Critters Identified at the Campground
Help us document the critters you see at West Bay Acadia. Please feel free to email photos you’d like to share. Remember, these critters are cute but they still are wild and can be dangerous!
Porcupines have quills, snapping turtles snap, raccoons bite, etc.
Common Snapping Turtle
When a snapping turtle wants to cross your path, he is heading in the direction that he wants and nothing will deter him! This is our resident turtle… Mary Belle
Porcupine
Keep your dogs on a leash! Porcupines are interesting creatures that live in trees and love to eat the new green tops of vegetation. Their quills are very dangerous to dogs.
Bear
Don’t expect to see one of Maine’s famous black bears but they are here. They are very timid and have a territory of over 200 miles. This picture was taken at the campground in very early May.
White-tailed Deer
We have an abundant population of White-tailed Deer. Watch for them in the early morning and at dusk. Sometimes they will be right outside your window!
Moose
Our neighbors talk about seeing moose looking in their windows. Moose are very curious. We have been visited in person by one fellow who is about seven feet tall. You may only see their footprints but that merely proves they are very shy. So yes, they are here!
A rare video of a bobcat and possibly child given to us from our neighbors on our south.
Raccoon
We haven’t seen one yet but we’ll bet they are watching us!
Chipmunk
We have been surprised that at many campgrounds there are no chipmunks, no squirrels, even no birds…a silent woods. Here, we have everything!
Snowshoe Hare
One of the most beautiful critters here is rarely seen. He is quite large and will disappear before you have time to study him. We saw him in early May in his transitional coloring.
Coyote
Yes, we do have coyotes. We watched one walking across the unimproved property in 2020 and hear them in the night down by the Bay.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Watch for broad yellow wings edged by black and with four stripes, like tapering chevrons from the forewing margins downward. Their wing span can be from 3-5 inches!
Hummingbird Moth
Loves chive blossoms. Looks like a bumblebee with large wings. Flies like a hummingbird. A total joy to behold!
Great Spangled Fritillary
Various species of native violets have been reported to serve as a larval host plant for the great spangled fritillary, a type of butterfly.