The Total Yellowstone Wildlife Page

-SPONSORED LINKS- Yellowstone Lodging Yellowstone Hotels Yellowstone Maps Yellowstone Camping Yellowstone Vacations Yellowstone Tours Yellowstone Guides Yellowstone Photos

Sponsored National Park Search

---

The Total Yellowstone Wildlife Map

---

This page deals with Yellowstone wildlife. Wildlife are creatures of habit. They usually follow the same trails and go to the same areas at particular times of the day and year. They have favorite feeding grounds and food. They will normally go to the same spring, summer, fall and winter feeding grounds. This is not a guaranteed item, and habits will change due to natural conditions, drought, fire, etc.

When you arrive at Yellowstone, check with the rangers on recent bear and wolf sightings or radio locations of the packs.

A pair of binoculars and/or a spotting scope are almost a must in viewing wildlife. If you have these then you are set. If you can borrow or rent them from a camera or sporting goods store, your time will be more productive. Most of the sightings are at a good distance, which is the best way to do it, especially the grizzlies.

We have only seen the wolves in Lamar Valley. This is in the northeast corner of the park, from the northeast entrance to Roosevelt Lodge. This is the same area we sighted the grizzly bears. The best time for sightings is early in the morning (5:00 - 8:00 am) and 7:00 pm to sunset, but, wildlife may appear at anytime in almost any location.

Approximately seven miles from the Roosevelt Lodge intersection into Lamar Valley (going towards the NE entrance - Silver Gate, Montana) there is a turnout that is a good spotting area. You will more than likely see cars, trucks, and RVs all parked along the road with people looking through binoculars and spotting scopes. Stop and check on what they are seeing.

Approximately two miles from the above turnout, there is another turnout on the Lamar River. You have to park and go up the hillside for a short hike to a spot that is great for viewing wildlife. This is where we sighted the wolves and the grizzly bears. Just be aware that you may see the bears and wolves killing and eating their prey (usually elk calves).

When you see a vehicle or two stopped and looking at something, stop and check out what they are looking at (use turnouts - do not block the road). This is normal for visitors and you'll get to see more wildlife this way. The one grizzly bear that we saw was 100 yards off the road. About eight cars drove by on their way to spot grizzlies in the valley and never stopped. I was on the roadside taking pictures of the bear and the people in the cars could see a buffalo a little ways up the hillside and thought I was taking pictures of it. When I got to the turnout and told them what I was really taking pictures of they were very upset for not stopping. Don't be afraid to stop and ask. We saw this grizzly about 200 yards above the Slough Creek campgrounds road on the left side of the road.

We also saw two black bears between Tower and Roosevelt. If you are going to the park to see wildlife - Lamar Valley is one of the best places. If you are there to see the geysers, the lower portion of the park is the place to go to. Please see What to See and Do for information and/or suggestions for planning a visit to Yellowstone.

It is a good idea to take some rain gear. It cools down in the evenings so you may want to take some coats to wear to the campfire presentations or wildlife viewing.

If you have children between 7 - 12 years of age, the Park Service has a very nice Junior Ranger program, click here to go to the Junior Ranger Page. It is a fun way for youth to learn about the park, plus they can earn a Yellowstone patch. Check with any visitor center when you get to the park.

Wildlife Watching Etiquette
Yellowstone National Park

National parks are some of the few places where wild animals are easily visible in their natural setting - wild and free. Parks help protect the diversity of species that live in different regions of the United States. All of our lands, need to be well cared for if wildlife is to survive over the long term.

Seeing wildlife is an exciting experience - the first time and every time! It's important to realize that wild animals can be dangerous. A passive animal is not a guarantee of safety. It only takes a running child, barking dog, honking car horn or an approaching person to trigger an animal's "fight or flight" instinct.

For your safety and the animal's safety, please learn and follow these basic guidelines when viewing, filming and photographing wild animals. You can be a good example for others while watching some of nature's most magnificent animals in their natural habitat!

