What is the official mammal of New York State?

The Beaver is the official mammal of New York State. It's a large, mainly nocturnal, semi-aquatic rodent. The beaver is well known for building dams, canals, and lodges which are used as domiciles. The beaver's predilection for building dams, which create still, deep waters, is both a defensive measure against predators and a means to float food and building materials. Beaver use their large incisors to harvest trees to build these structures.

The beaver once numbered up to 60 million in North America but now numbers from 6 to 12 million. The decline is attributed to hunting for the beaver's fur and glands. The glands can be used for medicine and perfume. It was the exploitation of the beaver that helped develop Dutch colonization in New York State. The beaver's economic importance in early New York, is undeniable. Both NYC and Albany had started as Dutch trading posts heavily dependent on the beaver. In an acknowledgment to this, both NYC's and Albany's flags depict the beaver.

By the late 1600's, up to 80,000 beaver pelts were being exported from North America annually. This rate was unsustainable. This, plus pollution, ensured the beaver's retreat, especially from heavily urbanized areas. By the early 1800's, the beaver disappeared from NYC, where it once widely roamed.

After a two hundred years absence, beavers have returned to NYC. Two beavers, christened Jose and Justin, have made the Bronx River their home.