Hundreds of rare animals can be found throughout the state. This ranges from well known animals like the gray bat, bald eagle and eastern puma to animals which are not as well known like painted snakes, coiled forest snails, pallid sturgeons or spruce-fir moss spiders. As of 2009, almost 100 animals were considered threatened according to the standards put out by the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
According to the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation there are at least 74 known animal species discovered in the state which can be found nowhere else. Most of these are small snails, insects or fish and even include a new species of crayfish discovered in 2011. These unique animals add to the biodiversity of the state by all filling a place in the various state ecosystems.
Tennessee officially recognizes 12 state animals. The state animal is the raccoon while the spot of state insect is shared by the honeybee, ladybug and firefly. Perhaps most interesting among the various animals listed is the state's differentiation between normal and game animals. For example the mockingbird enjoys status as the state's official bird while the bobwhite quail is labeled as the state's official game bird. Likewise the smallmouth bass fought its way to becoming the state's official sports fish while channel catfish are the state's official commercial fish.
Many hundreds of bears live in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the largest protected bear habitat in the Eastern United States. Tennessee celebrates their bear population, and while numbers can vary there are approximately 1,800 bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park alone. These black bears dwell primarily in the mountainous eastern part of the state.
According to the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, the state of Tennessee qualifies as one of the most biodiverse in the United States with more than 300 species of fish, 80 mammals, 60 reptiles, 340 birds, 70 amphibians and more than 500 invertebrates. This wide range of different species and animal families creates an impressive series of biological ecosystems.