Use Good Judgment

• Never approach or follow wild animals; respect their need for space. This includes not following fresh tracks.
• Do not block their line of travel or escape routes.
• Keep a safe distance from large animals (100 feet / 30 meters - the length of three buses - is recommended).
• Use a telephoto lens, spotting scope and binoculars to get "close".
• Pull well off the road with your vehicle to prevent motor vehicle accidents.
• A vehicle also makes a good "blind" for watching animals, if you stay inside.
• Respect the special needs of nesting birds, denning animals & newborn or young animals - leave them alone.
• Elk can be particularly aggressive during calving season (May / Jun) and mating season (Sep / Oct).
• Do not park your car within 100 feet / 30 meters of a male elk. They've been known to bend fenders or worse.

Avoid These Activities that Cause Stress in Animals

• Herding animals into a better scene.
• Approaching or cornering, following or chasing.
• Throwing objects or calling out to change behavior.
• Direct eye contact, even through a camera lens can be threatening to an animal.
• Circling or standing around an animal by yourself or in a group.

Take Special Precautions for Children

• Children should never be encouraged to approach, pet or feed wildlife.
• Always keep children in immediate sight. They're often the same size as many animals' prey.

Do Not Feed Wildlife

• Feeding attracts animals to roadside areas where they can be injured or killed.
• Feeding creates habituated animals - more likely to be a danger to people.
• Conflict often results in the death of the animal.
• Feeding leads to eating garbage.
• Animals eat wrappers, cans, and bottle caps, destroying their digestive systems.
• Eating human foods can cause, among other things, tooth decay, gum infections and ulcers in animals.

Habitat is Home - Treat it With Care!

• Respect the speed limits (usually 25 - 45 mph). It exists to protect wildlife and human life.
• Care for our animals’ home - the land, plants, water and air.
• Walk lightly and leave the area looking natural, unpolluted and undisturbed.
• Support the creation of protected spaces - for bio diversity, and the health of our human habitats.

Lynx (Felis lynx canadensis) were reported in the park in the early years of this century. Bailey (1927) reported that "there are said to be a very few Canada lynxes, but we saw no tracks or signs of them," during a July 1926 outing in Yellowstone backcountry by more than 200 Audubon Society members. Skinner (1927) estimated a lynx population of 10 with stationary status. By the mid-1940s, lynx were reported as extremely scarce. Annual reports of wildlife in the park list lynx as a "rare native" in the late 1960s, but in the early 1970s this animal was not listed as present.

Consolo Murphy and Meagher (in press) reported a total of 57 records of lynx on file in Yellowstone for the period 1883-1995, all but one of which were within park boundaries. Sightings were reported 34 times and tracks reported 17 times, both throughout the park, although more reports occurred in the southern half of Yellowstone. Lynx were reported more often in winter, although all months are represented in these records. Since 1995 there have been two reports of lynx, both in 1997, in the northern half of the park. The Smithsonian Museum has a skull of a female lynx reportedly collected from an unspecified location in Yellowstone in 1904. Museums at the Universities of Idaho and Wyoming have no specimens of lynx collected in Yellowstone. The park has no records of lynx having been killed or found dead here. Neither has research been conducted to determine whether transient or resident populations exist. Sightings by visitors or employees are the only evidence we have of the possible presence of these animals that so closely resemble bobcats (Felis rufus) that sightings are difficult to verify. Consolo Murphy and Meagher concluded that evidence is too scant to reliably state that a resident population of lynx exists in the park today, if it did historically.

As part of a proposed settlement over a lawsuit filed by the Defenders of Wildlife and 14 other organizations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently proposed to take action to list the Canada lynx under the Endangered Species Act. A series of legal actions regarding the lynx have been pending since 1991. The USFWS determined that lynx were historically resident in 16 of the contiguous United States, and that they currently occur at low levels in Montana, Washington, and Maine. They are rare in Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, Colorado, Vermont, and New Hampshire; the USFWS believes they have been extirpated from New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Publication of a proposed rule in the Federal Register is planned for the summer of 1998, followed by a public comment period to actively solicit new information about the status of lynx, related threats, and ongoing conservation activities.

