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Wildlife along Mississippi River
Mississippi River supports a large variety of plants and wildlife in areas along the river and the river itself. The surroundings around the river have a lot of natural cover, abundance of isolation and lots of food for animals and birds to thrive on it. You can see a lot of ducks, geese, waterfowl, and swans during winter in the lower portion of river. This river also has plenty of varieties of fish including several types of catfish, which are used commercially. For the sport-fishing industry there are lots of walleyes and suckers in the middle and lower river. Alligators are also to be found but only in the most isolated backwaters along with shrimp and crab fisheries.
If you are interested in wildlife and want to see it in abundance then you should visit the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) corridor which provides food and shelter for about 50 species of mammals, 270 species of birds and 150 species of fish and over 25 species of mussels. For those interested in watching bald eagles need not worry as they flock to unfrozen sections of the river each winter, and many stay year-round with more than a dozen pairs nesting within the park. Reptiles and amphibians from the endangered Blanding’s Turtle to fox snake, salamander and leopard frog can also be found. Whitetail deer, bats and raccoons are found throughout the river corridor, while other species such as river otter, beaver, and fox are found in scattered pockets within the corridor.
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