List of North American Endangered Mammals

Some North American mammals are, unfortunately, on the endangered species list. Animals of all sizes may be endangered, and it's no different for the mammals of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Through awareness and education, it may be possible to save some of these animals, but it depends in large part on human intentionality and action.

Large Mammals

• Carnivorous animals and mammals of larger size are some of the most visibly endangered species in North America. In the U.S., animals such as the big horn sheep of California, the Florida panther, jaguar, ocelot, and red wolves are all highly endangered. Large endangered mammals from Mexico include the Mexican bobcat, the mantled howler monkey, jaguarundi, gray wolf, and brown bears (within the Mexican holarctic region). Not as many animals are endangered in Canada although the American bison and the woodland caribou are both on the list.

Small Mammals

• Mammals of lesser size are more difficult to keep track of, and there are more of them than any other type of endangered animal in North America. Some of the small endangered species in the United States include the Amargosa vole of California, the black-footed ferret, the brush rabbit, the Hualapai Mexican vole of California, the giant kangaroo rat of California, the big-eared bat, and the pygmy rabbit. The most endangered small mammal from Mexico is the Mexican long-nosed bat.

Aquatic Mammals

• Not every endangered mammal in North America lives on land; some of them inhabit the seas around the coastlines. In the Gulf of Mexico, one of the most endangered creatures in North America is the vaquita, a type of porpoise. In the same area, and throughout parts of Florida, manatees remain vulnerable to boats, which scrape the animals' backs, occasionally wounding them fatally. An endangered marine mammal on the other side of the continent is the Steller sea lion of Alaska and Canada.