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Bobcat
From: The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–48)
Call number: Rare QL715 A916 1845 folio

This medium-sized cat is found throughout Virginia, although the greatest concentration is in Southwest Virginia, the Valley, and the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. The bobcat is very secretive and preys on small game and only occasionally kills livestock.
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Virginian Deer – FAWN
From: The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–48)
Call number: Rare QL715 A916 1845 folio

Audubon thought that deer were interesting, useful, and tasty: "The tender, juicy, savory, and above all digestible qualities of its flesh are well know, the skin is of the greatest service . . . from the horns are made beautiful handles for various kinds of cutlery. It does but little damage to the fields of the planter, and it is a universal favorite with old and young of both sexes in our Southern states."

No longer a universal favorite, the white-tailed deer was nearly extinct in 1900. The population rebounded, however, and now is controlled through the Deer Management Plan of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The estimated one million deer in Virginia have a profound impact on the native forest ecosystem.
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Virginia Opossum
From: The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–48)
Call number: Rare QL715 A916 1845 folio

Audubon imagined the surprise felt when Europeans saw their first opossum: "Here was a strange animal, with the head and ears of a pig, sometimes hanging on the limb of a tree, occasionally swinging like a monkey by the tail."

"The astonished traveler approaches this extraordinary compound of an animal and touches it gently with a stick. Instantly it seems to be struck with a mortal disease . . . and appears dead! He adds a new term to the vocabulary, that of 'playing possum.'"

This native species of marsupial is found in all Virginia counties.
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Grey Fox
From: The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–48)
Call number: Rare QL715 A916 1845 folio

Described by Audubon as "a pilfering thief," the fox is a cunning hunter who should not be condemned too hastily because "he kills only what he can eat, unlike some hunters."

Audubon described the popularity of fox hunting and noted that in southern states it is regarded as "healthful and manly exercise." He also tried to domesticate a fox but said, "As a pet, however, we have not found him particularly interesting. It is difficult to subdue the snappish disposition of this species, and we have never seen one more than half-tamed."
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