Land Mammals

There are many different land animals in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Listed below are some of the most prominent seen at or around the ground of Fort McHenry.

Eastern Cottontail

Sylvilagus floridanus

A small rabbit with a red-brown or gray-brown fur pattern with large hind feet, long ears, and a short tail. Lives in fields, farms, woods, and backyards across the area. The Eastern Cottontail eats mainly plants including clovers and grasses. A cool fact about this animals is that it usually hydrates itself by retaining the water from the plants that were consumed.

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

One of the most common animals, the Eastern Gray Squirrel is small in size with a big gray and brown bushy tail. This animal lives in forests and will very commonly go into the populated areas around the tidal bay region. Squirrels eat nuts and other small plants. Their population is among the highest in the Baltimore Metro area.

Little Brown Bat

Myotis lucifugus

Long glossy fur that can be golden, reddish, olive or dark brown. These bats usually grown up to 3.5 inches with wingspan of 9 to 11 inches. The Little Brown Bat eats mainly aquatic insects such as midges, mayflies, caddisflies and other types of insects. The feeding usually takes places two hours after dark, so chances are you will not be seeing these critters during the daylight.

Virginia Opossum

Deidelphis virginiana

A heavyset critter with a white furry coat lives in the swamps, forests, and farm areas around the Chesapeake Bay. The opossum primarily eats insects and animals, with the occasional trip to neighborhood garbage cans. These critters are very susceptive to frost bite which can cause them to lose some extremities during the colder months.

Raccoon

Procyon lotor

The racoon has a long-striped tail with colors on the face resembling a mask. The raccoon lives in forested and grassy areas but are commonly seen in developed areas. They will eat anything that is available; if it is edible, the raccoon will eat it.

Eastern Red Bat

Lasiurus borealis

A medium sized four- to five-inch-long bat with distinctive red fur with males sporting a brick or rusty red. While females sport a more frosted shade of red. They both have tuffs of white fur on their shoulders. Feeds on a wide variety of insects, and are most active at dusk. This bat can fly up to almost 40 miles per hour, far faster than any speed limit at fort McHenry!

Red Fox

Vulpes vulpes

The rusty fur color with big pointy ears are the indicating features on the Red Fox. Red foxes live in the forests and meadows around the area, which is an optimal spot for them to find their food source of mice, squirrels, and birds. Those pointy ears are quite effective as they can pick up small mammals making noise underground!

White Tailed Deer

Odocoileus virgnianus

A brown and tan medium size species of deer that live in the forested areas all over the east coast. These animals have an omnivorous diet consisting of mainly green plants, and various fruits such as berries, apples, and grapes. White Tail deer are overpopulating the region, causing some food source issues within some herds.