Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 2016 Revision

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the largest protected temperate forest ecosystems east of the Rocky Mountains, harbors 68 mammal species, with four additional probable species. This 2016 revision represents the first comprehensive update in over two decades, incorporating new records, distribution data, ecological insights, and taxonomic revisions. The study highlights significant changes since the 1995 publication, including successful reintroductions of two species (e.g., red wolf) and an unsuccessful one, alongside extensive documentation on mammal traits such as diet, reproduction, hibernation, and predation. Leveraging a vast bibliography, this work provides the most complete synthesis to date on the Park's mammalian biodiversity, underscoring its global ecological importance as both an International Biosphere Reserve (since 1976) and UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 1983).

Linzey, D. W. (2016). Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 2016 Revision. Southeastern Naturalist, 15(m8), 1–93. https://doi.org/10.1656/058.015.m801