Lost animals spotted in nine states
Since 2020, agencies have confirmed wandering animals from species lost in those states. None reports an established breeding population.
Mountain lions, bears and wolves are turning up in states where their native populations disappeared. But a passing animal is not an established population. Outforia examines what each state lost, which species are wandering back and which have returned for good.
Key findings
Since 2020, agencies have confirmed wandering animals from species lost in those states. None reports an established breeding population.
Illinois has 11 native mammal species counted as lost, followed by Indiana and Ohio with 10 each.
Documented reintroductions restored elk in states including Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
Confirmed sightings do not establish a breeding population.
| State | Animal | Latest confirmation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | Mountain lion | Sept. 16, 2026Record detailsLocation notes: Southern Illinois; confirmed Aug. 25 from trail-camera photos, verified again Sept. 13 and 16 Agency tally: 11 confirmed cougars 2002-2025, plus this one in 2026 Origin information: – | State agency |
| Iowa | Black bear | Spring 2026Record detailsLocation notes: Northeast Iowa Agency tally: 1-2 bears this year, mostly males; one has overwintered in Dubuque County for years Origin information: Minnesota and Wisconsin | State agency |
| Missouri | Mountain lion | May 15, 2026Record detailsLocation notes: Polk County (seen May 2) Agency tally: Listed on the Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed-report map Origin information: – | State agency |
| Wisconsin | Mountain lion | Aug. 12, 2026Record detailsLocation notes: Lincoln County (trail camera) Agency tally: Verified sightings: 15 in 2020, 18 in 2021, 15 in 2022, 29 in 2023; 37 verified or probable in 2024 Origin information: A collared Nebraska male died in an apparent train strike in Adams County, Feb. 9, 2026 | State agency |
| Kansas | Mountain lion | 2025Record detailsAgency tally: 117 sightings since 2007, 65 of them since 2023 (agency count of sightings) Origin information: Dispersing through as lions re-establish in the Great Plains | News report |
| Utah | Gray wolf | Sept. 2025Record detailsLocation notes: A lone male Agency tally: Dispersing wolves confirmed on at least 21 occasions since 2004 Origin information: Wyoming and Idaho; a wolf from Colorado briefly entered in 2025 | State agency |
| Delaware | Black bear | June 25, 2024Record detailsLocation notes: Route 1 (killed by a car) Agency tally: Four bears since 2016 (2016, 2019, 2020, 2024) Origin information: Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey | State agency |
| Illinois | Black bear | July 2024Record detailsLocation notes: Saline, Pope, Williamson and Jackson counties Agency tally: Six bears confirmed 2008-2020; confirmed sightings in four southern counties in July 2024 (one bear or more) Origin information: Missouri and Wisconsin populations | State agency |
| Iowa | Gray wolf | Feb. 2024Record detailsLocation notes: Scott County (found dead) Agency tally: 12 confirmed wolf sightings 2012 to Sept. 2024 Origin information: Great Lakes population (the three with DNA origin results since 2020) | State agency |
| Iowa | Mountain lion | 2024Record detailsAgency tally: 59 confirmed and highly probable sightings 2001 to Sept. 2024; five females 2017-2023, all killed Origin information: South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming | State agency |
| Illinois | Fisher | March 2023Record detailsLocation notes: Rockford (roadkill) Agency tally: Fishers had not been documented living in Illinois for a very long time Origin information: – | U. of Illinois Extension |
| Iowa | Porcupine | April 2023Record detailsLocation notes: Sioux City (hotel parking lot) Agency tally: About one porcupine every 3-5 years, per a DNR biologist Origin information: – | News report |
| Indiana | Black bear | Aug. 20, 2021Record detailsLocation notes: Elkhart County (found dead); June 2021 in Vanderburgh County Agency tally: Transient bears confirmed 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2021 Origin information: Michigan and Kentucky | State agency |
| Nebraska | Gray wolf | Jan. 2021Record detailsAgency tally: Wolves confirmed in 2002, 2020 and January 2021 Origin information: Great Lakes (DNA); the state also cites the Northern Rockies | News report |
Not included: New York's 2021 wolf of uncertain origin; Kansas's 2021 bears, documented by the Kansas Mammal Atlas rather than the agency; and the several resident bears Rhode Island reports and the year-round wolves North Dakota reports, which we set aside as questioned rather than lost (Iowa's single long-staying Dubuque County bear is one animal, so Iowa's bears still count as lost). If you see one, report it to your state wildlife agency.
The map
Explore native land mammals by state. Choose a state for its count and full report.
