Beaver.
| Animals: The diversity of plant life in the American Bottom supported an equally abundant and diverse animal population. Of particular importance to Native Americans were species living in or near water including fish, aquatic turtles, freshwater mussels, beaver, muskrat, and waterfowl. The biological productivity of the American Bottom wetlands astounded early Euroamerican visitors who noted that it was common to take cartloads of fish from shallow ponds after floodwaters receded (Flint 1828). |
Beaver. |
Common snapping turtle.
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Moreover, there was a great diversity of aquatic and wetland habitats. Sloughs and backwater lakes were home to freshwater mussels prefering muddy substrates, while nearby streams and rivers with sandy or gravelly substrates supported other mussel types. Similarly, fish with widely divergent habitat preferences could be found in lakes, sloughs, streams, and rivers all in close proximity to one another. Diversity of aquatic animals was equally matched by the diversity in birds, particularly waterfowl. Birders know that even today the American Bottom is part of a great North American flyway. As in the past, waterfowl continue to feed and rest on the American Bottom in large (though reduced compared to those of even 100 years ago) numbers during their annual migrations. Canada geese, coots, swans, and a variety of ducks all arrive in large flocks during the spring and fall. |
