In the 2012 President's Budget Request, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is terminated. As a result, all resources, databases, tools, and applications within this web site will be removed on January 15, 2012. For more information, please refer to the NBII Program Termination page.
The NBII Pollinators Project coordinates efforts to address the need for information and technology to support monitoring, management, and conservation of pollinators and pollinator habitats.
Mammals of California
Sea Otter. [Photo: C. Brown, USGS]
Mammals are vertebrates of the taxonomic class Mammalia including animals such as American marsupials, insectivores, bats, edentates, lagomorphs, rodents, carnivores, and artiodactyls. Thought of as warm-blooded, mammals are endotherms, meaning they are able to regulate their own body temperature independently of the temperature of their surroundings. Mammal characteristics include skin covered with hairs, females with mammary glands that secrete milk to feed young, and a reproduction strategy of internal fertilization and bearing relatively mature live offspring. Mammals include animals from bats, mice and voles to seals and whales.
Because of California's range in geographic conditions, the state is home to an impressive variety of habitats for the 197 native mammal species occur in California with 17 endemic species found only in the state. (Source: Atlas of the Biodiversity of California). Currently, 30 species and subspecies of mammals are listed as either threatened or endangered by the State of California or the federal government.
Authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world can be explored using the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), a partner of the NBII.
Species Spotlight
[Photo: National Park Service]
Snowshoe Hare
Lepus americanus
Description:
Larger than rabbits, with longer hind legs and ears. Have especially large, furry feet which help with staying active in the winter. Most have a white winter coat that turns brown in the spring during snow melt, with the exception of snowshoe hares in Olympic National Park, which stay brown all year. Solitary, other than when breeding, often resting during the day.
Life History:
Breeding season is typically February to August, with young being born from May to August. Litter size ranges from 1 to 6, with an average of 3. Life span is about two years, but ranges up to six years. Summer diet consists of grasses and other greens; winter diet includes twigs, bark and buds.
Habitat:
Prefer coniferous and mixed forests with abundant understory. Nest in hollow logs or ground depressions; underground burrows are usually avoided.
Distribution:
Western and northeastern United States and most of Canada.
Status:
In the Southwest region the population is vulnerable; in the Northwest region they are secure; the population in the East ranges from critically imperiled to secure.
