Mammals

Printable poster of KRP Mammals (2.5MB)

Mammal Diversity and the Kern River Research Center

Wildlife

    Birds

    Reptiles

    Amphibians

Salamanders of the KRV

    Fish

    Butterflies

    Grasshoppers

    Dragonflies

Insects including spiders

More mammals live in this region than any other place in North America north of Mexico. The amazing diversity is a product of our geographical and climatic variation.

On Audubon's Kern River Preserve alone 49 species of mammals not including humans have been recorded. There are represented in that group from seven orders in the class mammalia. That number is really impressive when you consider there are only 5,400 species of mammals in the world and they mostly only travel on foot. This means the Kern River Preserve has just under 1% of the world total.

Order Marsupialia     Family Didelphidae       Virginia opossum	Didelphis virginiana	Suburban areas, riparian areas. Introduced from the Eastern U. S.
Order Insectivora     Family Soricidae         Ornate Shrew	Sorex ornatus	grassland, marsh
Order Chiroptera Family Vespertilionidae long-eared myotis	Myotis evotis	forests, parks,. lives in caves, trees, and buildings
fringed myotis	Myotis thysanodes	caves, old buildings
western small-footed myotis	Myotis ciliolabrum	caves, rock crevices, mine tunnels, buildings, near trees
California myotis	Myotis californicus	desert scrub, chaparral, forest, woodland
Yuma myotis	Myotis yumanensis	open forests
western pipistrelle	Pipistrellus hesperus	brush, woodlands, desert scrub
big brown bat	Eptesicus fuscus	all habitats, roosts in small groups, caves, buildings
hoary bat	Lasiurus cinereus	woodlands, forests
western red bat	Lasiurus blossevillii	grassland, woodland, shrubland, forest
pale big-eared bat	Corynorhinus townsendii	Mountains - Desert - Valley
pallid bat	Antrozous pallidus	Mountains, Kern Valley
Family Molossidae Mexican free-tailed bat	Tadarida brasiliensis	County-wide
Order Carnivora   Family Canidae                 gray fox	Urocyon cinereoargenteus	Mountains, Foothills, oak woodland
coyote	Canis latrans	valley, desert, mountains. All habitats
Family Ursidae                     black bear	Ursus americanus	forest, foothill woodland
Family Procyonidae               raccoon	Procyon lotor	suburban, parkland, riparian
Family Mustelidae             long-tailed weasel	Mustela frenata	grassland, shrubland, agricultural fields
badger	Taxidea taxus	sandy areas near water
Family Mephitidae             western spotted skunk	Spilogale gracilis	riparian areas, canyons
striped skunk	Mephitis mephitis	all habitats, prefers riparian
Family Felidae                   bobcat	Felis rufus	mountains, desert, valley, riparian, shrubland
mountain lion	Felis concolor	one male lion per 600 sq miles - female 200 sq mi
ORDER ARTIODACTYLA     Family Cervidae            mule deer	Odocoileus hemionus	tail varies across the range but all Sierra and Coast Range native deer are mule deer
Family Bovidae               cattle	Bos taurus	present with seasonal grazing
ORDER RODENTIA     Family Sciuridae       Merriam’s chipmunk	Tamias merriami	very rare in the gray pine woodland
white-tailed antelope squirrel	Ammospermophilus leucurus	rare in the rabbitbrush/cactus areas
California ground squirrel	Otospermophilus beecheyi	throughout the preserve
Family Castoridae   beaver	Castor canadensis	introduced to the Kern River Valley along rivers and the reservoir
Family Geomyidae              Botta’s pocket gopher	Thomomys bottae	ground dwelling
Family Heteromyidae         little pocket mouse	Perognathus longimembris
California pocket mouse	Chaetodipus californicus
Panamint kangaroo rat	Dipodomys panamintinus
Pacific kangaroo rat	Dipodomys agilis
Merriam’s kangaroo rat	Dipodomys merriami
Family Muridae               Bryant's woodrat	Neotoma bryantii	common in all but the riparian forest
big-eared woodrat	Neotoma macrotis	uncommon only in the riparian forest
southern grasshopper mouse	Onychomys torridus	dry juniper woodland very rare
deer mouse	Peromyscus maniculatus	throughout the preserve very common
brush mouse	Peromyscus boylii	gray woodland canyon uncommon
pinyon mouse	Peromyscus truei	rocky areas very rare
western harvest mouse	Reithrodontomys megalotis	throughout the preserve
California vole	Microtus californicus	only in grassy marshes
house mouse	Mus musculus	introduced and very rare
ORDER LAGOMORPHA   Family Leporidae             Brush Rabbit	Sylvilagus bachmani	deep within the forest - uncommon
Desert cottontail	Sylvilagus audubonii	throughout the preserve generally within 100' of low cover
Black-tailed jackrabbit	Lepus californicus	open arid shrubby areas

About Audubon Kern River Preserve

The Kern River Preserve is managed by Audubon California for the preservation of one of California’s largest contiguous cottonwood-willow riparian forests and the wildlife it supports.

Audubon Kern River Preserve supporters provide financial and volunteer support for Preserve outreach, education, wildlife habitat protection & stewardship.