Discover the 5 Official State Animals of Maine

Maine is one of the most rural parts of the United States and home to an exceptional range of wildlife. Like most states, Maine is represented by an official state animal, as well as state animals for specific categories. These include a state bird, state cat, state fish, and even a state crustacean. Continue reading to learn about the five official state animals of Maine, from smallest to largest.

State Bird: The Black-Capped Chickadee

Maine’s state bird is the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus). Of the seven subspecies, Maine is home to the nominate subspecies (P. a. atricapillus). They are named after their distinctive “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call. Chickadees use this specific call to warn each other of nearby predators, increasing the number of dees to indicate greater degrees of danger. Other bird species, such as woodpeckers, nuthatches, and kinglets, have been observed to heed the chickadee’s warning call. Black-capped chickadees are foragers that eat insects, berries, seeds, and the eggs and pupae of insects.

Black-capped chickadees are easy to differentiate from other chickadee species by the characteristic black feathers atop their heads, along with a strip of black feathers beneath their chins. However, they are similar in appearance to Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), but can be told apart by the black-capped chickadee’s paler wing edges and messy bib border. They measure 4.75 to 5.75 inches long, have a wingspan of 6 to 8 inches, and weigh 0.3 to 0.5 ounces, making them the smallest of Maine’s state animals.

State Cat: The Maine Coon

Maine’s state cat is the Maine coon, one of the oldest natural breeds of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in North America. There are several myths surrounding the origin of Maine coons, including ones involving Vikings or Marie Antoinette. In reality, Maine coons descended from the cats brought over by Puritan settlers from Europe. They are genetically most similar to cats found in the United Kingdom, but visually resemble Siberian and Norwegian cats because of convergent evolution. Maine coons evolved to survive the harsh winters of the Northeast, resulting in the breed’s thick, long coats, toe and ear tufts, large bodies, and snowshoe-like feet.

Maine coons are the second-largest domestic cat breed, with the largest being the hybrid savannah cat (Leptailurus serval x F. catus). However, the Maine coon is still the largest non-hybrid cat breed. Maine coons stand 10 to 16 inches tall at the shoulder, measure up to 38 inches long, and weigh 12 to 22 pounds. They take much longer to reach their full size compared to other breeds, requiring three to five years, whereas most breeds only take one.

State Crustacean: The American Lobster

Also known as the Maine lobster, the American lobster (Homarus americanus) is the state crustacean of Maine. It thrives in the chilly, shallow waters of the Gulf of Maine, where it hides from predators under rocky debris. American lobsters primarily prey on mollusks, echinoderms, and polychaetes. In Maine, lobsters get up to 55% of their calories from herring, which is often used as bait in lobster traps. Only 6% of lobsters that enter traps to feed are caught.

This is partially because of Maine’s state laws that require lobster traps to have a second large escape hole in addition to the smaller vents meant to help juvenile lobsters escape. This second escape hole is held shut with biodegradable materials to ensure the trap will open if lost. Other protections for the species in Maine include a legal maximum catch size of 5 inches to maintain a sustainable breeding population of large, healthy adults.

The American lobster is the heaviest extant crustacean and arthropod, though the Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) is larger by leg span. Wild adults measure 8 to 24 inches long and weigh 1 to 9 pounds. The largest specimen ever caught weighed 44.4 pounds and measured 3.5 feet long. American lobsters are bluish green to brown with red spines. Being cooked via boiling or steaming is what gives them their iconic red color. In the wild, only 1 in 10 million American lobsters are red in color while living. Other rare colors include blue, 1 in 2 million, yellow/orange, 1 in 30 million, and albino, 1 in 100 million. Additionally, 1 in 50 million American lobsters are different colors on their left and right sides. This split coloration is the result of genetics that cause each side of the lobster to develop independently of the other.

State Fish: Atlantic Salmon

Maine’s state fish is the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). This unique fish is the third-largest salmon species. As its common name suggests, it lives in the Atlantic Ocean and along the many rivers flowing into it. An anadromous species, Atlantic salmon hatch in streams and rivers. Once mature, they migrate out to sea but return to freshwater to spawn every autumn. However, some populations are landlocked, only migrating from rivers to lakes.

Atlantic salmon are the third-largest salmonid, only smaller than chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Siberian taimen (Hucho taimen). Typically, Atlantic salmon measure 27 to 30 inches long and weigh 8 to 12 pounds. The heaviest specimen ever caught weighed 109 pounds, and the longest measured 63.25 inches. Because of overfishing, wild Atlantic salmon have disappeared from many rivers, and the IUCN has listed the species as Near Threatened.

Official State Animal: The Moose

Maine’s official state animal is none other than the moose (Alces alces), the sole species of its genus, Alces. There are eight moose subspecies, each specific to different regions. The Eastern moose (A. a. americana) is the subspecies found in Maine. Maine is home to the largest population of Eastern moose, with recent estimates placing the population between 60,000 and 70,000. They inhabit taiga, snowy forests full of coniferous trees, as well as mixed deciduous forests. In the summer, Eastern moose migrate to areas surrounding wetlands for access to aquatic vegetation. They are browsing herbivores that eat up to 71 pounds of terrestrial vegetation a day.

Like all moose, Eastern moose display high sexual dimorphism. Males, called bulls, grow antlers and are larger than females, called cows. Bulls use their antlers to assert dominance and fight other males for, and to attract, females. Additionally, the parabolic shape of the antlers enhances bulls’ hearing. Bulls shed their antlers after every mating season in preparation for winter, and regrow their antlers every spring.

Of the four moose subspecies in North America, Eastern moose are the third largest. They are smaller than Alaskan moose (A. a. gigas), the largest of all moose subspecies, and Western moose (A. a. andersoni), but are larger than Shiras moose (A. a. shirasi), which is the smallest subspecies. Eastern moose bulls stand 5.6 to 6.6 feet tall at the shoulder, measure 7 to 9 feet nose to tail, weigh up to 1,398 pounds, and have an antler span of 4 to 5 feet. Cows stand on average 5.6 feet at the shoulder and weigh an average of 600 to 790 pounds.