What Animals Live in Shawnee National Forest

Animal Hazards

Our national forests provide habitat for many wild animals. They tin exist upset by human presence and tin can unexpectedly get ambitious, or may exist harmed past their efforts to avoid yous. Always continue your altitude, and avoid directly interaction with all wildlife. Following these tips will assistance protect y'all from a potentially unpleasant experience too every bit protecting the wildlife.

You are responsible for your prophylactic and the safety of wild animals.
Aid continue wildlife "wild" past not feeding them. Animals that get food from people may become aggressive. Our foods may damage an beast's digestive organisation or even cause their death.
Help proceed wild fauna "wild" by not approaching them. All wild animals can exist unsafe. Alter your road so that you will move away from animals without disturbing them. Do non block an animal's line of travel.
Photo and sentry wild fauna from observation areas, or from a safe distance. Use binoculars, spotting scopes and telephoto lenses.
If an animal approaches you, information technology is your responsibleness to motion away and maintain a safe distance.

Black Bears

While not ordinarily seen, black bears now live in southern Missouri! When visiting the Mark Twain National Forest, information technology is important to take appropriate prophylactic precautions. We can avoid conflicts with bears by never approaching or feeding them. Human behavior plays a significant part in the behavior of bears. Remember: Y'all are responsible for your condom.

Avoid Attracting Bears

Campgrounds and Picnic Areas

Continue a clean site by properly disposing of food scraps and garbage;
Do not leave food or garbage inside burn rings, grills or effectually your site;
Never leave food or coolers unattended;
Where conduct-proof containers are not available, store food and garbage within a vehicle or camper trailer; or hang it at to the lowest degree 10' off the ground.
Never store food within your tent;
Wipe tabletops clean before vacating your site;
If a bear is observed nearby, pack up your food and trash immediately;
If a bear approaches you, motion away slowly and go into a vehicle or secure area.

Depending on your circumstances, yous can reduce food odors that attract bears by

Putting trash in the deport-resistant trash can provided.
Taking nutrient and trash with you when yous leave
Hanging food and trash from a tree, out of a bears achieve
Storing food and trash inside a airtight vehicle with a difficult top.

How to store food and trash, use a trash can, take with you, hang in a tree at least 10 foot high, or store in vehicle

The Backcountry

Hang nutrient, garbage and anything with strong odors (toothpaste, problems repellent, lather, etc.) at least 10 feet off the ground and four feet from a tree or limb; use special food storage boxes and cable systems if bachelor;
Eat and cook food at to the lowest degree 100 yards away from your tent; do not sleep in the clothes you cook in;
Avoid camping and hiking alone in backcountry;
Make noise to avoid surprising a bear;
Never approach a deport or other wild animal;
Go on dogs and other pets under control, or go out them at home;
Practise not hike in the dark;
If a bear approaches you, dorsum away slowly; do not run;
Carry EPA registered bear pepper spray;
Pack out trash; do not bury it.

Hiking Trails

Permit someone know where you are going and when you programme to return;
Hike with a group;
Carry EPA registered bear pepper spray;
Read all signs at the trailhead;
Go along children close at hand;
Make your presence known by making some noise;
Hike during daylight hours and stay on the trail;
Watch for bear signs: scat, hook marks, excavation, logs or stumps torn apart, etc;
Avoid taking pets; they may concenter bears to you.

Special thanks to the Center for Wildlife Data and BeBearAware.org for this information. Visit www.bebearaware.org for more safety tips concerning bears.

Dogs and Other Pets

Taking your domestic dog camping or hiking can be a great experience for both of you, if yous are prepared and he is under control. Your canis familiaris will be fascinated by new sights, sounds and smells, and you'll beloved sharing your dearest of the great outdoors with your best friend.

Prior to your trip, consider these things:

Is your dog upward to information technology physically? In an outdoor environment, your dog will most likely experience an increase in his physical activeness, and the terrain may be dramatically different from what he'southward used to (steep hills, rocky paths, etc.)

Consider his personality. While you lot might non exist bothered by your canis familiaris'southward early morning barking, your fellow campers might be.

Make certain vaccinations are up to date. Talk to your vet nearly giving your dog a lyme vaccination in case he comes in contact with ticks, or heartworm medication.

Bring the leash. There will exist times when you need to proceed your dog on a leash, especially when you're in a developed recreation site, shut to other campers, or in an area where your dog could wander off a path and encounter less than friendly wildlife.

If you're hiking in terrain with cliffs, canyons, big rocks or other challenging weather condition, information technology may be safest to attach the leash to a sturdy harness instead of to a neck collar.

Many dogs accept no concept of heights.

Keep your dog close to you.

Brand sure your domestic dog has his identification tags, and bring forth a recent photo should yous need information technology in the consequence your canis familiaris goes missing.

Carry a pet first aid kit, and exist prepared for medical emergencies, including snake bites.

