The Wonderful Wildlife of West Virginia

As the third most forested state in the country, West Virginia is home to a diverse array of wildlife. Whether hiking, biking on a trail, or driving down country roads, here are some of the critters you can see in West Virginia.

***Please watch wildlife from a distance to avoid stressing out animals. Please do not feed wildlife because it increases the risk of personal injury and can result in harm to animals***

Allegheny Woodrat

The Allegheny woodrat is a species of concern in southern West Virginia. While Norway rats and black rats are native to Europe and Asia, the Allegheny woodrat is native to the cliffs and boulders of the eastern United States. Allegheny woodrats have furry tails and large ears and are solitary creatures who prefer to stay away from humans.

Bats

There are 14 species of bats in West Virginia, three of which are endangered. These species include the Virginia big-eared bat, the Indiana bat, and the gray bat. All West Virginian bat species are nocturnal and feed on insects. During the summer, most species rest and raise their young in trees and rock crevices. In the winter, the bats either hibernate—living off stored fat—or migrate south.

Black Bear

The black bear is the state animal of West Virginia. While there were less than 500 in the state at one point, black bears are now considered widespread in West Virginia. Black bears are omnivores, meaning they feed on both meat and plants. They are elusive and are not aggressive. Though it’s rare to spot a bear while on the trail if you do see one, stay calm, speak in low tones, and try to make yourself look as big as possible. Most of the time, they will avoid humans and go about their business.

Birds

Each spring and fall, thousands of birds migrate to southern West Virginia. This area is at the intersection of the northernmost range of southern U.S. bird species and the southern edge of northern species, resulting in hundreds of bird species congregating in the forests and fields of southern West Virginia. Some species stay year-round, while others are just here as a stop on their journey or to spend the summer raising their young. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve created a birding checklist for those in the area. See if you can spot them all!

https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/nature/upload/CHK-birds_2022.pdf

Bobcat

West Virginia has a healthy bobcat population. These wild cats are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk. They are a bit bigger than the average housecat and have short tails. Bobcats mainly eat rabbits, hares, rodents, and small deer. They are excellent hunters, tracking their prey up to 7 miles, and can sprint up to 30 miles per hour. Bobcats use scent, visual cues, and vocalizations to communicate with each other and other animals. During mating season, they may sound like a screaming alley cat.

Eastern Coyote

Coyotes didn’t appear in West Virginia until the 1970s. In the past 100 years, eastern coyotes have expanded their territory to cover most of North America. Their expansion was due to the over-hunting of other predators like mountain lions and wolves. Coyotes are omnivores, eating small rodents, fruits, berries, and carrion.

Foxes

There are two species of foxes in West Virginia: red foxes and gray foxes. Red foxes are large, almost two feet tall, and can weigh up to 30 pounds. They have adapted to living among humans but prefer natural habitats like forests and scrubland. Red foxes are omnivorous, mostly eating small rodents and fruits.

Gray foxes are less common and smaller than red foxes. They like hardwood forests with streams and rivers. They are omnivorous and most active at dawn, dusk, and night.

Fisher

Fishers are like martens but bigger. They are hard to find as there are only a handful of populations in West Virginia due to overhunting and development. Fishers love old-growth forests and live in hollow trees or rock crevices. Despite the name, they are not the biggest fans of fish; instead, they eat rabbits and small rodents.

Groundhog

Groundhogs, or woodchucks, are the largest animals in the squirrel family. They mainly live in burrows underground, sometimes moving up to 400 pounds of soil to build their homes. They like loose, well-draining soil, so they can be an easy spot in new-growth forests and fields. Since they hibernate, groundhogs tend to look chunky, especially at the end of summer.

Mink

Mink are small weasels that live in wetland areas along woody shorelines. They are small mammals with long bodies, short legs, and a long tail. There is an oil coating that acts as a layer of waterproofing. They are mostly nocturnal and feed on small fish, rodents, birds, and amphibians.

Moles

There are three species of moles in West Virginia: hairy-tailed, eastern, and star-nosed. Moles are larger than many other small rodents, growing up to 6 inches long. As burrowing creatures, they have large front feet, which helps them dig through the soil. Moles eat insects.

Shrews

West Virginia has eight species of shrew, including the West Virginia water shrew, which will go into waterways to eat benthic insects. Other shrew species include the state’s smallest mammal, the pygmy shrew, which is only 2 inches long.

Skunks

West Virginia has two kinds of skunks: the eastern spotted skunk and the striped skunk. Eastern spotted skunks are smaller, with broken-up white stripes or spots going across their body. These skunks like forested areas and tall prairies. They’re mainly nocturnal and are endangered, so spotting one in the wild would be a special occasion.

When people hear the word “skunk,” they think of striped skunks. These skunks like open areas, like farms and fields, but they have also been spotted in forests. They feed on insects in warm months but will turn to small rodents in winter.

Snakes

West Virginia is home to 20 snake species, including northern copperheads and timber rattlesnakes. These two species are probably the more dangerous species of snake you’ll see in the area, but they are easy to identify and avoid. Northern copperheads are tannish with a diamond pattern going down its body. Timber rattlesnakes are darker in color and have a dark triangle pattern down their back. Venomous snakes have more of a triangular-shaped head than non-venomous snakes. The best way to avoid a dangerous encounter with one of these snakes is to stay on trails, observe rocks and rock ledges before stepping or climbing on rocks, and avoid thick brush.

Other snake species in West Virginia are the black rat snake, which is nonvenomous but will pretend to be a rattlesnake when scared, the eastern garter snake, the common ribbonsnake, and the eastern worm snake. You can read more about the snakes of West Virginia in the guide made by the WV Department of Natural Resources https://wvdnr.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SnakesofWV05.pdf.

Raccoon

Raccoons are stocky mammals with striped tails and a pointed snout. They can live in forests as well as urban areas. They are mainly nocturnal creatures. Stay away from any that are active during the day.

River Otter

West Virginia has a few rivers, so it only makes sense that we have river otters, though that wasn’t always the case. In the 1980s, there was a push to clean up West Virginia rivers and stop the over-trapping of river otters to help rebuild water ecosystems within the state. To help re-establish the population, river otters were reintroduced in the mid-1980s. River otters help maintain aquatic habitats by being a predator species, which keeps populations of prey species in check. They are social creatures amongst each other but will try to stay away from humans.

White-tailed Deer

White-tailed deer are probably the easiest big animal to see in the wild in West Virginia. They are smaller than elk and have a shorter, lighter coat. They will have a white on the underside of their tail, hence the name “white-tailed” deer. They feed on ground vegetation. Their only predators when they are adults are humans. People hunted their other natural predators, mountain lions and red wolves, to extinction, causing overpopulation throughout the east coast.

Wild Boar

Wild boars are not native to West Virginia. They were introduced to the state in 1971 when 30 were released into the wild for big-game hunting. West Virginia’s wild boar population lives in Boone, Raleigh, Logan, and Wyoming counties. They are large pigs that are dark in color and have longer hair than their domesticated counterparts.

Virginia Opossum

There’s no animal that is as much of an Appalachian icon as the Virginia opossum, or “‘possums,” as we call them. They are North America’s only marsupial and great climbers. ‘Possums have long white hair with black tips and long, hairless tails. They are omnivorous, eating insects, smaller mammals, birds, fruits, and seeds. ‘Possums are nocturnal and can have two litters per year.

Sources:

WV Department of Natural Resources

WVU Extension

WV Daily News, “Eastern Spotted Skunk Seen in Southern West Virginia,” by Rebecca Stalnaker, April 21, 2021
Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

My Buckhannon

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources