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Checklists of the United States <br />Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge <br />Bloomington, Minnesota <br />MAMMALS <br />This land had been carved by glaciers and scoured by the River Warren when the last <br />ice age ended about 11,000 years ago. The earth warmed to the sun again. Life <br />returned and primitive man followed the herds into the Minnesota Valley. <br />Buffalo, elk, bear, and wolves all lived here. The Dakota Indians knew them as an <br />integral part of their lives and legends. To most of us, they are no more than pictures in <br />a book, flat with neither dimension nor life... they have been gone too long. <br />This is a checklist of the 50 mammals which remain and the habitats where they may <br />be found. Many are fairly common, adaptable, and readily seen. Others are rare, <br />secretive, or appear only at night. Should you spot an unlisted, rare, or uncommon <br />species: please contact the refuge office. We would appreciate your help in updating <br />our records. <br />Scientific names and the order in which they appear follow Jones, et al., "Revised <br />Checklist of North American Mammals North of Mexico, 1975"; \^ile common names <br />are taken from Burt & Grossenheider "A Field Guide to the Mammals, 1952." <br />Codes used for habitat types and occurrence are: <br />1 - oak savanna and dry prairie uplands <br />2 - floodplain forest and low prairie or meadow <br />3 - marsh and open water <br />a - abundant <br />c - common <br />u - uncommon <br />r- rare <br />OPOSSUM 1 2 3 <br />Virginia Opossum r r <br />{Didelphis Virginian a) <br />The 'possum is cat-sized but heavier with a white face, thin black ears. <br />and a scaly rat-like tail. They are North America's only marsupial (head <br />and body = 15"-20")