Alaska and Hawaii shown as insets. Boundaries: US Atlas, US Census Bureau (public domain).
Native land mammal species NatureServe ranks presumed (SX) or possibly (SH) extirpated, minus species states document as back or present and listings a source questions.
All states
Compare all 50 states. Ties share a loss rank; DC is not ranked.
Wandering back counts lost species seen since 2020, not individual animals.
The species
States where native populations remain lost, out of 50. Questioned listings excluded.
32 states
26 states
22 states
The number of states (out of 50) each species is lost from. Big mammals top the list: they needed the most room, competed with livestock and were hunted out as predators or for food.
In living memory
Most of these losses date to the 1800s. In these 9 state cases the last record dates from after 1950. A last record is not a date of loss: some, ranked possibly extirpated, may yet turn up.
Fewer than 10 gray bats a year were counted at Florida's main hibernation cave in 2002-2011. Florida's heritage program now ranks the species presumed extirpated, and USFWS says the bats no longer roost in the state. Source
The last wild red wolves in Louisiana were trapped between 1973 and 1980 for the captive-breeding program that saved the species. Source
Indiana's southeastern bat was last recorded in 1977. Source
Missouri's Ozark big-eared bats have had no official sighting since the early 1970s. Source
Vermont has found no evidence of the New England cottontail since 1971. Source
Oklahoma's last confirmed Texas kangaroo rat dates to 1969. Trapping from 2014 to 2017 caught none. Source
The last black-footed ferret recorded in Texas was in Bailey County in 1963. Source
Indiana's Rafinesque's big-eared bat was last recorded in 1962. Source
Sherman's short-tailed shrew, known only from Lee County, has had no confirmed sighting since 1955 and may be extinct. Source
Out of date
NatureServe's state ranks come from each state's natural heritage program and can lag years behind. In these 9 cases the rank still says a species is gone, but the state's own records say otherwise. We did not count them as lost. Some reintroduced herds are a different subspecies from the native animals, and a heritage program may rank the original population on purpose; we have not asked them. (We also removed Arizona's black-tailed prairie dog, back since 2008, but NatureServe's own compound rank for it, SX,S1, already shows the returned population.)
| State | Species | NatureServe rank | What the state says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | Gray wolf | SX | 10 wolves released Dec 2023. CPW: reproduction in four packs; minimum 32 wolves at 31 Mar 2026; 45 incl. 20 pups on 24 Sep 2026 (CPR citing CPW). Source |
| Connecticut | Northern flying squirrel | SH | CT treats it as extant: SGCN 'Most Important' (2025 WAP); DEEP fact sheet gives a NW-highlands range; DEEP proposes listing it SC in 2026. No record year published. Source |
| Ohio | Eastern small-footed bat | SH | ODNR lists it Species of Concern, not extirpated. Division's 2020 mobile acoustic survey names it among Ohio's 10 commonly found, state-listed bats. Source |
| Oklahoma | Elk | SX | Elk reintroduced to Wichita Mountains NWR in 1908. ODWC lists herds on four WMAs and private land, annual controlled hunts since 1966 and 2026-27 elk seasons. Rocky Mountain stock. Source |
| Pennsylvania | Elk | SX | PGC released 177 elk 1913-1926. Winter 2025 aerial survey estimate: 1,342 (+/- ~150). Regulated annual hunts since 2001; 140 licenses in 2025-26. Source |
| Tennessee | Elk | SX | TWRA released 201 Canadian-source elk 2000-2008 on the Cumberland Plateau. Hunt since 2009 (19 permits in 2026). Last TWRA headcount found: 'more than 300' (2009). Source |
| Virginia | Elk | SX | DWR relocated 71 adults and 4 calves from Kentucky 2012-2014. 'More than 250' elk by Sept 2020. Lottery bull hunts since Oct 2022; fifth hunt Oct 2026. Source |
| Virginia | Snowshoe hare | SX | Virginia DWR says the subspecies L. a. virginianus survives 'in isolated areas in Highland County' and is state endangered. No record year given on the page. Source |
| Washington | Pronghorn | SX | WDFW says pronghorn were extirpated from Washington in the 1800s and early releases failed, but it now publishes annual winter pronghorn surveys for south-central Washington (latest 2025). Source |
Rarest now
NatureServe ranks a species S1, critically imperiled, when it is extremely rare in a state. Across the 50 states there are 343 S1 rankings for native land mammals.
Bats are the rarest now. Bats are about 17% of all native land mammal rankings across the states but 138 of the 343 critically imperiled (S1) ones, about 40%. These are state rankings, not species: the northern long-eared bat alone accounts for 27.
