Common Mammals of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area

Desert Cottontail throughout the US and southern burrows in waterway banks or builds Common Mammals Canada. They are found in many differ- cone-shaped "houses" above ground Sylvilagus audubonii ent habitats, but especially in areas near from emergent plants. Cottontails can be found throughout of the Yolo Bypass streams, ponds, and marshes. The dis- California. Light gray in color, this tinctive black facemask and ringed tail Black-tailed Jackrabbit species of rabbit dons a white fluffy tail Wildlife Area make this nocturnal mammal easily Lepus californicus that gives rise to its name. Cottontails identifiable. Raccoons are omnivorous are true rabbits; they build nests and The black-tailed with a highly adaptable diet. Although bear furless young. Their diet consists is they are often observed dunking their jackrabbit common through- of grasses, various plants, fallen fruits, food in water, they do not wash all of out the state. It is and occasionally acorns. their food before eating. Highly agile fingers and toes allow raccoons to complete tasks with amazing dexterity. strictly herbivorous, preferring grasses but Muskrat will eat almost any vegetation that California Vole Ondatra zibethicus occurs in the area. Their predators Microtus californicus include coyotes, eagles, and a number The California vole prefers areas in of birds of prey. Unlike cottontails, female jackrabbits do not build nests, California that have thick annual grass- but bear their young in shallow resting lands and wet meadows. Voles often places called "forms". make a network of runways in the grasslands by clipping grasses and herbs at their bases. Many predators, Produced byYolo Basin Foundation & such as birds of prey, predatory CA Department of Fish and Wildlife The muskrat is mammals and snakes rely on voles as www.yolobasin.org (530) 758-1018 abundant in fresh water an important food source. Thanks to the Thornton S. and emergent wetland habitat. It feeds Katrina D. Glide Foundation primarily on aquatic plants, but will Revised CDFW/WLB 4/2018 occasionally eat invertebrates and verte- brates. The muskrat excavates its Virginia Opossum California Ground Squirrel region. Like most bats, they are active Didelphis virginiana Spermophilus beecheyi between sunset and sunrise and eat This nocturnal marsupial can be found flying insects, especially moths. Some Ground squirrels are very common in moist woodland areas throughout Mexican free-tailed bats will fly 40 in California. They feed on seeds, California. miles between their roosting location nuts, fruits, bulbs, fungi and stems. Burrows excavated in rocky areas or and their foraging areas. under trees or logs provide their cover. Ground squirrels are important prey for many carnivores. Coyote Canis latrans Beaver Lontra canadensis Adaptable to almost any Castor canadensis habitat, coyotes are These playful creatures are year- common residents of These long residents of rivers, large California. They are aquatic streams, lakes and wetlands. They animals are are carnivorous, feeding on amphib- The female opossum has a furry found in ians, mollusks, other aquatic inverte- pouch on her abdomen where her streams, brates and carrion. In the Yolo Bypass newborn young are nourished. ponds and Wildlife Area, crayfish are a major Predators of the opossum include lakes. In spring part of their diet. Look for waterslides and summer they feed on grasses, dogs, foxes, and owls. or scat to mark their presence. leaves and aquatic vegetation, such as tule and cattail. In winter they prefer the bark of aspen, willow, alder and Raccoon cottonwood. Beaver live in lodges Mexican Freetail Bat Procyon lotor built from fallen trees or bank bur- Tadarida brasiliensis omnivorous opportunists feeding on rows and can have a profound effect Raccoons can be The Mexican free-tailed mice, rats, ground squirrels, gophers on habitats. Their feeding and con- found and carrion. Coyotes hunt either alone, bat can be found exten- struction of dams and lodges can in pairs or in small packs, and are adept change species composition and sively in California, except predators. abundance of trees, alter water for the high Sierra Moun- tables and create meadows and tains and the north coastal ponds. .

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