Find Nature In Arkansas

Additional Wildlife of Arkansas

To flesh out your understanding of the region’s natural history, here is a breakdown of the specific taxa you can expect to encounter in the Natural State.

Birds (Avifauna) Arkansas refers to itself as the “Duck Capital of the World,” specifically the Grand Prairie region near Stuttgart. Here, the convergence of the Mississippi and Arkansas river flyways funnels millions of Mallards into the flooded timber and rice fields. The “Big Woods” of the Cache and White River basins are also the site of the most famous (and controversial) ornithological mystery of the century: the potential persistence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a bird declared extinct but sought by researchers in these vast, swampy forests.

Mammals Arkansas was historically known as “The Bear State,” and the conservation of the Black Bear is a major success; nearly extirpated by the 1920s, reintroduction programs have restored a robust population to the Ozarks and Ouachitas. In the Boxley Valley of the Buffalo River, a reintroduced herd of Rocky Mountain Elk has thrived, drawing visitors to watch the bulls bugle during the autumn rut. The state is also home to the Ozark Big-eared Bat, an endangered species that relies entirely on a few specific limestone caves for maternity colonies.

Insects The state butterfly is the Diana Fritillary, a large and striking species found in the moist mountain valleys. It exhibits strong sexual dimorphism; males are orange and black, while females are blue and black, mimicking the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail to deter predators. The clean streams of the Ozarks support massive hatches of Mayflies and Caddisflies, which are so prolific that their emergence can sometimes be tracked on weather radar.

Plants The Apple Blossom is the state flower, a nod to the historic orchards of the northwest, but the Shortleaf Pine is the ecological driver of the southern half of the state. Arkansas is the only place in North America where diamonds are naturally exposed at the surface (Crater of Diamonds State Park), creating a unique “lamproite” soil profile that supports specialized vegetation. In the Ozark glades, you can find the Missouri Bladderpod, a threatened mustard plant that grows only on shallow limestone soils.

Fungi The hardwood forests of the Ozarks are incredibly diverse fungally. Chanterelles are a staple summer forage here, often growing in association with oaks and hickories. The Indigo Milk Cap (Lactarius indigo) is a common and beautiful find, bleeding a deep blue “milk” when cut. In the humid bottoms of the Delta, the Wood Ear fungus is abundant on fallen elderberry and other hardwoods, swelling into a gelatinous, ear-like shape after rains.

Arkansas Biodiversity Profile

Arkansas is a state of distinct biological duality, divided diagonally from southwest to northeast. To the east lies the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (The Delta), a vast, flat expanse of deep sedimentary soil. While heavily modified for agriculture, the remaining bottomland hardwood forests and oxbow lakes function as the most critical wintering ground for mallards in North America. This region is defined by its hydrology; the seasonal flooding of oak forests creates “greentree reservoirs,” a unique habitat where aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems merge, providing high-calorie acorns for waterfowl.

Rising abruptly from the lowlands are the Interior Highlands, composed of two distinct mountain systems. The Ozark Plateaus in the north are limestone-based, created by erosion rather than uplift. This geology has resulted in a spectacular Karst landscape, riddled with thousands of caves that host endemic, blind species adapted to total darkness. The porous nature of the Ozarks also gives rise to the Buffalo National River, the first designated national river in the U.S., famous for its pristine water quality and towering bluffs that support rare plants on their sheer faces.

South of the Arkansas River Valley lie the Ouachita Mountains. Unlike the Ozarks, these are true folded mountains formed by tectonic collision, and uniquely, their ridges run east-to-west. This orientation creates distinct microclimates on the north-facing versus south-facing slopes, allowing for a high diversity of plant species within a small area. The geology here includes massive deposits of novaculite and quartz, and the fracture zones allow for the emergence of the famous Thermal Springs in Hot Springs National Park, where 143°F water supports rare thermophilic algae and invertebrates.

Finally, the West Gulf Coastal Plain in the south is a rolling landscape of sandy soils dominated by Loblolly and Shortleaf Pine forests. This is a fire-adapted ecosystem, historically maintained by lightning strikes, which supports the Red-cockaded Woodpecker and a diverse understory of grasses and wildflowers that struggle to survive in the dense shade of modern timber plantations.