Other helpful tips

Make sure you lot pack plenty of water.
Bring along your dog's brush or comb and groom your domestic dog, checking carefully for ticks.
Bring your vet'south telephone number, and the number of a vet that's shut to your camping area.
Pack plenty of plastic bags then you can clean upward after your domestic dog.
Never exit your dog outside alone.
Don't go out your dog's nutrient out in the open up when he'due south not eating it. Information technology could concenter unwanted insects or wildlife.
Proceed your canis familiaris quiet. Frequent and continued barking disturbs the wildlife and other campers.
Endeavour to get a site with some shade for your domestic dog.

Annotation: Our national forests provide habitat for many wildlife, including dangerous animals like bears and venomous snakes. Ever keep your distance; wild fauna tin can be upset by human presence and can unexpectedly get ambitious. Keep your domestic dog on a leash. Your safety is your responsibleness.

Snakes on the Forest

Missouri has 46 species and subspecies of snakes, most of which are harmless. Though they may seize with teeth in self-defense, they produce but scratches or very small-scale bite-marks.

At that place are only v species of venomous snakes in Missouri, all of which are pit vipers, which means that they accept a sensory pit on each side of their head. They also have a pair of hollow fangs at the front of their upper jaw, and vertical pupils (like a true cat).

The venomous snakes in Missouri are: copperheads, western cottonmouths or water moccasins, timber rattlesnakes, eastern massasauga rattlesnakes, and western pigmy rattlesnakes.

Learn about Missouri's snakes at Missouri Department of Conservation.

And always go on your distance from any serpent you lot cannot identify; your safety is your responsibility.

To Avoid Snakebites

Familiarize yourself with the snakes of the area, both venomous and non-venomous species, before venturing out into the forest.

Larn which habitats the venomous species are most likely to exist encountered in, and employ extra circumspection in those habitats.
Accept a buddy into the field with yous.
Wear boots and loose-fitting pants or snake leggings if you lot are venturing into venomous serpent territory.
Always be alert and try not to take a snake by surprise. Stay on trails, and sentry where you identify your hands and anxiety, especially when climbing or stepping over fences, large rocks, and logs, or when collecting firewood.

To Treat Snakebites

Venomous snakebites are rare, and they are rarely fatal to humans. Of the 8,000 snakebite victims in the Usa each year, fewer than ten dice. For whatever venomous snakebite, or bite of a ophidian that you think might exist venomous, get medical care as shortly as possible.

Try to proceed the snakebite victim nonetheless and calm, and keep the injured torso part motionless below middle level.
Transport him or her immediately to medical care. Exercise not allow him to eat or drink anything.
If medical care is more than than half an hour away, wrap a cast a few inches in a higher place the bite, keeping information technology loose enough to enable claret flow (you should be able to fit a finger below information technology). Do not cut off claret flow with a tight tourniquet. Exit the bandage in place until reaching medical care.
If you have a snakebite kit, wash the seize with teeth, and place the kit'south suction device over the seize with teeth. (Do not suck the poisonous substance out with your mouth.) Do not remove the suction device until you accomplish a medical facility.
Try to identify the snake so the proper antivenin tin can be administered, but do non waste matter time or endanger yourself trying to capture or kill it.
If y'all are alone and on foot, start walking slowly toward help, exerting the injured area every bit trivial as possible.

Feral Hogs

Our national forests are home to many wildlife, but they have become dwelling to other animals equally well, including feral hogs. Hogs are considered feral (or wild) when they are not marked to show ownership and are roaming freely. Missouri's feral hogs accept originated from a diverseness of sources such as escapes from "on-the-ground" grunter operations, released pets (potbellied pigs) and accidental escapes from licensed shooting preserves that offering hog hunts. Feral hogs are established in more than 20 of Missouri's 114 counties, predominantly in the southern half of the country. Feral hogs cause a wide multifariousness of problems and are a serious concern for private landowners, fish and wild animals managers, and nature enthusiasts of all kinds.

Whether a 300-400 lb. boar with 4 inch tusks, or a sow with pigs, these animals are formidable and will assault people. Recreationists have been treed by aggressive sows who sense that their piglets are in danger. Although most hogs run away at the sight of people, they tin can exist upset by human presence, tin unexpectedly become aggressive, and have been known to charge. Practise not give them a reason or an opportunity to attack. Every bit with other large animals, be alarm for signs of feral hogs, know where they are and what they are doing, and always proceed your altitude. Avoid surprising them, or getting between a sow and her piglets. Program your escape route, and be willing to backtrack rather than getting as well close.

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) asks that all feral hog sightings are reported. Reporting sightings helps with the ongoing interagency eradication efforts past increasing the effectiveness of trapping. An effective trap tin can eliminate many breeding pairs of hogs; whereas shooting i feral hog can cause the rest of the sounder to besprinkle.

Feral hogs are not wildlife and are a serious threat to fish, forests and wildlife too as agricultural resources. Economic losses resulting from feral hog damage in the U.S. is estimated at greater than $ane.five billion per yr. Feral hogs damage belongings, agronomics, and natural resource past their aggressive rooting of soil in addition to their trampling and consumption of crops every bit part of their daily search for nutrient.

Feral hogs accept expanded their range in the U.S. from 17 to 38 states over the past xxx years. Their populations grow rapidly because feral hogs tin can breed any time of yr and produce two litters of one to seven piglets every 12 to 15 months. Feral hogs are also known to conduct diseases such equally swine brucellosis, pseudorabies, trichinosis and leptospirosis, which are a threat to Missouri agronomics and homo health.

