay watershed.

The sika deer is a small, brown elk that lives in quiet marshes and forested wetlands on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland.

The southern flying squirrel is a small, grayish-brown mammal that is found throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed in hardwood forests and areas with lots of deciduous trees.

The striped skunk is a black and white mammal about the size of a house cat. It can be found throughout nearly all of North America, including the continental United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico.

The Virginia big-eared bat is an endangered, medium-sized bat. It is known for its distinguishing long ears and large glands on its nose.

The Virginia opossum is a gray, heavyset mammal found throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The white-tailed deer is a brownish, medium-sized deer that is found in forests, farms, parks and backyards throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The woodchuck, also known as the groundhog, is a heavy-bodied, burrowing critter that hibernates from October to February.