The comebacks
At least 40 established returns documented in the states checked. Not a national census.
Today's herds descend from elk moved in from the West and Canada, and several states now hold elk hunts again.
Wolves walked back into Wisconsin from Minnesota in the 1970s and into Washington, Oregon and California from the Northern Rockies.
Beavers were trapped out of many states by the 1800s and restocked in the 1900s. They are common again.
Reintroductions and natural returns have restored at least 40 populations in the states we checked, each documented by a state or federal wildlife agency. Year shown is the first release or return. This is not a national census of every comeback.
Since 1908
Back in Oklahoma (1908), Pennsylvania (1913), Texas (1928), Arkansas (1980s), Kansas (1981), North Dakota (1985), Wisconsin (1995), Tennessee (2000), North Carolina (2001), Missouri (2011), Virginia (2012) and West Virginia (2016).
Elk were hunted out of the East by the late 1800s. Today's herds descend from elk moved in from the West and Canada, and several states now hold elk hunts again.
Since 1978
Back in Wisconsin (1978), Oregon (2008), Washington (2008), California (2011) and Colorado (2023).
Wolves walked back into Wisconsin from Minnesota in the 1970s and into Washington, Oregon and California from the Northern Rockies. Colorado released wolves in December 2023, and they have raised pups since.
Since 1914
Back in Connecticut (1914), Pennsylvania (1917), Illinois (1920s) and Iowa (1930s).
Beavers were trapped out of many states by the 1800s and restocked in the 1900s. They are common again.
Since 1983
Back in Kansas (1983), Iowa (1985), Ohio (1986) and Indiana (1995).
Trapping and polluted rivers wiped otters out of much of the interior. Reintroductions from the 1980s onward brought them back to rivers across the Midwest and Plains.
Since 2000s
Back in North Dakota (2000s) and Vermont (2001).
ND Game and Fish: marten 'extirpated by 1900'; confirmed again in the early 2000s; a 2022-2024 genetic survey found a 'sizeable population' in the Turtle Mountains.
Since 1956
Back in North Dakota (1956) and Texas.
NPS: native bighorns extirpated from the area by the early 1900s; reintroduction began 1956; now about 490 animals. ND Game and Fish puts the badlands population near 330.
Since 1980s
Back in Connecticut (1980s) and Texas (1990s).
Black bears have pushed back into parts of their former range, and some states now have breeding populations again.
Since 1988
Back in Connecticut (1988) and Pennsylvania (1994).
Fishers vanished from most of their eastern range by the early 1900s. Reintroductions and natural spread have brought them back to several states.
Since 1950s
Back in North Dakota (1950s) and New York (1980s).
ND Game and Fish: moose disappeared after settlement, did not reappear until the 1950s, and are now established across the northern tier from Walhalla to Williston.
Since 2008
Back in Arizona (2008).
Gone from Arizona by the 1960s, prairie dogs were reintroduced to the state's southeast corner beginning in 2008.
Sources: AZ
Since 1970s
Back in Indiana (1970s).
Bobcats disappeared from parts of the Midwest and returned on their own as forests regrew.
Sources: IN
Since 1999
Back in Colorado (1999).
Colorado released lynx from Canada and Alaska starting in 1999. The first kittens were found in 2003.
Sources: CO
Since 1984
Back in Delaware (1984).
DNREC: 'extirpated from Delaware prior to 1920'; translocated 1984-87 (Prime Hook persists unsupplemented), natural population found 2007; 2020-24 translocations bred and dispersed. Still state Endangered.
Sources: DE
Since 1934
Back in Indiana (1934).
Market hunting wiped deer out of several Midwestern states around 1900. Restocking and hunting rules brought them back, and deer are now abundant.
Sources: IN
Some came back for good. We documented 40 established returns in the states we checked, from elk in 12 states to river otters, fishers, beavers and wolves. In 9 cases where a species is back or still present, NatureServe still ranks it extirpated, including Pennsylvania's herd of about 1,340 elk.
Young animals pushed out of breeding populations can travel hundreds of miles. Since 2020, wildlife agencies in 9 states where NatureServe ranks these species lost have confirmed them passing through. None of the agencies reports breeding, so the species still count as lost. The count column is the agency's own tally, in its own words and time window; where-from is what the source says about origin.
Wildlife agencies in 9 states that lost them have confirmed wandering mountain lions, black bears, gray wolves, fishers or porcupines since 2020, most recently in 2026 (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin). None reports breeding.
