Wildlife

 

Island environments, naturally isolated, provide important habitat for numerous bird species, mammals, plants, amphibians and aquatic species. Wildlife species are characteristic of the southern limits of the boreal and northern limits of the hardwood/hemlock forests. Game species include whitetail deer, black bear, snowshoe hare, waterfowl, woodcock, and ruffed grouse. Other fur-bearers include the red fox, coyote, beaver and otter. Small mammals are an important component of the lakeshore's terrestrial fauna and include: shrews, mice, voles, red squirrels and chipmunks. Some common mainland species do not occur on the islands, including raccoon, skunk, porcupine, gray squirrel, chipmunk and woodchucks.

The Apostle Islands area is important for commercial and recreational fishing. Shoals near the lakeshore's ¼ mile lakeward boundary provided critical spawning areas for the commercially important lake trout and whitefish. The fish community presently found within the relatively shallow Apostle Islands waters is diverse and complex for waters such as Lake Superior.

The islands within the park provide important habitat for resident breeding birds as well as neotropical migrants. The great majority of nesting forest bird species in the Apostle Islands are migratory. The lakeshore includes important migratory bird concentration points during spring and fall migration.

 

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  Get Slinky!

  Amphibians & Reptiles

  Snakes, turtles, salamanders, toads, frogs, mudpuppies and newts!

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  Get Flighty!

  Birds

  Colony nesters, Piping Plovers, and migrating warblers take advantage of the large diversity of habitats here.

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  Get Fishy!

  Fish

  Early explorers and visitors today are amazed by the rich fish population in the cold, clear waters of Gichigami (Lake Superior).

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  Get Furry!

  Mammals

  American marten, a Wisconsin state endangered animal, thrives in the protected wilderness of the islands.

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

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Species attribute definitions

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