Widlife is all around us and sometimes in unexpected places! Remember, all animals in Yellowstone are wild and can be dangerous to you.
Habitat
Habitat is a place that provides food (A), shelter (B), space (C), and water (D).
A - NPS/Janine Waller, B - NPS/Jim Peaco, C & D - NPS
Every animal has a habitat—a place that provides the food, shelter, space, and water it needs to stay alive. Learning about animals and how they live is important to understanding their role in Yellowstone's environment.
Food (A) is essential. An animal must look for food or eat most of the time it's awake.
Shelter (B) protects an animal from predators and allows it to rest.
Space (C) is the room an animal needs to find food, water, and attract a mate.
Water (D) is needed for drinking, finding food, or just for fun.
Yellowstone's "Top" Animals
When people think of Yellowstone animals, these are the main animals they think of.
Grizzly bears are very opportunistic eaters.
NPS/Jim Peaco
Bears
Yellowstone National Park is home to two types of bears: grizzly bears and black bears.
Grizzly bears
They can run up to 45 miles per hour (72 kph).
They eat nuts, berries, plant roots, and other animals—making these top predators omnivores.
They scratch their backs on "rub trees," leaving behind hair that scientists use to learn about bears.
Black bears are good at climbing trees.
NPS/Eric Johnston
Black bears
They are more common than grizzly bears, and are found across North America.
While they are called black bears, their fur can be brown, blond, or cinnamon in color.
They have shorter, more curved claws that allow them to climb trees. However, this makes them less capable diggers compared to grizzly bears.
Bison grazing through an open forest.
NPS/Diane Renkin
Bison
Yellowstone National Park is the only place in the United States of America where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. Yellowstone is also home to the nation's largest bison population on public land.
Males can weigh 2,000 pounds (907 kg).
They roam great distances as they continuously eat.
Their thick winter coats are so well insulated snow can stay on their backs without melting.
Three male elk resting near Mammoth Hot Springs.
NPS/Diane Renkin
Elk
An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 elk live in Yellowstone during the summer season. During the winter, most leave the park.
They are the most abundant large mammal in Yellowstone.
Male antlers can weight about 30 pounds (14 kg) per pair and are shed every year.
Calves are born with white spots to help them hide from predators.
An alpha female wolf walking across a snowy landscape.
NPS/Jim Peaco
Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves
Wolves are highly social animals and live in packs. Although wolf packs once roamed from the Arctic tundra to Mexico, loss of habitat and extermination programs led to their demise throughout most of the United States of America by early in the 1900s. Today, nearly 100 wolves call Yellowstone home.
They live and travel in packs of ten animals (on average).
They communicate through barks, whines, growls, and howls.
The pack cares for new pups until they can hunt on their own, at about ten months.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout in at a spawning site.
NPS/Neal Herbert
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Yellowstone cutthroat trout are the most wide-spread native trout in the park, and are an important food for at least 16 species of birds and mammals. However, their population has declined substantially since the mid-1980s due to the invasion of lake trout into Yellowstone Lake.
They have a red-orange mark under their jaw.
They require cool, clean water in streams or lakes.
They spawn, or lay eggs, in spring and early summer.
Check out some of the amazing skills or adaptations animals have for surviving in Yellowstone National Park.
Creature Feature
Beyond the "top" animals of Yellowstone, there are many more animals for you to discover.
A bald eagle soaring.
NPS/Jim Peaco
Bald Eagles
The bald eagle was named the national symbol of the United States of America by Congress in 1782.
They rarely flap their wings; they soar instead.
Immature bald eagles do not get their white heads and tails until they are four or five years old.
They are not picky eaters. They will eat fish, small birds, rodents, and even dead animals.
Beavers use wood to build dens and dams.
NPS/Jim Peaco
Beavers
Beavers are a keystone species, which means they play a pivotal role in creating and maintaining a habitat. In this case, beavers dam and divert streams to create ponds and other flooded environments that willow and aspen trees prefer. This creates pond and wetland habitat that other species can use.
They are crepuscular, meaning they are active in the morning and evening hours.
They prefer to eat willow, aspen, and cottonwood. In areas lacking those species, they will feed on underwater plants like pond lilies.
They live in family groups known as colonies. Fewer than 5% of mammals live in this type of group.
Bighorn sheep love rocky landscapes.
NPS/Diane Renkin
Bighorn Sheep
Although widely distributed across the Rocky Mountains, bighorn sheep are found mainly in small, fragmented populations.
They are named for the large, curved horns on the males. These horns can weigh 30 pounds (14 kg).
In the fall, males compete for females by having head-butting contests.
A lamb (baby bighorn sheep) can walk and climb within a day of being born.
Boreal chorus frog expanding its throat pouch to make its distinctive sound.
NPS/Neal Herbert
Boreal Chorus Frogs
These frogs are common, but they are hard to spot due to their small size and secretive habits. However, their calls are very conspicuous.
Adult frogs are 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm) in length.
Running your fingernail over the small end of a comb can mimic the call of a boreal chorus frog.
