Mammalia

Could I begin my Mammalia list with anything cuter than the Eastern Chipmunk?  The below photo was taken at Avalon Nature Preserve in Stony Brook NY on 09Jul2016.


From Wiki:
The eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) is a chipmunk species found in eastern North America. It is the sole living member of the chipmunk subgenus Tamias, sometimes recognised as a separate genus. The name "chipmunk" comes from the Ottawa word ajidamoonh or the Ojibwe word ajidamoo, which translates literally as "one who descends trees headlong."

On a San Diego whale-watching tour I was lucky enough to run into several aquatic mammals.

First up is the Pacific White-sided Dolphin.  We had huge pods of these jumping in the bow wake but it was hard to get a photo because you just don't know where they will come up and they only are up for a second.



We also had a Fin Whale which is the second largest mammal on the planet after Blue Whale.




Finally the last species of Dolphin I saw on this whale-watch was the Common Short-beaked Dolphin.


The California Sea Lion pictured below was seen before taking a Monterey Bay pelagic boat from Cannery Row.  They are super loud and have "ears" unlike seals.



Also seen in Sept 2015 in Monterey Bay was this Sea Otter munching on a squid.


The below Humpback Whale can be IDed based on the shape of the dorsal fin.  Many of the Humpbacks on this September 2015 Monterey Bay trip were displaying some curious behavior of draping tons of help on their backs.  Debbie Shearwater mentioned they might be trying to get rid of parasites or maybe just playing.



Interestingly enough we did not have any Murrelets on this trip and now I am thinking maybe one photobombed this whale above.  Maybe just a Murre.

At Moonglow Dairy off Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing in California I had a Harbor Seal say hello.


The Coyote is an increasingly common although hard to see North American mammal.  They usually hunt at night and rarely are seen out in the open but on 09Dec2016 one ran across a field at Fort Fisher, NC chasing a couple Snow Geese that were feeding.





Somehow I improved on my Coyote pics also at Fort Fisher but this time it loped right by me while I was in my truck on the road, taken 14Oct2018.



This Variegated Squirrel of Central America was seen at the top of Poas Volcano in Costa Rica on 22Nov2016.


Much more polite and cute than the Gray Squirrels of North America.


Below is the American Red Squirrel seen in Boone, NC on 27May2017.


The below Gray Fox was photographed in Wilmington, NC on 16May2017.




We also have Red Fox in Wilmington as they were introduced ages ago for hunting.  Here is one down the road from my house on 15Sep2017.


Here are some Coues Whitetail deer snuggling in Madera Canyon, AZ on 26Nov2015.


Below is a Nine-banded Armadillo from the Lower Rio Grande Valley in TX on 21Oct2017.



This Desert Cottontail Rabbit was seen in Colorado Springs, CO on 27Mar2018.


Speaking of Rabbits, this Black-tailed Jackrabbit was photographed the next day on my Colorado trip.  Not sure what he was eating but he almost looked devilish and appeared to be eating something bloody or maybe his mouth parts were bloody... Very odd.



Here is the cutest animal in all of Colorado, a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel!




Below is a presumed American Red Squirrel which is one of the sub-species of Pine Squirrels found in the Americas.  I found this one in Colorado Springs while waiting for the trolley at the bottom of the Manitou incline on 30Mar2018.  I already had this species from Boone, NC but figured I would post this one as a western counterpart.


When I saw the below Pronghorn in CO, I figured it was probably an African species brought to America for hunting.  So I was kind of floored when I read this: The pronghorn is the only surviving member of the Antilocapridae family and it has been in North America for over a million years! The pronghorn has a deer-like body. It weighs between 90 and 120 pounds and stands about 31/2 feet tall from shoulder to feet. It has a tan to reddish brown body.

Taken on the plains east of Colorado Springs on 31Mar2018.


One of my favorite mammals is a local one.  The black race of the Fox Squirrel is somewhat rare in NC so I was super pumped when this one posed for me at Carolina Beach State Park on 15Apr2018.





Here is a rare red tailed variety of the Eastern Gray Squirrel, taken at Carolina Beach State Park on 22Apr2018.


The below Groundhog was seen up on the Blue Ridge Parkway in western NC on 29Apr2018.


This White-tailed Deer was photographed at Fort Fisher in NC on 19May2018.


North American Porcupine!  Photographed in Michigan on 31May2018.


How cute is this North American River Otter seen at Cedar Island, NC on 10Jun2018.


He was chewing on an eel.



On our April 2019 trip to the Yucatan, we saw this Geoffroy's Spider Monkey or Black-handed Spider Monkey.  Locally they call them Yucatan Spider Monkeys.  The locals at this Cenote (Verde Lucero) had it tamed and were feeding it junk food.

Cuba was an awesome trip for birds but I also ticked two mammal species in the form of bats!  The following pic from 29Dec2016 was taken in a cave that Che Guevara holed up in.  Mexican Free-tailed Bats.



The same cave system also housed these Cuban Fruit-eating Bats:



Here is the familiar dolphin species around NC coastal waters and this is the best place to see them frolicking at Rachel Carson Reserve across from Beaufort, NC.  Photographed 17Dec2017.  Its hard to anticipate them coming out the water, so shots are usually of the bottom half!




This Rock Squirrel was photographed at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado on 25Mar2018.


Nutria are an invasive pest and have taken over much of the range of the native Muskrat.  This one was at Alligator National Wildlife Refuge on 14Jan2018.


This Mule Deer wasp racing around the plains near Craig Colorado on 26Mar2018 where I was looking for Sage Grouse.









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