Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
3.7 Mammals 3.7.1 Introduction
North Carolina has an impressive diversity of mammalian fauna, and they are an important component of the natural landscape. Currently, about 126 species of mammals occur in the state, including both native and nonnative species. Mammals are key contributors to ecosystem processes through herbivory, predation, seed dispersal, and as prey (Littlewood et al. 2020). North Carolina is ranked 11th in the country in mammalian diversity (Stein 2002) . The l public is often familiar with our larger, more visible species, like the White-tailed Deer and Black Bear, but it is our species of bats, shrews, rodents, and other small mammals that comprise most of our mammalian diversity. The majority of mammal species in North Carolina are terrestrial or freshwater species. According to the North Carolina Biodiversity Project, North Carolina has a variety of marine mammals most likely due to the warm Gulf Stream waters from Cape Hatteras southward and the colder Labrador Current waters off the northern coast. Around 38 species of whales and dolphins, and four seals, yield one of the higher lists of such marine mammals of any state (NCBP 2025) . Natural community descriptions and priority conservation recommendations for aquatic and terrestrial habitats used by mammals are provided in Chapter 4. The following paragraphs provide information about a few of the species identified by the Mammal Taxa Team as SGCN or other priorities. This is not an exhaustive list of species-specific conservation concerns but rather highlights some of the concerns in the state. 3.7.2 Comparison of 2015 and 2025 Priority Species The 2025 Mammal Taxa Team evaluated 88 species for conservation concern to identify SGCN, knowledge gaps to identify research priorities, and management concerns to identify management priorities. Some species may be considered a priority in more than one of the evaluation categories. The following table provides a comparison of changes to the number of SGCN and priority species between the 2015 SWAP, the 2020 Addendum 1, and the 2025 SWAP. These changes do not necessarily indicate a change in the concern status for these species; they are more likely a result of an increase in our knowledge base for the species. A comparison with the 2005 SWAP is not included because a different method was used to evaluate and identify SGCN for that version of the Plan.
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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