Iowa counted 59 confirmed and highly probable mountain lion sightings from 2001 to 2024, and 12 confirmed wolf sightings from 2012 to 2024. Five of the lions were females, found from 2017 to 2023; all were killed. Without females settling, there is no breeding population.
Illinois (11), Indiana (10) and Ohio (10) have lost the most native land mammal species. Mountain lions are listed as lost from 26 states, gray wolves from 22 and bison, as wild animals, from 32.
The visitors travel alone. Agencies trace them to breeding populations in other states: mountain lions from South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming; wolves from the Great Lakes and the Northern Rockies (Iowa's and Nebraska's wolves with DNA origin results matched the Great Lakes); bears from neighbors such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Iowa says most of its roaming lions are males.
14 species-state combinations, not 14 animals. Each state-and-species pair is counted once, and only where NatureServe ranks the species lost from that state; cougars confirmed in states where they are ranked rare but present (Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Louisiana) are outside this study. The agencies' own tallies, each with its own time window, are in the table below.
203 state-level losses in 47 states. Each species counts once per state; bats are included, marine mammals are not. NatureServe lists 44 more that a state or federal source questions; we show them but do not count them. Only Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming have no native land mammal listed as lost.
Methodology
We started from NatureServe's state conservation ranks, removed species a state documents as back or still present, and set aside listings a source questions. We never added a loss NatureServe does not list.
Very rare species means NatureServe S1 (critically imperiled): extreme rarity in that state, not necessarily decline. Wandering back counts one state-and-species pair since 2020, not individual animals, and does not imply breeding.
SX = presumed extirpated, SH = possibly extirpated, % of natives = species lost as a share of all native land mammals NatureServe ranks for the state, S1 = critically imperiled in the state (NatureServe subnational ranks, pulled 2026-10-03). Incl. questioned = adding listings a state or federal source questions. Ties share a rank. The District of Columbia is not included (see methodology).
We pulled NatureServe's subnational ranks for every mammal in all 50 states through the NatureServe Explorer API on 2026-10-03: 257 state-level losses. (An earlier pull, in July 2026 for the Outforia Atlas, is used only to note one rank change.) We then looked for a state wildlife agency, state natural heritage program, federal agency or published source for every loss in the states with the most losses and for the big, well-documented species (bison, mountain lion, wolves, elk, black bear, wolverine) nationwide: 93 of the 114 counted losses of those species have a source. Every loss is fully sourced in 14 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas). Nationally, 140 of the 203 counted losses have a source; the other 63 rest on NatureServe's rank alone, because no source was found or the state's website could not be reached. The species CSV marks each row.
Some sources are old: a 2011 federal review of the eastern cougar, a historical-society encyclopedia, a 1999 newspaper report. They support that a species was lost, not that a current survey looked for it. NatureServe's ranks come from the state heritage programs, so where the source is a heritage program's own list it confirms the rank is current rather than proving it independently.
Of NatureServe's 257 listings, 10 were removed and 44 set aside as questioned, leaving the 203 we count.
Two kinds of species stay counted as lost with a label. Wanderers: a mountain lion walking through Iowa or a black bear crossing into Illinois is not a population. Bison in conservation herds: bison count as lost where NatureServe ranks them extirpated, even where a fenced or managed herd exists. (NatureServe is not consistent here: it treats some states' fenced herds as populations and others not.) We never add a loss NatureServe does not list.
The ranking depends on what each state's heritage program has chosen to rank, so it partly measures record-keeping: a state with a thorough extirpated list scores higher than one that never ranked its historical species. The top of the list is stable across the choices we made:
| Count | Illinois | Indiana | Ohio | Iowa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our count (questioned listings left out) | 11 #1 | 10 #2 | 10 #2 | 8 #4 |
| Including questioned listings | 11 #3 | 13 #1 | 12 #2 | 9 #4 |
| NatureServe before any change | 11 #3 | 13 #1 | 13 #1 | 9 #4 |
| Presumed extirpated (SX) only | 10 #1 | 8 #2 | 8 #2 | 8 #2 |
Our top three (Illinois, Indiana and Ohio) are also the top three including questioned listings and on NatureServe before any change; on presumed-extirpated species only, Illinois leads, with Indiana, Ohio and Iowa tied behind.
Download: State summary (CSV, 50 rows) · Every species and state, with the check and its source (CSV)
Cite as:
Outforia. 2026. "Gone From Your State, Wandering Back: America's lost mammals." Data from NatureServe Explorer, accessed October 3, 2026, checked against state wildlife agencies. https://outforia.com/gone-from-your-state
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