As March Madness grabs our attention online and in the media, we are launching March Species Madness to raise awareness of the many species that can be found in and around rare, metaphorically pitting them against each other in popularity contests to see which species wins the hearts and minds of our supporters.
In 2022, the Red Fox went all the way to become our first champion. In 2023, the Painted Turtles, led by our mascot Top Hat, took it all. This year, they return, along with previous species to appear in the final four, along with other mammals, birds, insects&spiders, reptiles, amphibians, fish, plants and fungi. As with previous years, the species that appear in the Final Four will be the species you can metaphorically adopt in November as part of our Gift of Nature campaign.
So, follow along on our feeds on Facebook, Mastodon, Threads, Instagram, Bluesky and LinkedIn for each match and links on where to vote, or follow along here, as we provide ongoing results counting down to this year’s Final Four, and the new champion of March Species Madness 2024!
February 26 – First Four, Match 1 – Northern Flying Squirrel vs. Striped Skunk (10-9)
February 27 – First Four, Match 2 – Bombardier Beetle vs. Ground Mantid (7-4)
March 1 – Round One, Match 1 – Turtles of rare vs Jefferson Salamander (11-10)
March 1 – Round One, Match 2 – Red Fox vs Meadow Vole (12-4)
March 4 – Round One, Match 3 – Red Maple vs Bitternut Hickory (7-10)
March 4 – Round One, Match 4 – Great Horned Owl vs. Wild Turkey (13-6)
March 5 – Round One, Match 5 – Spring Peeper vs Eastern Garter Snake (8-9)
March 5 – Round One, Match 6 – Tricolored Bat vs Eastern small-footed myotis (6-9)
March 6 – Round One, Match 7 – Trout Lily vs Bur Oak (3-8)
March 6 – Round One, Match 8 – Cedar Waxwing vs Osprey (7-8)
March 7 – Round One, Match 9 – Four-toed Salamander vs. Gray Tree Frog (5-12)
March 7 – Round One, Match 10 – River Otter vs Northern Flying Squirrel (9-8)
March 8 – Round One, Match 11 – White Baneberry vs Canada Anemone (5-9)
March 8 – Round One, Match 12 – Ebony Jewelwing vs Tufted Bird-Dropping Moth (8-4)
March 11 – Round One, Match 13 – Rainbow Darter vs. Creek Chub (13-2)
March 11 – Round One, Match 14 – Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle vs Bombardier Beetle (12-1)
March 12 – Round One, Match 15 – Scrambled Egg Slime vs Shaggy Mane (5-13)
March 12 – Round One, Match 16 – Monarch Butterfly vs. American Woodcock (10-9)
March 14 – Round Two, Match 1 – River Otter vs Red Fox (6-10)
March 14 – Round Two, Match 2 – Eastern Garter Snake vs Turtles of rare (6-5)
March 15 – Round Two, Match 3 – Bur Oak vs Bitternut Hickory (4-8)
March 15 – Round Two, Match 4 – Osprey vs Great Horned Owl (7-5)
March 18 – Round Two, Match 5 – Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle vs Eastern small-footed myotis (3-9)
March 18 – Round Two, Match 6 – Gray Tree Frog vs Rainbow Darter (7-4)
March 19 – Round Two, Match 7 – Canada Anemone vs Shaggy Mane (11-8)
March 19 – Round Two, Match 8 – Ebony Jewelwing vs Monarch Butterfly (5-12)
March 21 – Quarter Finals, Match 1 – Red Fox vs Eastern Small-footed Myotis (8-5)
March 21 – Quarter Finals, Match 2 – Eastern Garter Snake vs Gray Tree Frog (7-6)
March 22 – Quarter Finals, Match 3 – Bitternut Hickory vs Canada Anemone (4-6)
March 22 – Quarter Finals, Match 4 – Osprey vs Monarch Butterfly (7-5)
March 25 – Final Four, Match 1 – Red Fox vs Ospray (11-7)
March 26 – Final Four, Match 2 – Eastern Garter Snake vs Canada Anemone (7-5)
March 28 – Consolation Final – Osprey vs Canada Anemone (7-2)
March 29 – Championship Final – Red Fox vs Eastern Garter Snake (9-6)
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