09. Animals of the Forest

Many, many types of animals make their home in the cove forest, including amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds. Click on the topics below to see some of the various species that live in the cove forest.

Within this Series

Black-Bellied Salamander | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Desmognathus quadramaculatus) This is the largest of the lungless salamanders in the cove forests. They are usually found in streams that have a rocky bottom and usually rest on wet rocks near these...

Deer Mouse | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(peromyscus maniculatus) This rodent is the most important prey item for the avian and mammalian predators that frequent the cove forest. This specis is the most widespread of North American rodents...

Eastern Box Turtle | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Terrapene carolina) This turtle is very common and is highly terrestrial. The males have red eyes and the bottom of the shell (plastron) is scoped out; while the females have brown/yellow eyes and a...

Eastern Pipistrelle Bat | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The pipistrelle is the smallest bat in the southern US. This is one of the most common bats in the cove forest. This bat is a very early evening feeder and tends to feed at treetop levels.

Jordan's Salamander | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Plenthodon jordani) This lungless salamander is extremely abundant in cove forests at higher altitudes. Large quantities of sticky mucus are secreted by the tail for protection against avian...

Masked Shrew | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(sorex cinereus) This insectivore is related to the common moles. It is one of the smallest mammals found in the United States weighing between 2-5 g. It is constantly active with a very high...

Ocoee Salamander | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Desmognathus ocoee) The ocoee salamander is lungless and lives in streams in wet areas adjacent to streams. It has a highly variable dorsal color patterning; usually a series of connected paired...

Rat Snake | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Elaphe obsoleta) The rat snake is one of the most diurnal of snakes found in the cove forest. This snake is a very adept climber and is frequently found climbing trees and nesting in tree cavities...

Red Salamader | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Pseudotrition ruber) The red is one of the most beautiful salamanders in the cove forest. Colors range from purplish brown to deep orange-red. It is lungless and terrestrial. Eggs are laid in water...

Red-Backed Vole | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(clethrionomys gapper) This rodent is a relative of the muskrat and lemming. This vole is found only in cove forests at higher altitudes in the mountains of South Carolina. It is semifossorial using...

Short-Tailed Shrew | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

This shrew is very common and is one of the largest of the various shrew species weighing 11- 30 g. Food consists mainly of invertebrates such as earthworms, snails, and insects. However, these shrews...

Spotted Salamander | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Ambystoma maculatum) The spotted salamander is one of the most colorful of the ambystomid salamanders. The shiny black back of the animal has a series of large yellow/yellow orange spots. These...

Two-Lined Salamander | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Eurycea bislineata) The two-lined is one of the smallest salamanders in the cove forest. This species is found under logs and rocks in the moist soil conditions, usually near water. Breeding occurs...

Wood Frog | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Rana sylvatica) This medium sized frog is primarily a northern species with its most southerly distribution associated with the cove forests of the mountain of SC. It is ieasily identifiied by its...

Acadian Flycatcher | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Empidonax virescens) This flycatcher prefers deciduous forests that are associated with relatively moist habitats such as those found along rivers. High affinity for sites with high shrub densities...

Black-Throated Blue Warbler | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Dendroica caerulescens) This warbler prefers to forages in the shrub layer associated with the cove forests, especially rhododendron thickets, hobble bush and mountain laurel. Has an affinity for...

Copperhead | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Agkistrodon contortrix) The copperhead is the primary poisonous snake in the cove forest. The pit located on each side of the head between the eye and the nasal opening is a heat sensor. The prey...

Eastern Chipmunk | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Tamias striatus) This ground squirrel is a burrowing mammal but is adept at climbing through trees. Nuts and seeds are the primary food sources; however, flowers, leaves, fungi and small amphibians...

Eastern Garter Snake | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Thamnophis sirtalis) This snake has a wide geographic range and is the only snake that extends its range into the northern reaches of Canada. Frogs and salamanders are the primary prey of the garter...

Flying Squirrel | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Glaucomys volans) This squirrel is one of the most common squirrels in the cove forests. Few are seen since they are strictly nocturnal. The flying squirrel does not fly, rather it glides by using...

Fowler's Toad | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Bufo fowler) This toad is commonly found in the deciduous woods of the Carolinas. It differs from the American Toad by having more than two warts in each dorsal dark spot. The large glands behind the...

Golden Mouse | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Ochrotomys nuttali) This rodent is one of the most beautiful of our native mice. A light to brilliant orange-gold fur is characterstic of the adults. This mouse uses shrubs and vines as a serial...

Gray Fox | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Urocyon cinereoargneteus) This fox is widely distributed and associated with decidous forests. The gray fox is an omnivore and will eat fruit, insects and small mammal prey items. This is the only...

Hooded Warbler | The Cove Forest

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Wilsonia citrina) These warblers are common in the moist hardwood forests of the southeast. Their feeding activity is usually concentrated in the understory bushes. They consume insects on the ground...