17 



Goeke C D 



Fig. 16. Wetlands are important to many other wildlife, (a) beaver, (b) caribou, (c) alligator, and (d) spring peeper. 



USFWS 



ed to coastal wetlands of the South. Other wetland-utiliz- 

 ing furbearers include otter, mink, raccoon, skunk and 

 weasels. Other mammals also frequent wetlands, such as 

 marsh and swamp rabbits, numerous mice, hog lemmings 

 and shrews. Larger mammals may also be observed. 

 Black bears find refuge and food in forested and shrub 

 wetlands of northeastern Pennsylvania and western Mas- 

 sachusetts, for example. In northern states, white-tailed 

 deer depend on white cedar and other evergreen swamps 

 for winter shelter and food. By contrast, the extensive 

 wetlands of Alaska's North Slope are used as summer 

 range and calving areas by caribou. 



Other forms of wildlife make their homes in wetlands 

 (Figure 16). Turtles, reptiles, and amphibians are impor- 

 tant residents. Turtles are most common in freshwater 

 marshes and ponds. The more important ones are the 

 painted, spotted, Blanding's, map, mud, pond, musk and 

 snapping turtles (Clark 1979). The endangered Plymouth 

 red-bellied turtle and bog turtle are also wetland-depen- 

 dent (Williams and Dodd 1979). Along the coast, the 



diamond-backed terrapin is a common inhabitant of salt 

 marshes, while young loggerhead turtles spend some time 

 in estuaries after hatching before going out to sea. 



The largest reptiles occurring in the United States — 

 the American alligator and the American crocodile — 

 live in wetlands. The crocodile, an endangered species, is 

 now only found in mangroves and coastal waters of Flor- 

 ida Bay, while the alligator occurs from Florida north to 

 North Carolina and west to Texas. The alligator lives in 

 both brackish and freshwater wetlands, but is most abun- 

 dant in the latter. Alligators create "gator holes" in the 

 Everglades, which persist through the dry season. Fishes 

 and invertebrates concentrate in these holes which make 

 them easy prey for birds and other animals. Gator holes 

 with their abundance of food are important to the breed- 

 ing success of birds like the wood ibis (Williams and 

 Dodd 1979). 



Many snakes inhabit wetlands, with water snakes be- 

 ing most abundant throughout the U.S. (Clark 1979). 

 Other important wetland snakes include cottonmouth 



