Mammals

Mule deer

Photo © Alex Olow

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are home to 72 species of mammals. Commonly observed species include yellow-bellied marmots, mule deer, pika, and several species of squirrels, such as California ground squirrels, Douglas squirrels, golden-mantled ground squirrels, and western gray squirrels. Most mammals are secretive and nocturnal, and they are rarely seen by park visitors. Examples include ringtails, spotted skunks, short-tailed weasels, and mountain lions.

A tremendous diversity of habitat types is present in the parks, owing largely to an elevation gradient that ranges from 1,370 below park headquarters to 14,494 ft at the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the continental United States. As a result, two groups of mammals are particularly diverse--

Rodents

There are 26 species of rodents, ranging in size from the tiny montane vole up to the beaver, which can be 4 feet long and weigh over 60 pounds. This group also includes mice, squirrels, gophers, chipmunks, marmots, wood rats, and porcupine.

 

Mexican free-tailed bat flies through cave outside Great Basin National Park.

Photo by Joseph Danielson, Nevada Department of Wildlife.

Bats

Seventeen species of bats use these parks, including several species of concern such as the Townsend's big-eared bat, pallid bat, spotted bat, western mastiff bat, and western red bat. One out of every 5 mammal species in the parks is a bat! Bats find food by emitting a high-frequency call and using their sensitive hearing to detect echoes from flying insects. Three species in the parks emit calls audible to the human ear – listen for them at night if you visit the parks. Bats are found from the lowest elevations in the park to higher than 10,000 feet.

 

NPS Photo

Bears

The American black bear is an omnivore (eating both plants and animals) and frequently eats berries and meadow plants, claws at logs or digs for insects, dangles from sugar pine branches to go after cones, and forages for acorns in the fall. A male black bear weighs an average 300 to 350 pounds, and smaller females weigh 150 to 200 pounds. Black bears can range in color from cinnamon brown to black, and some can have light blazes on their chests.

The California grizzly once occurred in these parks and was abundant throughout the state.Grizzly bears were exterminated in California by the 1920s. The California grizzly remains one of the state’s most enduring symbols, adorning both the state flag and seal.

If you are visiting these parks, learn more about how to store your food to protect park bears.

 

Threatened or Endangered Mammals

Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep is the only park mammal listed as federally endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Learn more about local efforts to restore populations of bighorn sheep in these parks. The Pacific fisher, wolverine, and red fox are state-listed as threatened in California, and the Townsend's big-eared bat is a candidate for state-listing.

 

More Information

If you would like more information bears in national parks, including photos, videos, and links to other parks with bears, visit Bears.

To get a checklist of mammals in these parks, select "Mammals" from the NPSpecies search tool below. Be aware that these species lists are in-process of being updated to be consistent with current information.

 

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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.

Select a Park:

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

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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.