Some mammals, like raccoons and skunks, thrive in suburban areas. However there are thirty species of mammals, from voles to black bears, that need more rural areas. Biologist are trying to figure out just how many mammals are living in New Hampshire's rapidly growing areas.
June 13, 2003:
What kinds of mammals live in your neighborhood?
Hi! I'm Iain MacLeod from the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, bringing you Something Wild.
I ask this question because researchers are trying to get a grip on how different kinds of mammals are doing in our most rapidly growing part of the state.
Nearly half of New Hampshire's fifty-four species of land mammals are doing just fine in our urban or suburban neighborhoods. Some are doing really well, judging from the number of gray squirrels, skunks, raccoons, and opossums we have. Even fox, deer, and coyotes can thrive in the suburbs.
However, there are nearly thirty species that require more rural landscapes to survive. Some are very small and live in very specialized habitats-such as the northern bog lemming or rock vole. Others are large animals that have correspondingly large home ranges, such as the black bear and bobcat.
In northern New England, there has been little, if any, research into how development has affected large mammals, and biologists are trying to fill in that knowledge gap.
More work has been done south of us, and looking at that information is very interesting. In Connecticut, for instance, you can predict how often you would see a bobcat or bear or fisher simply by knowing how far it is to the nearest road from your large tracts of forest.
What does this mean for New Hampshire? Although we can guess that the trend might be the same for us, researchers are trying to find out for sure. So, if you live in Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, or Strafford counties, you can help us analyze where these animals are living and help towns protect remaining habitat in order to them around. Please go to the something wild section at www.nhpr.org for information on how you can help by reporting the bear, bobcat, and fisher in your neighborhood.
If you have a natural history question that you would like answered on Something Wild, email us at somethingwild@ nhpr.org.
Something Wild is a joint production of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Public Radio, and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. For Something Wild, I'm Iain MacLeod.
