discover North Carolina Nature

Your online field guide to the most commonly encountered animals in north carolina

  • Learn how to identify North Carolina wildlife
  • Explore fun animal facts
  • Have more fun in the great outdoors

About The Animals

The animals presented on Now I Wonder are only those that I have personally encountered in the wild over many years of dedicated nature study.

See the Animals For Yourself

While many more species call North Carolina home, these are the animals you’re most likely to see yourself when outside in the state.

More Animals Added Regularly

I update this site regularly with new and different animal species. Please keep checking in, especially if you do not yet see the particular animal in which you’re interested.

North Carolina Animals

Discover the many and varied animal species that fly, scuttle, hop, run, jump, swim, slither, hide, and wait in ambush in North Carolina.
Birds
Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus. Brown bird. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright © 2024 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
Butterflies And Moths
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Battus philenor. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Reptiles
Northern Water Snake Nerodia sipedon. Reptile. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
Amphibians
Squirrel Tree Frog Hyla squirella on car window. Dryophytes squirellus. Amphibian. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
  • Area: 53,819 square miles (139,391 sq km)
    • 28th largest state in the United States of America
  • Topography:
    • East: Atlantic coastal plain and tidewater (two-fifths of the state by area)
    • Central: Piedmont plateau characterized by gentle to rugged hills (two-fifths of the state by area)
    • West: Southern Appalachian Mountains, including the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains (one-fifth of the state by area)
  • At 6,684 feet, Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.

North Carolina State Symbols

Additional North Carolina State Symbols

  • State Insect: Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
  • State Salt Water Fish: Channel Bass (Red Drum) (Sciaenops ocellatus)
  • State Shell: Scotch Bonnet (pronounced “bone-AY”) (Phalium granulatum)
  • State Horse: Colonial Spanish Mustang

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