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The Long-tailed weasel is the larger of the two weasels in Oregon, but smaller than the other member of the genus, the mink. Males are considerably larger than females. The head is flattened and somewhat triangular; the body and neck are elongate and almost cylindrical; the legs are short, and the tail is long. The summer pelage is brown dorsally; the venter is yellowish to orangish except for a white chin and sometimes one or more scattered brown spots. The tip of the tail is black. The pelage is molted twice annually. In the Cascade Range and eastward through the…

The Mink is a semiaquatic species. The body is elongate and cylindrical, the legs are short and stout, the tail is bushy and about half as long as the head and body. The head is flattened, the ears small and rounded, and the nose is pointed. The pelage consists of dense grayish underfur and long lustrous guard hairs. Dorsally, it is dark brown to blackish but somewhat lighter on the venter. In Oregon, the mink is found throughout the state and is associated with river, lake, pond, or marsh environments. They forage along overhanging banks, and in holes and crevices…

The American badger is a medium-sized, powerfully built carnivore strongly adapted for digging. The body is flattened and the legs are short but stout; the toes of the forefeet are partly webbed and equipped with long, curved claws; the hind feet are shaped like miniature shovels; and each eye is equipped with a membrane that can be extended to cover it. The ears are rounded and densely covered with fur but seem large in comparison with those of many digging mammals. The tail is short and brushlike. Dorsally, the long, shaggy pelage is mottled grayish blending on the venter to…

The River otter is adapted for both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The heavily muscled, somewhat cylindrical body is thickest at the thorax and tapers posteriorly to a thick, flattened tail. The body tapers to a blunt and slightly flattened head. The legs are short and powerful; and the toes are webbed. The eyes are small, forwardly directed and set high on the head. The underfur is grayish, short, and dense, and overlain by longer, stiff and shiny guard hairs. The dorsum is brown and the venter a lighter brown or tan; the lower jaw and throat are whitish. In Oregon…

The Western spotted skunk is smaller and more weasel-like than the Striped skunk. The pelage is black with a somewhat pentagonal white patch between the eyes, a round white patch on each side of the head and four or six segmented white body stripes. This skunk is endowed with a muscle-encapsulated musk gland similar to those of the Striped skunk and so similarly, can eject musk from two papillae located under the tail. The odor of the musk is considered somewhat more pungent or acrid but is less spreading than that of the Striped skunk. In Oregon, this skunk occurs…

The Striped skunk is about the size of a house cat with a pointed head; slightly upturned, nearly spherical nose pad; and beady black eyes. The pelage is entirely black except for a narrow white stripe on the forehead and nose, a white pate leading to two diverging white stripes on the back that extend partly or completely to the rump. Entirely white skunks, or skunks with the black replaced by seal brown or the white replaced by yellow are also know to occur. Without doubt, the most widely recognized characteristic of the Striped skunk is the pungent odor of…

Oregon's three cat species all belong to the same family as the domestic house cat. Cats are muscular but graceful and have retractable claws to hold prey.

The Canada lynx is only slightly larger than the bobcat. Nevertheless, long legs and long fur produce the illusion that the lynx is considerably larger than it actually is. Documented accounts of wild lynx are rare and lynx are not expected to currently reside in Oregon. However, if lynx were to be observed, it is likely to occur at higher elevations such as in the Cascade Range, Blue Mountains or Wallowa Mountains. Habitats used by lynx often are defined in terms of habitats used by their primary prey species, thus good snowshoe hare habitat usually is considered to be good…

The bobcat is the smallest wild felid in Oregon, with females being considerably smaller than males. The bobcat is about twice the size of a domestic cat, but its legs are longer, its tail is shorter, and its body is more muscular and compact. The feet are relatively small and the bobcat is not well adapted to negotiate deep snow. In general, the variously spotted pelage is yellowish with grayish overtones in winter and with reddish overtones in summer, reflecting the two annual molts. The ears are black with a large white spot and are equipped with short black tufts…

Oregon's hoofed mammals include three sub-species of deer, along with moose, elk, goat, and sheep. Otherwise known as ungulates, these animals are herbivores.

