Mammals Other Than Cetaceans Possibly Occurring in Washington 1. Ursus canadensis Merriam, grizzly bear.—This species has been recorded from Kootenay Lake, British Columbia, 30 miles northeast from the northeastern corner of the state of Washington and may have occurred in northeastern Washington. 2. Ursus idahoensis Merriam, grizzly bear.—Recorded by Merriam (1918: 54) from the Wallowa Mountains, Oregon. This form may have occurred in the Blue Mountains of southeastern Washington. 3. Vulpes fulva macroura Baird, red fox.—Reported from the Blue Mountains and northeastern Washington; no specimen recorded. 4. Canis lupus columbianus Goldman, wolf.—Possibly occurred in northeastern Washington in historic time, and perhaps is occasionally still found there. 5. Canis lupus irremotus Goldman, wolf.—Perhaps once occurred in southeastern Washington. 6. Mirounga angustirostris (Gill), sea elephant.—May occur as a casual wanderer off the coast of Washington. The home of this species is Lower California but a dead specimen was washed upon the shore of Prince of Wales Island, Alaska (Willett, 1943: 500). 7. Perognathus parvus laingi Anderson, Great Basin pocket mouse.—Probably present in the mountains east of Lake Osoyoos in Washington, but no specimens have yet been collected. 8. Synaptomys borealis artemisiae Anderson, northern lemming mouse.—Probably present in the Cascades of northern Okanogan County but no specimens have yet been obtained. 9. Antilocapra americana (Ord) subsp?, pronghorned antelope.—This species is restricted to North America and once ranged over much of the plains region of the western part of the continent. Taylor and Shaw (1929: 31) included the antelope in their list of Washington mammals with the statement "Now extirpated within State; the former range of the pronghorn included much of the plains country of eastern Washington." So far as known to me, there is no record by any of the early explorers of antelope killed or seen in what is now Washington. No bones of antelope have been discovered in caves in eastern Washington. Ogden (1909: 339) mentions an antelope killed in Oregon a day's journey south of The Dalles. This record is fairly close to Washington and indicates that antelope might have occurred at least in southeastern Washington in historic times. |