Adults eat insects; tadpoles eat aquatic plants.
Boreal Chorus Frogs
If you've visited Yellowstone during spring, you've probably heard the all-male chorus of the boreal chorus frog.
One of two weasel species found in the park, they can been found in forests, open grassy meadows and marshes, and near water. However, they are hard to spot as they are solitary creatures, except during breeding and when raising their young.
They are built to hunt, with long, sleek bodies and small heads.
They weigh 3 to 12 ounces (.1 to .3 kg).
Their fur turns white during the winter season.
A young moose looks to its mother.
NPS
Moose
Moose in Yellowstone are one of four subspecies of moose in North America, and are found in forested areas and willow flats. They are better adapted to survival in deep snow than other regional ungulates.
They are the largest member of the deer family.
Both male and female moose have a flap of skin that hangs from their throats called a bell.
Their nostrils close when they dip their heads underwater.
Mountain chickadee in the winter.
NPS/Jim Peaco
Mountain Chickadees
Mountain chickadees are common songbirds in the mountains of western North America. They can be found from southern Arizona and New Mexico all the way up to the Yukon of Canada.
They communicate with many different calls; the most famous is chick-a-dee, dee, dee.
They are tough birds and spend their entire winter in Yellowstone.
They cache or hide food to eat in the winter.
Osprey are expert fish hunters.
NPS/Diane Renkin
Osprey
Osprey migrate to Yellowstone in the spring and leave as fall returns. As they hunt fish, they are usually found near lakes, river valleys, and river canyons.
They build large nests out of sticks in trees or on pinnacles close to water.
They lay two to three eggs in May to June.
Fledglings (young birds) have light edges on each dark feather on their backs and upper wings, which gives them a speckled appearance.
Pika need to collect and store food to survive the winter.
NPS/Janine Waller
Pikas
Pikas are considered an indicator species for detecting ecological effects of climate change. They inhabit rocky alpine and sub-alpine areas and feed on the vegetation that fringes their preferred talus (rock) slopes.
They live in colonies and are active in the daytime.
They have a high-pitched chirp or call to warn their group of danger.
They do not hibernate in winter.
A pine marten surveys the forest from a tree branch.
NPS
Pine Martens
Pine martens are members of the weasel family, and hunt primarily small mammals. They are solitary creatures, except in the breeding season. Anywhere from one to five young can be born in mid-March to late April.
They live in forests and are active at dusk and dawn.
They hunt mostly on the ground.
They rest or den in hollow trees or stumps, in ground burrows or rock piles, and in excavations under tree roots.
Pronghorn evolved to outrun their predators.
NPS/Jim Peaco
Pronghorn
The North American pronghorn is the lone surviving member of a group of animals that evolved in North America during the past 20 million years. Pronghorns can run for sustained sprints of 45 to 50 miles per hour (72 to 80 kph).
They have true horns like bison and bighorn sheep.
They have very large eyes and can see all around them.
Young pronghorn weigh six to eight pounds (2.7 to 3.6 kg) at birth.
Red foxes can detect the sounds of small mammals even under snow.
NPS/Bob Fuhrmann
Red Foxes
Red foxes are the smallest canine species in the park. They can have different fur coloration, though they tend to have reddish-yellow coats that are darker on the back and black "socks" on their lower legs.
They are nocturnal and hunt at night; they sleep during the day.
They use their tails for balance, warmth, and communication.
Their hearing is excellent and they can hear rodents digging underground.
River otters taking a break on some rocks near Steamboat Point.
NPS/Diane Renkin
River Otters
River otters are the most aquatic member of the weasel family. They are active year-round and are mainly crepuscular (active in the morning and evening hours).
They can stay underwater for eight minutes.
Their fur is waterproof and helps them manage their body temperature.
They like to play by sliding on their bellies and keeping their paws at their sides.
Two sandhill cranes look for food along a riverbank.
NPS/Jane Olson
Sandhill Cranes
Sandhill cranes nest in Yellowstone each summer. Their gutteral calls announce their presence long before most people see them.
They are the tallest birds in the park; standing about 4 feet (1.2 m) high.
They can often be seen foraging in open grassland areas.
They mainly have gray and rusty brown feathers, though they also have a distinctive red patch on their foreheads.
A pair of trumpeter swans swimming.
NPS/Diane Renkin
Trumpeter Swans
The trumpeter swan, named for its call, is North America's largest wild waterfowl, with a wingspan up to eight feet.
They need 300 feet (91 m) of open water to take flight.
They can sleep on land or in the water.
Cygnets (baby swans) will stay with their mother for six months.
Marmot resting on a rock.
NPS/Diane Renkin
Yellow-bellied Marmots
Marmots are one of the largest rodents found in the park. They live in open grassy habitats with rocks nearby, and can be found from the lowest valleys all the way up to alpine tundra.
They hibernate for up to eight months.
They make a loud whistle used for fear or excitement; early settlers called them "whistle pigs."
They are herbivores, which means they eat grasses, flowers, and seeds.
