Throughout the Mission Creek Watershed you can find many urban animals that use the creek for water. Wild mammals have changed throughout the history of Mission Creek, but many of the smaller mammals like shrews, voles, moles, and gophers were around before settlers came to this area.

Order Carnivora

Family Procyonidae
Raccoon  
Procyon lotor
NATIVE

The raccoon has a black mask over its eyes and a  bushy tail with 4-10 black rings.  Ears are large and rounded with prominent whiskers.   Fur is gray, brown, reddish with lots of black tipped hairs.  The nose is black.  Its forepaws resemble slender human hands with 5 toes.  The raccoon is omnivorous and feeds on crayfish in the creek as well as blackberries.  Raccoons are primarily nocturnal, active dusk to dawn.  During the day they find protected areas and are hard to find.  Their forepaws are very dexterous and can open doors, latches and garbage cans.

Order Marsupialia

Family Didelphidae
Opossum
Didelphis virginiana
NATIVE

A marsupial with long, stiff guard hairs on the dorsal side.  Opossum is approximately 60 -100 cm long.  Wooly fur on its belly side.  It has a sharp muzzle with 50 teeth.  The tail is long, round, without hair.  Ears are large and rounded and without hair.  They are omnivores feeding on mainly small mammals, insects, worms, small reptiles, fish, crayfish, and eggs.  The female’s pouch has 9 -17 nipples to feed its young.  Babies must crawl 5 cm  to get to its mothers pouch after only 13 days gestation. 

Order Rodentia (Rodents)

Family Geomytidae
Gopher
Thomomys bottae
NATIVE

Long claws on the forefeet and heavy shoulder muscles make gophers superb diggers. They carry food in fur-lined pouches on either side of their mouth.  A furry membrane behind the incisors keeps dirt out of the mouth while the gopher is digging. The earth mounds that are pushed out during the gophers’ search for food have a distinct earthen plug at the center or the side.  Gophers plow the land and bring tons of soil to the surface each year, stimulating plants to grow larger and healthier. Pocket gophers are solitary except during the breeding season and usually expel intruders from their burrow system.   However, abandoned gopher burrows often provide essential refuge for a variety of other animals. Gophers are prey for hawks, owls, fox, cats and snakes.

Family Sciuridae
California ground squirrel
Otospermophilus beecheyi
NATIVE 

The tail of the ground squirrel is shorter and less bushy than the tree squirrels.  As its name implies, it likes to remain on the ground, but is also a good climber. It stores great amounts of food in its burrow.   It stays closes to their burrows and sits up on their haunches to see over the area.  It is noted for sounding an alarm on top of its burrow to warn other squirrels.  Its alarm is a loud chirp at regular intervals.

Family Sciuridae
Eastern Gray squirrel 
Sciurus carolinensis 
NATIVE

This squirrel has fairly large, rounded, erect ears.  Its tail is long, flattened, and bushy. It has internal cheek pockets and 20 teeth.  They are gray to brownish gray with a reddish-brown highlight.  Under part is gray or buff. Mainly eats seeds, but known to eat berries, fungus, bark, sap, and insects.  Lives in hollow trees or nests.   It is an excellent climber but spends as much time foraging on the ground.   As most squirrels, it uses its tail to help balance as it travels on tree limbs.

Family Sciuridae
Eastern Fox Squirrel   
Sciurus niger  
NON NATIVE  

This squirrel is a medium-sized tree squirrel, rusty to reddish gray across back.   It has 3 main color phases including rusty, gray and black. It is the largest of the North American tree squirrels. It weighs 1.6 -2.4 pounds and eats acorns, walnuts, and  other types of seeds.    Its foreprint has 4 toes while the hindprint has 5 toes.  This squirrel is diurnal, but not as agile in the trees as the  western gray squirrel.  Their lifespan is 6 -10 years.