To report feral pig sightings or damage, go online to world wide web.mdc.mo.gov/feralhog.

Other Wild fauna

Our national forests provides habitat for wild animals, including dangerous animals like bears and venomous snakes. Wild animals can be upset past man presence and can unexpectedly become aggressive. Do not give them a reason or an opportunity to attack. Always keep your distance. Your safety is your responsibility.

Animals that live in this forest are wild, fifty-fifty though they may wait or deed tame. Wildlife experts recommend keeping at to the lowest degree 100 yards abroad from bears and 25 yards from other big animals.

The consequences of approaching wildlife can exist serious. You are responsible for your ain safety as well as the safety of wildlife. Wildlife should be allowed to fodder for nutrient, treat their young, sleep and play without man disturbance.

Animals that are approached as well closely may:

Run into traffic and get hitting past vehicles.
Lose footing on cliffs and fall.
Be separated from their young or forced to abandon their nests or dens.
Get more vulnerable to predators considering they are distracted past people or acquire a human scent.
Abandon an important food source, reducing their chances for survival.

Wildlife, especially bears, should never be immune to obtain homo food or garbage. Wild animals that receive these "food rewards" just once may become aggressive toward humans. To protect people and their holding, these animals may be destroyed by wildlife managers. Keep human food and garbage abroad from all wild animals.

Animals fed along roads tend to stay near the road, increasing the chances of vehicle-animal accidents.
Animals used to human food may eat aluminum foil, plastic, or other wrappings. These tin can severely impairment animals' digestive systems and may even cause expiry.
Human food may crusade tooth decay, ulcers, malformation of horns, arthritis, or other disease in wild animals.
Animals may try to eat whatever detail with an odor. Practise not leave boxes, wrappers, plastics, or cans of whatever type where animals can get them. Litter can harm animals!

Budgeted or feeding wild animals is never appropriate. Giving food to, or budgeted wild animals not but interferes with their natural activity, information technology is the leading cause of conflicts, which outcome in serious injury or expiry to both people and animals.

Many wildland visitors mistakenly believe that in that location are specific gestures and warning signals wild animals make that will give people time to retreat to safety. Wild animals are individualistic and unpredictable. Animals that ignore you, look calm, or appear friendly may all of a sudden and without warning accuse or strike out.

Human injury often occurs when an animal responds to a perceived threat with instinctive "fight or flight" behavior-people get injured simply considering they are in the animal's way. A car horn, barking dog, or excited children can trigger an creature into fight or flying beliefs.

Both the females and males of most wildlife species are equally unsafe.

Although animals may look or human activity tame, they are wild and may change quickly and unpredictably from passive or "friendly" to aggressive beliefs.

If an animal approaches you, it is your responsibility to move away to maintain a prophylactic distance. Your safe is your responsibility!

Deer Collisions

Our national forests are a refuge for wild animals, including dangerous animals like bears and venomous snakes. Wildlife can be upset by human presence and can unexpectedly become aggressive. Practise not give them a reason or an opportunity to attack. Always keep your distance. Your safety is your responsibility.

While the per centum of deer collisions resulting in a fatality is relatively depression, it is extremely important to recognize this hazard.

The largest number of deer collisions take place in October, November and December. The three months see a huge increment in deer activity because it their breeding season.

Defensive Driving Tips to avoid hitting a deer

Keep a close watch for deer at dawn and dusk. Deer are most active during these times.
Be especially alert and drive with circumspection. Exist on the lookout man for deer crossing signs and slow down.
Exist enlightened of your surround, just considering y'all don't run across a deer crossing sign posted, it doesn't mean deer won't unexpectedly appear.
Flash your lights or honk your horn to frighten deer away from the side of the road.
When you see deer forth the roadside, turn on your emergency lights to let other motorists know nearly the potential danger.
Use your high-beam headlights when there is no opposing traffic. The headlight beam will illuminate the optics of deer and provide greater driver reaction time.
Upon seeing a deer, immediately dull downwards. Do not swerve - because this tin confuse deer as to where to run. It could as well cause you to lose control and hit a tree or another automobile.
If yous can't avoid the accident, then simply hitting the deer while maintaining control of your vehicle. Some experts say that if such a standoff is inevitable, you lot should avoid braking at touch on and so that the deer may pass underneath your car as opposed to hitting the windshield.
Expect for other deer after one has crossed the road. Deer usually travel in groups, and so the probability is high that other deer will be in front of or behind the one you lot've seen.
Don't rely on hood-mounted deer whistles and other devices to scare away deer.
Always wear your seatbelt. About people injured and/or killed in deer - automobile collisions were not wearing their seat belt.
Finally, remember to ... Dull Downwards FOR WILDLIFE!

What to do when yous strike a deer

If you are unable to avoid a standoff with a deer, take the following steps:

Do non touch the animate being! The deer, in attempting to movement or go away, could hurt you lot or itself.
Remove your automobile from the roadway, if possible.
Call the police.