Mammals
This animal is found in Kittson-Central, Grygla, and on the Manitoba border. It was nicknamed wapiti, which was given by the Native Americans. They are uncommon and have specific needs, requiring careful monitoring.
Elk
This fish was very abundant, but now is nearly wiped out due to overfishing. It can reach up to 7 feet in length and be over 100 pounds.
Lake Sturgeon
This is a small stocky type of owl with a large head. It has a raoid whistled call, and the first known nesting reported in the state of Minnesota was in 1979.
Boreal Owl
This plant is also known as spike-oat and is a rare grass due to habitat loss from prairie conversion. You can identify it by its white edges on its leaves.
Oat Grass
This was the largest rodent ever weighting up to 200 pound and around 7 feet long. Lived mostly in southern Minnesota rivers and around the Twin Cities. Its fossil became the MN state fossil in 2025.
Giant Bever
Cryptotis Parva is the Latin name of this flying mammal. It faces a devastating fungal disease called white-nose syndrome. They use tree cavities, buildings, and caves for shelter.
Big Brown Bat
This type of minnow has drastically decreased due to lock and dam systems. It is restricted in minnesota to a Blufflands Subsection, near the northern limit of its range.
Mississippi Silvery Minnow
This animal is of special concern due to the extreme sensitivity of wetland habitat loss. It feeds on smallwater snails, aquatic insects, and seeds.
Yellow rail
This is a Native North American perennial. It has large, pea-shaped, cream to pale yellow flowers on long spikes that often droop to the ground.
Plains Wild Indigo
This animal extirpated(extinct from the state) in the late 1800’s, but was reintroduced in the 1980’s. Known for being expert swimmers and their water proof fur. They can also hold their breath for up to 8 minutes.
River Otter
This animal has seen a 90% decline due to White-Nose Syndrome. This was once Minnesota's most common bat.
Little Brown Myosis
This fish requires clean, fast-flowing waters with rocky and gravel bottoms. It is special concern due to its limited distribution in southeastern rivers.
Black Redhorse
This bird likes fast-flowing streams for its aquatic insect diet and nesting in root masses along banks.
This is a special concern since 1984 due to the limited natural habitat. It's found almost exclusively on Sioux quartzite rock outcrops in southwest MN.
Buffalo Grass
This animal was extirpated in the 1930’s, though sometimes a few come down from canada. It is a large deer known for its snowshoe-like hooves. Both males and females can grow antlers.
Caribou
This is a carnivorously unique rodent, known for its wolf-like howl and insect-heavy diet. It has a limited habitat in the western prairie and needs sand and soil.
Northern Grasshopper Mouse
This is Minnesota's rarest fish. It is found at the very northern edge of the Mississippi River System. It has a distinctive blunt rounded snout and a yellow body with dark spots.
Bluntnose darter
This is of special concern because of the water levels in prairie marshes. They are also being wiped out due to humans in the habitat. Minnesota has few active breeding colonies, making the species particularly vulnerable.
Franklin's Gull
This is found in rare, wet saline prairies of western Minnesota. It flowers from June to August and needs fire or grazing for healthy ecosystems.
Hall's sedge
Fish thatwas extirpated in 1957. It is a small, silvery, translucent minnow. Known for its pale, ghostly appearance. They usually grow to 1.5-2.5 inches long and live in schools, often with other minnows.
Ghost Shiner
This animal is special concern due to its rarity and specific habitat needs. It is activer year-round and must eat often, feeding on insects and other invertebrates.
Smoky Shrew
This is a sunfish nest spawner and likes calm, vegitated waters. Farming and residential development are a big cause of their decline.
Redfin Shiner
Primarily found in eastern deciduous forests, Minnesota is near the edge of its range, making populations vulnerable. Looks similar to a yellow finch, with a big yellow mask on its face.
Hooded Warbler
This plant is of special concern due to its rarity, existing in remnants of sand prairies and savannas that are disappearing, with few recent sightings outside Washington and Houston counties.
Rattlebox
This animal was believed to be extirpated in the early 1900’s, but one was sighted in 2008, and another was believed to be sighted in 2022. They are known as fierce, solitary members of the wiesel family, and for their incredible strength and voracious appetite for meat.
Wolverine