The Great Smoky Mountains are located in Tennessee, along the border of North Carolina. They are home to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As with all National Parks, the Smoky Mountains are home to numerous animals, some of which are endangered.
The Great Smoky Mountains are home to two endangered mammals, one being the Indiana bat. The Indiana bat is a medium-sized bat that is related to the brown and the gray bat. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Indiana bats are hard to distinguish from brown bats except for a distinguishing keel on its tail section. The Indiana bat is endangered because of man, mostly because of disturbances to its hibernation habitat. The production of reservoirs have flooded their caves. Also, temperature and humidity increases have heated up some caves to the point that the bats cannot hibernate there.
Another endangered mammal that lives in the Smoky Mountains is the Carolina northern flying squirrel, a small mammal that is less than a foot in length and weighs three to five ounces according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It has thick, soft fur that is gray with reddish markings on the back and a long, distinguishable tail. Logging and skiing development has destroyed much of this squirrel's habitat. Also, the Southern Flying Squirrel is a more aggressive species and has killed off many of this variety.
An endangered bird that lives in the Smoky Mountains is the red-cockaded woodpecker. This bird, which is the size of a cardinal, lives in pine forests that are at least 80 years old, according to EarthsEndangered.com. These birds have black and white feathers and the males have red spots on the nape. The red-cockaded woodpecker is endangered because logging has destroyed much of its habitat. Natural disasters like hurricanes have also destroyed their nests.
