The lord of the forest is a gentle giant—and a good thing, too, since coming face-to-face with a moose is a humbling experience. Up to six feet tall, nine feet long, and with an antler span of five and a half feet, a bull moose often startles those unprepared for just how big it is. Because of that, the herbivore has few enemies—natural or otherwise.

Signs all over New Hampshire and Maine warn drivers about “moose crossings,” since countless times each season a car is totaled after hitting one of the 2,000-pound beasts, which then serenely walks away from the accident. Take care when driving in those regions at night, especially during the spring and summer months, when the giant animals range widely in search of food. In the autumn, moose retreat to the deep forest, where they are much harder to encounter.

Not quite as imposing, but majestic in their own way, are the white-tailed deer that are common in the backwoods of all six states. In some places, such as the island of Nantucket, deer are so plentiful that they have even become a nuisance. The last documented specimen of mountain lion—also called catamount—was taken in Maine in 1938, the giant cat is generally accepted to be extinct from the region. Every year, however, there are some 100 supposed mountain lion sightings; among the most credible was one in 2009 by a Fish and Game employee outside Concord, New Hampshire. None of the sightings to date, however, have yielded any tracks, fur, or scat that would definitely confirm that mountain lions are back in the region, leaving their fabled existence on par with UFOs or Sasquatch. The smaller bobcat, however, is quite commonly sighted, often mistaken for a small dog. And in far northern New Hampshire and Maine hikers even occasionally spot a slightly bigger lynx, identifiable by the pointed tufts on its ears.

Not to be confused with the more aggressive grizzlies of western states, the timid black bear is a reclusive tree-inhabiting animal, which can sometimes be seen exploring garbage dumps of northern New England at night. Red fox inhabit both open fields and mixed forest, while the larger gray fox prefers the deep woods of southern New England. Coyotes are more apt to be heard than seen. And gray wolves make only rare visits to northern Maine from their habitat in Canada. No breeding populations currently exist in the region.

The most common mammals, by far, are rodents, which exist in multitudes throughout the six-state area. Gray and red squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons are familiar sights in both suburban and rural areas. Wilderness locales are home to skunk, marten, mink, ermine, seven types of shrew, three types of mole, mouse, rabbit (including cottontail, jackrabbit, and snowshoe hare), flying squirrel, beaver, vole, otter, and porcupine. One of the lesser-known rodents is the fisher, a large mink-like animal known for its vicious temperament that has been becoming more common in past years. In addition to smaller rodents, it’s been known to prey on raccoon, porcupine, and even small deer. Finally, New England is home to nine different species of bat, which roost in abandoned barns and trees, and can often be heard screeching at night in search of insects to eat.