Protecting Wisconsin's rare animals | | Wisconsin DNR
The animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates) on Wisconsin's Natural Heritage Working List are species known or suspected to be rare in the state. It includes Species of Greatest Conservation Need that are legally designated as "endangered" or "threatened," as well as species in the advisory "special concern" category.
Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) - Wisconsin
Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata), listed as Endangered in Wisconsin, prefers mesic prairies, dry-mesic prairies, sand prairies, oak savannas, and open to semi-open woodlands. They overwinter in deep sand and/or well drained soils in open canopy microhabitats supporting sparse vegetation and in areas of disturbed soils such as the edges of ...
Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi) - Wisconsin
PROTECTING WISCONSIN'S BIODIVERSITY. Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi), listed as Endangered in Wisconsin, prefers ponds, lakes, and a variety of habitats along and adjacent to streams and rivers including marshes, fens, sedge meadows, low prairies, and exposed mud flats. This species may breed in no or low-flow areas of streams and ...
American Marten (Martes americana) - Wisconsin
American Marten (Martes americana) American Marten (Martes americana), a State Endangered mammal, lives in mature, dense conifer forests, mixed conifer-hardwood, and hardwood dominated forests, including hemlock, white pine, yellow birch, maple, fir, and spruce. Marten young are born in tree dens in late-March and April and are weaned when ...
Slender Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus) - Wisconsin
Counties with Mapped NHI Occurrences. Slender Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus), listed as Endangered in Wisconsin, prefers sandy oak savannas, sand prairies, old fields with sandy soils, and woodland edges around and within all of these habitats. Glass lizards overwinter in burrows they create by forcing their bodies through lose sandy soils.
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) - Wisconsin
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), listed as Endangered in Wisconsin, prefers open country with scattered trees and shrubs (usually hawthorne and red cedar), and edge habitat such as open areas in forests. The required avoidance period is April 20 - August 1. Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) are associated with habitats (or ...
Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) - Wisconsin
PROTECTING WISCONSIN'S BIODIVERSITY. Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) is a Special Concern species in Wisconsin and a Protected Wild Animal under NR 10.02 Wis. Admin. Stats. It inhabits a number of forested natural communities and the presence of conifers and a relatively moist environment are important habitat components.
Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia) - Wisconsin
Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia), presently listed as a Federal Species of Concern and Endangered in Wisconsin, has been found in large grassland areas with tallgrass prairie remnants or lightly grazed pasture lands containing prairie vegetation. The larval food plants are violets, primarily prairie violet (Viola pedatifida), birdsfoot violet ...
Queensnake (Regina septemvittata) - Wisconsin
Queensnake (Regina septemvittata), listed as Endangered in Wisconsin, prefers clear warm-water streams and small rivers. This crayfish specialist is typically associated with moderate to fast water flows and rocky substrates. They also utilize shoreline habitats for basking. Queensnakes overwinter in crayfish burrows but also in artificial ...
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) - Wisconsin
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is a Special Concern species and a Protected Wild Animal. Adult males and non-gravid adult females prefer deciduous forests and woodland edges during the summer. Gravid females and juveniles prefer to remain in open-canopy bluff prairies during the summer because of higher preferred body temperatures, but ...