species are threatened in the area and should receive full 

 protection. 



Raccoon are abundant and are occasionally seen in the daytime. 

 Gray fox, opossum, white-tailed deer and two species of rabbits 

 also occur. A considerable number of deer, perhaps 50 to 100, may 

 be found on the park at any one time. No damage of any kind 

 attributable to deer has been noted. In late winter browsed 

 stems of cane ( Arundinaria gigantea ) , cat brier (Smilax 

 rotundif olia and other species, and Japanese honeysuckle ( Lonicera 

 japonica ) can be seen. At other times there is little evidence 

 of their presence. 



Bear were numerous in this area in the past. About 1978, a 

 bear that had been transplanted to the Dismal Swamp passed 

 through the park and was killed later in a county to the south. 

 With this exception, the last bear reported was seen around 1966, 

 uprooting and eating water lily rhizomes in the upper section 

 of the mill pond. The only way that this species could ever be 

 a part of this system again, however, would be if a fairly wide 

 wildlife corridor could be maintained between Chowan Swamp, 

 through this area to Dismal Swamp. This appears to be a very 

 unlikely possibility. 



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