Mammals

The yellow-bellied marmot is a commonly-seen species at Craters.

NPS Photo

62 species of mammals are known to live at Craters of the Moon! Some animals, such as golden-mantled ground squirrels, chipmunks, yellow-bellied marmots, and mule deer, are commonly seen by visitors. However, since many desert animals are inactive during daylight hours or wary of humans, sightings can be truly special events. Tracks and scat are often the only sign of an animal’s presence.

• Smaller mammals can more easily adapt to the hot climate and scarce water at Craters of the Moon, and the park is home to 21 different species of rodents and six species of lagomorph including a unique population of pikas.
• The many caves at Craters provide year-round refuge for 11 species of bats. Bats are frequently seen by summer campers as they feed on gnats and other small insects.
• Larger mammals, like mule deer and elk, must cover greater territory in order to find food and water, and they sometimes migrate to nearby mountains during the summer. Pronghorns migrate through the park in the spring and fall and are sometimes seen with newborn fawns in the spring.

Although no longer present, other mammals including bison, grizzly bears, Canada lynx, and bighorn sheep once called the area home as well.

 

 

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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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