New Mexico's state animals lend clues as to the wildlife inhabiting the area . The state bird is the roadrunner, which can grow up to a foot tall and inhabits areas with lots of brush and foliage. The state mammal, the black bear, is known for being a good swimmer and climber, and they can weigh up to 300 lbs. The state fish, the New Mexico cutthroat trout, can be found swimming the cold waters of the Rio Grande.
New Mexico's reptile population includes snapping turtles, water turtles, sliders, collared lizards, leopard lizards, lesser earless lizards, geckos, whiptails and skinks. Others include threadsnakes, desert rattlesnakes, ring-necked snakes, king snakes, rattlesnakes, lined snakes, lyresnakes and black-headed snakes. The fish that can be found around the state include walleye, brook trout, white bass, open-mouthed bass, crappie and rainbow trout. The birds of New Mexico include ducks, grouse, turkeys, darters, bitterns, herons, egrets, nightjars, swifts, vireos, nuthatches, shrikes, kites, eagles and sapsuckers.
The mammals of New Mexico feature a lot of rodents and other larger forest-dwellers. These animals include skunks, mountain lions, bobcats, elk, raccoons, black bears, gray foxes, gray wolves, coyotes and beavers. These animals feed off smaller reptiles and rodents. New Mexico has many snake varieties, and these snakes feed on the abundant rodents in the area. Mole rats, porcupines, lesser cane rats, chinchillas, guinea pigs and other smaller rats represent the rodents of the state.
The New Mexico Game & Fish Commission each year surveys the animal species in the state to determine, among other things, which populations are decreasing rapidly in size. Among the endangered species are the Mexican long-eared bat, white-sided jack rabbit, Florida panther, tiger, ocelot, Gould's wild turkey and Gila monster. The commission categorizes each of these animals as endangered, risk of becoming extinct, and threatened, or in risk of becoming endangered.