American Animals Ohio and Oklahoma

Wildlife of Ohio

Ohio is one of the twelve Midwestern states in the US. This state has four distinct types of habitats – forests, prairies, wetlands, and the Great Lakes. Making their home in these habitats are 67 species of mammals, 39 species of amphibians, 45 species of snakes, and 219 species of birds.

Official State Mammal

White-Tail Deer

Official State Bird

Cardinal

Official State Frog

Bullfrog

The three most common mammals in the state are the Eastern grey squirrel, raccoon, and white-tail deer. You can also find American black bears, bobcats, and coyotes.

The most common birds are the American crow, robin, blue jay, and mourning dove.

Among reptiles, there are the American bullfrog, a common water snake, and the Eastern box turtle.

In the lakes, rivers, and streams are rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, and bluegill sunfish.

Where to See Wildlife

Punderson State Park in northeast Ohio is surrounded by forest and has a natural lake on a glacial plateau. You can see waterfowl and other birds here as well as beavers, owls, and dragonflies. Along the trails near the sledding hill by the archery range are foxes and turkeys.

Maumee Bay State Park is the best place for Lake Erie birding during migrations when the birds stop to rest. There are marshes with lots of frogs and other amphibians. Baby owls can be spotted in the trees and deer walking in the woods.

Deer Creek State Park has dense woods, a large reservoir, and meadows. Along the seven trails in the park, you can spot ring-necked pheasant, bluebirds, song sparrows, spring pepper frogs, and possibly the Eastern garter snake.

One of the best spots for viewing wildlife is on the osprey nesting platform above the lake. It lets you observe the osprey in their natural habitat. At night you can see or hear the great horned owls from the docks by the water.

Buck Creek State Park has some common wildlife like beavers, white-tailed deer, and many different birds.

Mohican State Park has many wild animals among them white-tailed deer and wild turkeys seen at dawn and dusk.

Shawnee State Park has many butterflies, and white-tailed deer, and is a great park for fishing. There are two lakes and you can also go kayaking.

Endangered species of Ohio include:

Indiana bat – A bat that lives throughout the state in caves and mines

Kirtland’s Warbler – A bird that migrates along the Lake Erie shoreline

Piping Plover – A bird that lives on the beaches of Lake Erie

Scioto Madtom – A fish living in streams of four counties

Clubshell mussels – Found throughout the state in streams and small rivers

Fanshell mussels – Found in rivers and streams with swift current

Northern Riffleshell mussels – Mussels found in Lake Erie, large streams, and small rivers

Pink Mucket Pearlymussel – A mussel of the Lower Ohio River and its tributaries

Wildlife of Oklahoma

The US state of Oklahoma has a humid subtropical climate. Its various geographic zones let a variety of wildlife make their homes here.

Official State Animal

American Bison

Official State Bird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Large Mammals

The large mammals living in Oklahoma include the American bison and the plains bison. There are white-tailed deer, mule deer, and elk, In the prairies of the panhandle you can find pronghorn antelope and there is also the wild boar.

Small Mammals

Among the small mammals found in the state are rabbits including the Eastern cottontail and the swamp rabbit.

There are armadillos, skunks, raccoons, weasels, ferrets, the American mink, and the American badger. In the canyons and rocky areas of Oklahoma the ringtail cat, a nocturnal cousin of the raccoon can be seen. There are also several species of shrews and moles.

Rodents

In Oklahoma the most common creatures are rodents. There are the hispid pocket mouse, the plains pocket mouse, and the meadow jumping mouse. Other rodents include kangaroo rats, wood rats, brown rats, and black rats, voles, squirrels, chipmunks, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and groundhogs.

Larger rodents include the North American beaver and the North American porcupine.

There are gophers, nutria, and the marsupial Virginia opossum.

Birds

Migratory birds spend their winters in Oklahoma before moving on. Among the permanent birds are waterfowl like swans, geese, ducks, cranes, stilts, avocets, gallinules, pelicans, storks, and coots.

Seabirds like gulls, terns, and skuas over winter are found near lakes and rivers.

Birds of prey include ospreys, eagles, kites, falcons, hawks, vultures, and owls.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Besides alligators, there are skinks and other lizards among them the colorful collared lizard and the Texas horned lizard. There is the western slender glass lizard which is legless and resembles a snake.

Among the more familiar ones are species of salamanders, toads, and frogs including the Kiamichi slimy salamander, the bird-voiced tree frog, and the Cajun chorus frog.

Fish

Oklahoma is a landlocked state, but it is known for the bounty found in its rivers and lakes. There are over 177 types of fish in Oklahoma, and they include bass, shiners, chubs, gars, sturgeons, shads, minnows, buffalos, darters, madtoms, catfish, sunfish, perch, and trout. Both the rainbow trout and the brown trout were introduced and aren’t native to the state.

A few of the endangered animals in Oklahoma are:

Oklahoma cave crayfish

Arkansas River shiner

Ozark big-eared bat