Animals

Species Lists
Wildlife Observation

 

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  Return of the Pacific Fisher

  Washington Fisher Restoration

  Pacific fisher are being restored to their native habitat the south Cascades and Olympic Peninsula. Learn more about these efforts.

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  Reptiles of Mount Rainier

  Reptiles

  Learn about the reptile species of Mount Rainier National Park.

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  Birds of Mount Rainier

  Birds

  Learn more about the bird species of Mount Rainier National Park

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  Fish of Mount Rainier

  Fish

  Learn more about the fish species of Mount Rainier National Park.

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  Mammals of Mount Rainier

  Mammals

  Learn more about the mammal species of Mount Rainier National Park.

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  Amphibians of Mount Rainier

  Amphibians

  Learn more about the amphibian species of Mount Rainier National Park.

 

An elevation difference of approximately 13,000 feet creates a variety of habitats and life zones in Mount Rainier that remain protected. You'll likely see different animals at each life zone change. This diversity provides for a broad assortment of invertebrates, mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. There are also many species of slime mold, which exhibit characteristics of both animals and fungi!

Efforts are underway to restore native Pacific fisher to the forests of the south Cascades and Olympic Peninsula. There is also ongoing research to monitor the northern spotted owl population in the park.

At Mount Rainier you can find 65 mammal species, 14 species of amphibians, 5 species of reptiles, 182 species of birds, and 14 species of native fish. Invertebrates probably represent 85% of the animal biomass in the park.

• The highly visible Columbian black-tailed deer, Douglas squirrels, noisy Stellar's jays and ravens are common animals that many people encounter.
• The most diverse and abundant animals in the park are the invertebrates - the insects, worms, crustaceans, spiders- to name a few - that occupy all environments to the top of Columbia Crest itself.
• About half of the birds observed in the park nest here and many are migrants that winter in the southern United States or Central America.
• Resident amphibians can be found in both aquatic environments or on land and reptiles are typically found in upland habitats.
• Some of the more popular mammals like elk and black bear range in many habitats throughout the summer. Mountain goats typically remain in alpine or subalpine life zones year-round.
• Several animals in the park are either federally or state protected/sensitive species. Mount Rainier works to protect habitat that limits these animals from much of their former ranges.

Learn more about wildlife safety when dealing with potentially dangerous large mammals like bear and mountain lions. Also, to help protect yourself as well as protect the health of wild animals, please do not feed them. Instead, Keep Wildlife Wild.

 

Wildlife Observations

See an animal in the park? Let us know! Use the link to fill out a wildlife observation form. Species of particular interest include any owls, peregrine falcon, golden eagle, northern goshawk, white-tailed ptarmigan, harlequin duck (especially female with chicks), Cascade red fox (especially kits), fisher, cougar, bear, wolverine, coyotes, wolves, western toad, and western bumblebee. Thank you!

Submit a wildlife observation form

 

Species Lists

Prior to visiting the park, you can download species lists for the park from NPSpecies. You can also report observations of any living thing at park, at home, or when you travel using iNaturalist and eBird. Verified reports in parks from these sources are also added to NPSpecies.

 

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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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Mount Rainier National Park

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Species attribute definitions

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Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.