Aquatic Mammals and Rodents

There are many different species of mammals that live in the fort. These include rodents, and other warm blooded critters that will tend to live in our water. The list below contains some of these aquatic malmmal, and rodents that you could see on your visit to Fort McHenry.

Beaver

NPS/ Claire Abendroth

Beaver

Castor canadensis

A large semiaquatic rodent with chisel-like teeth used for biting into the bark of trees and a flat scaly tail. Mostly known for building dams out of the trees they bite down and other building materials they find.

 

Brown Rat

Perry Doggrell

Brown Rat

Rattus norvegicus

A small rat with brown or dark grey fur on their backs and lighter colored grey fur underneath.

 

Deer Mouse

NPS/ John Good

Deer Mouse

Peromyscus maniculatus rubiterre

A medium sized mouse with big black eyes and russet brown on their upper half while their underneath is white. With large-rounded ears, pinkish paws, and a multi brown colored tail. This species of mouse lives in woodlands and meadow areas. The mouse feeds on insects, fruit, nuts. and other forms of vegetation.

 

Groundhog

NPS

Groundhog

Marmota monax

A rodent like creature that prefers solidarity spending their summer and fall seasons napping underground. Their diet consists of various fruits, plants, tree bark, and grasses. Groundhogs in many contexts, are considered to be pests, but offer many different ecological roles at the fort. Some of the vegetation is kept under control by this critters.

 

House Mouse

NPS

House Mouse

Mus musculus

A dusty grey tiny mouse with a cream-colored belly. Their fur comes in a variety of colors depending on location from light brown to dark gray. They sport a round shaped body, pointed muzzle, black eyes, and big rounded ears.

 

Meadow Vole

NPS/ Jane Gamble

Meadow Vole

Microtus pennsylvanicus

A small, bodied mouse-like rodent with a blunt muzzle, small-rounded ears, and a short tail. Tis critter's habitat is outlined in its name, and will live in these meadows and other forested areas. The Meadow Vole eats mainly berries and seeds found in this specific area. Meadow voles stay in these meadows in order to shield themselves from large birds preying on them.

 

Muskrat

Rick McMeechan

Muskrat

Ondatra zibethicus

A medium sized subaquatic that has glossy fur considered to be a silvery brown. This animals tail is a 10 inches long, and does not have any hair on it. This tail plays into why these creatures are so good at swimming, as they can use that tail almost like a rudder to have better control in the water.

 

River Otter

NPS

River Otter

Lontra canadensis

The River Otter has a long body, with dense brown fur. This furry water animal can grow up to three and a half feet in lenght and weigh up to 18 pounds. If these critters are swimming, they might be hard to make out because you can only see the top of their head. The reason they are so to see is becasue their main source of food are fish and frogs, so they are diving down to get a meal.