Horses, beavers and squirrels, oh my! Here's every state animal across the US.
Each state is unique for its landscape, culture and various emblems. State symbols like official birds, trees, flags and flowers are common, but did you know some states have some uncommon ones? For example, Utah has a state cooking pot (the Dutch oven) and over half the states have official tartans. Twenty states have milk listed as a state beverage or drink.
When it comes to state mammals, not every state thinks the same. Some list state animals, some specify state mammals and some even include land and ocean mammals. Some don't have one at all.
Alabama
The black bear is Alabama's state mammal.
Alaska
The moose is Alaska's state mammal, chosen for its abundance along the Unuk River and Southeast, Southcentral and Interior Alaska.
Arizona
Arizona's state mammal is the ringtail, a close relative of the raccoon and coatimundi.
Arkansas
As the most popular game animal in the state, the white-tailed deer is Arkansas' state mammal.
California
The California grizzly bear is California's state mammal. These grizzly bears are now extinct due to hunting in California.
Colorado
Colorado's state mammal is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and it is only found in the Rockies.
Connecticut
Connecticut's state mammal is the sperm whale, the largest of the Earth's toothed whales. Connecticut had the second-largest whaling industry in the 1800s, just after Massachusetts.
Delaware
The grey fox is designated as Delaware's state wildlife animal. This mammal is indigenous to the state.
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.'s official state mammal was decided in 2020 and is the Big Brown Bat, a mouse-eared bat species found in D.C. and other parts of the U.S.
Florida
Florida's state animal is the Florida panther, but the state also lists manatees as the state marine mammal and porpoises or dolphins as the state saltwater mammal.
Georgia
Georgia has two state mammals: the white-tailed deer and the right whale.
Hawaii
Hawaii has named three state mammals: the humpback whale, the Hawaiian monk seal and the Hawaiian hoary bat, designated in 2015. According to the state Senate legislature, the state named its official mammals to increase awareness and combat potential extinction. The most recent, the hoary bat, is the only remaining native land mammal in Hawaii.
Idaho
Idaho doesn't have a state mammal but it does have a state horse, the Appaloosa.
Illinois
Like Arkansas and Georgia, Illinois' state mammal is the white-tailed deer.
Indiana
Indiana does not have a state mammal as of 2023.
Iowa
Iowa does not have a state mammal as of 2023.
Kansas
The American Bison is the state mammal of Kansas.
Kentucky
Kentucky's state mammal is the gray squirrel, declared in 1968 as the state wild animal game species.
Louisiana
The black bear is Louisiana's state mammal.
Maine
Maine's state mammal is the moose. This state is the only eastern state to have a sizeable moose population, according to the Maine Secretary of State's office.
Maryland
Maryland doesn't have an official state mammal but they do have a state dog, cat and horse. Maryland's state horse is a Thoroughbred, its state dog a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and its state cat a calico cat.
Massachusetts
Massachusett's state marine mammal is the right whale.
Michigan
The white-tailed deer is Michigan's state game mammal.
Minnesota
While Minnesota does not have an official state animal, several proposed options include the white-tailed deer, the Eastern timber wolf, the black bear, the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, the wood tick and the wolf.
Mississippi
Mississippi's state land mammal is the white-tailed deer and the red fox, and the state water mammal is the bottlenose dolphin.
Missouri
The Missouri mule, a hybrid horse and donkey, is Missouri's official state animal.
Montana
Montana's state mammal, the grizzly bear, was voted on by Montana schoolchildren.
Nebraska
Nebraska's state mammal is the white-tailed deer.
Nevada
The Desert Bighorn Sheep is the official state animal of Nevada.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire's state animal is the white-tailed deer.
New Jersey
Horses are New Jersey's state animal, chosen by a fifth grader and eighth grader because of their importance to farming and race horsing in New Jersey.
New Mexico
The American black bear is New Mexico's state mammal. The famous Smokey Bear was a real black bear found injured after a forest fire in New Mexico and was later chosen as a symbol for fire prevention campaigns.
New York
New York's state mammal is the beaver. Beaver commerce led to the establishment of Dutch and English trading posts where New York was colonized.
North Dakota
North Dakota does not have a designated state mammal but the Nokota horse is the state's official horse.
Ohio
Ohio's state mammal is the white-tailed deer.
Oklahoma
The American bison is Oklahoma's state animal. Oklahoma also designates the Mexican free-tailed bat as its official state flying mammal and the raccoon as its state furbearer.
Oregon
Oregon's state animal is the beaver and is known as the "Beaver State."
Pennsylvania
The white-tailed deer is Pennsylvania's state animal.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island selected the harbor seal as its official state marine mammal in 2016.
South Carolina
South Carolina has a lengthy list of state animals. Its official state animal is the white-tailed deer. It also designated the mule as its state heritage work animal, the bottlenose dolphin as its state marine mammal and the northern right whale as the official state migratory marine mammal.
South Dakota
The coyote is South Dakota's state animal.
Tennessee
Tennessee has an official state wild animal, the raccoon.
Texas
The armadillo is Texas' state small mammal and the longhorn is the state's official large mammal. Texas also holds the Mexican free-tailed bat as its state flying mammal.
Utah
Utah's state animal is the elk.
Vermont
The Morgan horse is Vermont's chosen state animal.
Virginia
Virginia doesn't have an official state mammal, but its state bat is the Virginia Big-eared bat and its state dog is the American foxhound.
Washington
Washington has both a state endemic mammal, the Olympic marmot (mammals only found in one location), and a state marine mammal, the orca.
West Virginia
The black bear was chosen by students, teachers and sportsmen as the state animal of West Virginia.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin designates two state animals: the white-tailed deer as the state's wildlife animal and the dairy cow as the state's domesticated animal.
Wyoming
The bison is Wyoming's official state mammal.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: State animals across the US: Full list of every official mammal
