Mammals

NPSPhoto/M Lounsdale

Big Fauna

The largest mammals living in the park are elk, black-tailed deer, black bear, mountain lion, and mule deer. Wolves occasionally cross over the park boundary but none are known as denizens. As climate data continue to show a warming trend, wolves may follow prey further up Mount Mazama slopes and potentially become residents.

Large animal sightings are not the norm, especially around Rim Drive and in crowded areas. Deer are the most likely to be seen. They may wander into the caldera and linger in Rim Village until winter drives them to lower elevations in search of a food source.

Bears

Save Lives. Speed limits are the law and they save lives, the lives of bears, marmots and other animals foraging along the shoulders and lingering across roads.

There are 41 known black bears in the park, with females outnumbering males. Males often travel beyond park boundaries within their home range of 320 to 365 square miles. A female's range is much smaller averaging no more than 27 square miles. Since denning generally occurs between November and May there are only five months when bears are active but even then, seeing one is not likely.

 

A pika might first be identified by a distinct call—eeep—which resonates across the rocky slope.

NPS Photo by Janette Perez-Jimenez 2018

Most Likely to See:
Mesocarnivores and Their Prey

Common around Rim Drive are the small mesocarnivores—pine marten, red fox, bobcat, striped skunk and coyotes. Up to seventy percent of a mesocarnivore's diet is meat thus they might be seen hunting pika, squirrels, and rabbits in the higher elevations of the park.

Pika

A major food source for many mesocarnivores are American Pika (Ochotona princeps), small herbavoires that dwell in rocky slopes and forage in nearby meadows all summer and fall until snow covers their den. With a bountiful harvest collected in haystacks and cached beneath the snow pika never hibernate.

The pika is a charismatic indicator species of the potential effects of climate change on mountain ecosystems. Increasing temperatures and less snow fall threaten pika habitats.

 

And Then There are Bats

Twelve species of bats have been identified in the park. They roost in trees with thick bark, shallow caves, and rock crevices. Bats play a critical role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem at Crater Lake National Park by consuming insects. Most notably, they assist with decreasing the mosquito population, which is fierce during summer.

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Species attribute definitions

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