New Wildlife Species Added to Cave List

This article was originally published in The Midden – Great Basin National Park: Vol. 16, No. 2, Winter 2016.

Wildlife cameras documented this mountain lion using cave entrances.

By Gretchen Baker, Ecologist

Park staff have placed wildlife cameras at the entrances to several caves to see what animals use this habitat. The cameras take a photo when they sense movement. Each photo has a date, time, and temperature stamp. During the summer of 2013, 17 taxa were recorded. Since then, wildlife cameras have continued photographing cave

Wildlife cameras documented this Stellar's Jay using cave entrances.

entrances, and additional taxa have been added to the cave list.

Wildlife cameras documented this bobcat using cave entrances.

During the winter of 2015-16, the first Felids were observed, with mountain lions (Puma concolor) and bocats (Lynx rufus) cruising several cave entrances. We have also added some new Mustelids to our cave entrance biota list, with sightings of weasels (Mustela sp.) and badgers (Taxidea taxus).

Wildlife cameras documented this mourning dove using cave entrances.

In addition to adding species, we also are interested in species interactions. Spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis) and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) were seen in the same cave during the summer of 2016. At one cave entrance, we saw many photos of Uinta chipmunks (Tamias umbrinus) and rock squirrels (Spermophilus variegatus). Over the next weeks, gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and skunks started

Wildlife cameras documented this closeup of a mountain lion using cave entrances.

visiting regularly. By the end of the time period, no chipmunks or squirrels were seen. One photo of a fox jumping towards a hole adds weight to our hypothesis that some predators are finding cave entrances to be a good place to hunt.

Wildlife cameras documented this spotted skunk using cave entrances.

One cave entrance has a perennial pool of water at it. We suspected that it attracted a lot of wildlife, but when we downloaded the camera and found over 5,000 photos on it for a four-month period, we were a bit overwhelmed. While squirrels, chipmunks, and desert woodrats (Neotoma lepida) dominate, this entrance also plays an important role for many bird species. These include Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia), Dark-eyed Junco (Junco

Wildlife cameras documented this gray fox using cave entrances.

hyemalis), Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma woodhouseii; formerly Western Scrub Jay), Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), Cassin’s Finch (Haemorhous cassinii), and at least a couple unidentified bird species.

Wildlife cameras documented this striped skunk using cave entrances.

This non-invasive sampling technique has helped park staff better understand what animals use cave entrances and at what times of day and year. It has also helped provide many more glimpses into the lives of some animals that are rarely seen in the park.

Wildlife cameras documented this black-billed magpie using cave entrances.

Wildlife cameras documented this black-billed magpie using cave entrances.

Wildlife cameras documented this weasel using cave entrances.

Wildlife cameras documented this weasel using cave entrances.