Overhunting, habitat loss, human encroachment, and loss of food supply have all contributed to push some species to the brink of extinction. Some, like the bald eagle, have been removed from the endangered list but continue to be federally protected.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has listed these mammals, birds and reptiles as either endangered (in danger of extinction) or threatened (likely to be listed as endangered) in Ohio.
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1. Indiana Bat
This night-flying mammal has been declared endangered in all counties of Ohio. It hibernates in caves and breeds and forages in small stream corridors amidst woods and forests.
2. Northern Long-eared Bat
This bat has been declared threatened statewide. It hibernates in caves and mines and swarms in surrounding wooded areas in the fall, roosting and seeking food during late spring and summer in upland forests.
3. Kirtland Warbler
A blue-gray songbird with a yellow belly, it has been declared endangered in all counties along the Lake Erie shore. These birds migrate along the lake shore in late spring and late summer-early fall.
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4. Piping Plover
This shore bird, like the warbler, has been declared endangered in all counties along the Lake Erie shore, where its habitat consists of beaches all along the lake. Special protected habitats from which humans are banned during nesting season have been set aside in Erie and Lake counties on either side of Cleveland.
5. Red Knot
This rusty-red shorebird has been declared threatened in all counties along the Lake Erie shore, where it is present during spring and fall migration.
6. Copperbelly Water Snake
Black with an orange-red belly, this non-venomous snake is listed as threatened in three northwest Ohio counties. They seek food in seasonally-flooded wetlands and hibernate in crayfish burrows, spending late fall through mid-spring underground.
7. Eastern Massasauga
This small, thick-bodied rattlesnake is a candidate to be listed as threatened across northern Ohio. Habitat loss, collection as pets, and "human persecution" have decimated these snakes everywhere they've historically been found, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says.
8. Scioto Madtom
Endangered and thought by some scientists to be already extinct, this bottom-feeding fish has only ever been found in the Scioto River in south-central Ohio – and only 18 individuals have ever been collected.
No populations of the fish have been found since 1957, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says. It's known to prefer riffles to sand and gravel bars in clear streams.
This article is for information only. Please check current regulations before hunting.
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