MAMMALS There are over 5,000 different species of mammals worldwide. In the Southern Appalachians, we have close to 100 species ranging in size from tiny bats and rodents to black bears and elk.
Wild mammals, like the white-tailed deer and groundhog, are commonly seen along the border with human society—backyards, edges of highways, and suburbs.
Other mammals, like the red wolf and cougar, lived in this area even as recently as the last generation. Though these species are no longer found in the wild of our mountains, their presence contributed to the cultural and ecological shape of Western North Carolina. Though not wild, a variety of domesticated mammals are also kept at the Nature Center in the Western North Carolina Farm. These goats, sheep, donkeys, and rabbits each have a unique relationship with humans and their wild counterparts. Click on the links to the left to find out more about the Nature Center’s mammals!
Other mammals, like the red wolf and cougar, lived in this area even as recently as the last generation. Though these species are no longer found in the wild of our mountains, their presence contributed to the cultural and ecological shape of Western North Carolina.
Though not wild, a variety of domesticated mammals are also kept at the Nature Center in the Western North Carolina Farm. These goats, sheep, donkeys, and rabbits each have a unique relationship with humans and their wild counterparts.
Click on the links to the left to find out more about the Nature Center’s mammals!