Adult lynx are about the size of a large domestic cat. Males can weigh upwards of 30 pounds, while females are smaller. Lynx have large legs and broad, well-furred paws, blunt tails, and prominent tufted ears. Lynx are generally grayish-brown with white, buff, or brown on the facial ruff and throat. Limited studies suggest that lynx breed in April or May, and give birth to three to five kittens in late May or June. Lynx are usually found in boreal forests and they tolerate deep snow quite well. They are commonly associated with snowshoe hares, but may also prey on squirrels, grouse and mice. The conifer forests, semi-open rocky areas of the park seem to offer summer conditions suitable for both bobcats and lynx--adequate shelter, a variety of rodents, rabbits, hares, birds, and other small animals for food. Lynx survive similarly severe winter weather conditions in Canada. Research there has shown that bobcats, another native wildcat, and lynx are seldom found in the same area as bobcats are more aggressive and may dominate. Whether this behavioral factor may affect living conditions for lynx in Yellowstone is presently unknown.

The similarity between lynx and bobcats makes it difficult to determine their status in Yellowstone. A large adult bobcat may be larger than a small adult lynx, so size is not a good characteristic for positive identification. Both bobcats and lynx have ear "tufts" of black hair. Although lynx are more solidly gray and bobcats are often buffy and have many black spots, larger bobcats usually have fewer spots and some turn almost solidly gray in winter, so general coloration is also a difficult characteristic for distant identification. If you see one of these small wildcats and have time, good light, and binoculars, look at the inside of the cat's forelegs. There are no black bars there on a lynx, although there may be some dark spots. Also, the tip of the tail of a lynx is solidly black. (The upper side of a bobcat's tail has several dark bands that become more distinct toward the tip but the underside of the tip itself is white.)

If you find only tracks, measure and photograph them carefully, then consult a track field guide for identification. Bobcat tracks seldom exceed 2 1/4 inches; lynx tracks usually are longer than 3 1/2 inches. And consider yourself lucky to see any of the three felids that may exist in Yellowstone (bobcat, mountain lion, lynx). These rare and elusive cats are most active at night, so even those who study them seldom have an opportunity to see one! If you think you see a lynx or lynx tracks, please report them promptly to a ranger or visitor center. For animals so rarely recorded, every observation is useful and important.

In recent years, the park has experimented with non-harmful methods to determine the presence of some rarely seen animals, by sampling for snow tracks and guard hairs. To date, the presence of lynx has not been confirmed by these methods.

References

Bailey, V. 1927. Animal Life in Yellowstone Park. Sierra Club Bull. Vol XII, No. 4:333-344.

Consolo Murphy, S. and M. Meagher. In press. The status of wolverine, lynx, and fisher in Yellowstone National park. Predators and ecosystems: proceedings of the third biennial conference on the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Northern Rockies Cons. Coop., Jackson, Wyo.

Skinner, M.P. 1927. The Predatory and Fur-bearing Animals of the Yellowstone National Park. Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin, Vol. 24, No. 27. Syracuse Univ., Syracuse, N.Y. 284 pp.

Information provided by the NPS.

Mammals of Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is home to the largest concentrations of large and small mammals in the lower 48 states. While some species are rare or occasional visitors to the park, 60 different mammals are listed as present here. Seven species of ungulates are native to the park - elk, mule deer, bison, moose, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and white-tailed deer. Non-native mountain goats appear to be colonizing the park.

Numerous carnivores roam the area, including grizzly and black bears. The grizzly is listed as "threatened" on the Endangered Species List, and it is estimated that a minimum of at least 350 grizzly bears live in the greater Yellowstone area. Black bears are common. The gray wolf was native to the Yellowstone area, but was eliminated in the 1930s. In 1995, it was restored to the ecosystem. Mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, and red fox also live here. A wide variety of small mammals, from chipmunks to marmots to squirrels to weasels to voles and mice inhabit the park. Beaver live here, too, but they are rarely seen. Park regulations prohibit feeding any animal, and visitors must stay at least 100 yards away from a bear and at least 25 yards away from all other wildlife (often it is advisable to stay even farther away).

The list below includes the name, common habitat, and, where available, the most recent population estimates of mammals found in Yellowstone. Even though a species is listed as "common," you are not assured of seeing that animal. A park site bulletin, "Mammals of Yellowstone National Park," is available at visitor centers and lists popular viewing areas for many large mammals.

Some information was provided by the National Park Service.

If you have any questions or I can help in any way, please let me know.