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It’s in Your Nature: These mammals thrive in our field habitats, their edges, even suburbs

Published February 07. 2026 09:23AM

I’m pretty certain that there are a few Pennsylvania mammals that don’t range far from large forest tracks.

The bobcat, porcupine, varying (snowshoe) hare and fisher would fall into that category.

Yes, it’s possible, as vacation homes and developments spread into our woodlands, that someone’s security camera or cameras will capture a stray fisher in the backyard.

Forty or 50 years ago, I would have said the same thing about black bears. But with excellent management by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the bears’ gradual adapting to man’s intrusions, that no longer is the case. Bears do best in the rhododendron thickets of the Poconos, but today, you can find them doing quite well almost anywhere in the Times News region.

Today I’d like to focus on the mammals that prefer field habitats, or live on the periphery of woodlots close to fields, or those that now benefit by being close to, or even dependent on, human activities.

If you were ever a small game hunter and had a beagle, you wouldn’t pick the top of the Broad Mountain to try to have a successful rabbit hunt. Rabbits are not “big woods” mammals.

Cottontail rabbit numbers increased as our distant ancestors began clearing Penns Woods for their farms. Add in the fact that they could feast in clover fields and spend the day hiding in the rocky fence rows placed there by years of farmer’s backbreaking work, they flourished.

The short of it is, the cottontail rabbit prefers fields and edges.

Another mammal that flourished after some of our forests were cleared was the woodchuck. Yes, I have seen a few in the heart of the white oaks, but they do better digging their burrows on the edge of pastures or fields, gobbling up farmers’ clover or soybeans.

I am a bit surprised to find that the red foxes have adapted to suburbia, too. I guess the rabbits there and the number of chickens many people now raise, suits their palates well.

Just last year I observed a coyote taking a mid-afternoon “stroll” down the street near our home. And a few weeks prior to that, about a mile away, I photographed a coyote in a field less than a block away from a strip mall and within 100 yards of at least three homes. So, coyotes too have been adapting to suburbia.

Of course, Pennsylvania’s most numerous mammal is the meadow vole (sometimes referred to as the meadow mouse). In an optimum field habitat, over 200 voles could live on 1 acre.

Another mouse species that seems to be at home near our houses, or in the middle of the big woods, is the white-footed mouse. If you have a garage or a backyard storage building, they are the mouse species most likely to get into your pet food or bird seed bags.

I would consider them to be an “edge loving” mammal; adapting well to man but not needing the huge forest expanse to be successful.

Gray squirrels and our chipmunks seem to adapt to all of our local habitats.

Chipmunks prefer a field/forest edge. But while I’m searching for a rattlesnake to photograph on the edge of the Pocono Plateau, I see dozens of chippies. They are a staple in a rattlesnake’s or copperhead’s diet.

With about 60 species of mammals in Pennsylvania, I’m sure when you “get out there,” you’ll bump into some of them.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: True or False: The house mouse was in North America before European settlers arrived.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: A baby porcupine is called a porcupette.

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com

The meadow vole favors meadows, but can be found even in marshy areas. It is without a doubt the most important prey item for most of the predators in our state. Snakes, owls, many of the hawks, foxes and bears — even great blue herons — feed on this abundant rodent. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
The Eastern chipmunk doesn’t favor an open meadow, but look for them on the field edges, woodlots, rocky mountainsides and many of your backyards. It also is an important prey item.
The cottontail rabbit’s population grew as farms began spreading across Pennsylvania. They are most at home near those farm fields and woodlots, and also nipping off tulips in your backyard gardens.
Chipmunks, rabbits and meadow voles are some of the Eastern coyote’s diet. About 50 years ago I had my first Carbon County coyote sighting. Now I seldom go more than a few months without seeing one. They are just as comfortable in the big woods as they are in suburban areas.
The gray squirrels are found in city parks, your backyards, forest edges and the heavily forested areas of our region.
RIGHT: Red foxes seem to have adapted well to more suburban settings than I thought possible. They constantly “tease” our dog by their activity in the neighborhood, both night and day. Red foxes are more forest edge and woodlot adapted than the less common gray foxes.
Woodchucks, much the cottontail rabbits, have benefited by more grasses and farmers’ crops after our ancestors began clearing forests to convert to agriculture.
White-footed mice are well-suited to forest settings, forest edge habitats, your garden sheds, and even my bluebird houses in winter.
ABOVE: Certainly suited best to feeding near or along waterways, raccoons do adapt to forests and forest edge habitats, too.
Although closely related to the meadow vole, the red-backed vole is a forest rodent. It is a common prey item to larger predators. But since the forest floor doesn’t offer as much food as a pasture, there are fewer red-backed voles in an acre of forest.
Tags:
Barry Reed, Environment