There are about 80 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises with 10 of those in the waters off Oregon's coast. These include the mighty gray whale, the awe-inspiring killer whale, and the charming and intelligent bottlenose dolphin.

Blue whales are occasionally spotted off Oregon, but usually no closer than 10 miles offshore. These whales are part of the Eastern North Pacific population that range from Alaska to Costa Rica. They migrate between feeding areas along the west coast of the United States and Canada and breeding and calving grounds off Mexico and Central America. They are thought to be among the most endangered of the great whales. Photo by NOAA

The minke whale is one of the smallest baleen whales, growing to about 35 feet. They feed along the coast in the same area as gray whales. It is close enough in size to a gray whale that you could mistake one for the other at a distance. At close range, however, the difference is apparent. Minkes have a dark black or gray, sleek body with a white underside. They are often recognized by surfacing snout first and a small, weak, but visible, bushy blow that is about six to 10 feet high. When diving, they do not display their…

Humpback whales are seen during their north and south migrations from northern waters to breeding grounds near Hawaii and also feeding offshore during the summer. Humpbacks have been documented travelling 3,000 miles between Alaska and Hawaii in as few as 36 days. They are usually five to 15 miles offshore, so they are most often seen by fishers. Humpback whales live in all major oceans from the equator to sub-polar latitudes. Humpbacks eat primarily krill and small fish and can consume 3,000 pounds of food a day. Humpbacks grow to 60 feet in length with a stocky body, an obvious…

Sperm whales inhabit all oceans of the world, and have been observed in Oregon waters from March through November. Sperm whales are usually found in deep off-shore waters so they are only occasionally seen off Oregon by fishers and birders on offshore trips. It is the largest of the toothed whales and possesses the largest brain of any animal with an enormous head to house it. Sperm whales have 20 to 26 large conical teeth found only in their lower jaw. A mature male can grow to 52 feet long with its head representing up to one-third of its length…

The Pacific white-sided dolphin is most abundant in the Southern California Bight in winter, but move further north, off Oregon and Washington in summer. These animals can be found from the tip of Baja to the Aleutians and the western Pacific from the Kuril Islands to Japan. They prefer deep, off-shore waters, so sightings are usually limited to recreational and commercial fishers. The Pacific white-sided dolphin is about seven or eight feet long. It has three colors: the chin, throat and belly are creamy white; the beak, flippers, back, and dorsal fin are a dark gray, and there are light…

The bottlenose dolphin is the most common of the oceanic dolphins and can be found in all tropical and temperate oceans. Flipper was a bottlenose dolphin. Their considerable intelligence and permanently-affixed smile make them a favorite of aquarium and television shows. The U.S. Navy also uses bottlenose dolphins to find mines and booby traps underwater. Oregon is the northern extent of its range on the West Coast. They are most often seen offshore during the summer by tuna and other fishers. They are gray with light gray to white on the undersides. In size they range from six to 13…

A thick body, small head and coloration similar to a killer whale make this dolphin easy to recognize. Dall’s porpoise is mostly black with a large white patch on the belly and flanks. The small dorsal fin is partly white and the trailing edges of the tail are frosted white. About seven feet long and weighing around 400 pounds, Dall’s live only in the north Pacific. Dall’s are the fastest of all small cetaceans and can swim at up to 35 miles per hour, almost as fast as a killer whale. When swimming at the surface they create a characteristic…

Like the name suggests, harbor porpoises remain close to shore and in river estuaries and bays usually less than 650 feet deep. This makes them the most likely porpoise seen from shore. They seem more shy than their larger, more gregarious cousins, like the Dall’s porpoise or bottlenose dolphin. You won’t see them riding the bow waves of boats. They are also not as social, usually seen alone or in small groups of two or three, rarely more than five individuals. Found throughout the temperate coastal waters of the Northern Hemisphere, harbor porpoises are the smallest of the Northern Pacific…