Eight Species You Might Not Know We Have On Long Island

Ask any wildlife photographer or explore based on Long Island and they’ll tell you that our home turf does not get nearly the credit it deserves when it comes to species diversity. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that most people think Long Island has a couple of raccoons, a possum here and there, and way too many deer out east and that basically sums it up.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. So for this article, we worked with some of the best wildlife photographers based on Long Island to highlight 10 species that most people might not know we have here.

Long Island Canines: The Native (Red Fox) and the Newcomer (Coyote)

Over the past decade, coyotes have began to conquer their final frontier here on Long Island. While much is being made in the news about their expansion, this newcomer is not the only wild member of the canine family to call Long Island home. The red fox (and the elusive gray fox) have made their home here for as long as humans have. With no other large predator around, the red fox plays an integral role in our ecosystem and it will be interesting to see how their role evolves now that their larger cousins are moving into the neighborhood.