Yellowstone Wildlife
Intro to Yellowstone
What is the Wildlife Acre program?
  Yellowstone

Explore Yellowstone title

The greater Yellowstone ecosystem provides unique homes for wildlife species ranging from bighorn sheep to bald eagles.


Graphic of paw printWildlife

Gray Wolf
Mountain Lion
Black Bear
Grizzly Bear
Wolverine
Lynx
Elk
Buffalo

Pronghorn
Mule Deer
White-tailed Deer
Bighorn Sheep
Mountain Goat
Bald Eagle
Whooping Crane
Graphic of leafEcosystems
Alpine Tundra
Coniferous Forest
Mountain Meadows
Sage-steppe Grasslands
Riparian Areas
Photo of Mountain Meadows

Mountain meadows are lush, spongy oases of sedges, wildflowers and shrubs at elevations from about 6,000 to above 11,000 feet where yearly precipitation is high. Often intermingled with spruce-fir forests, subalpine meadows can range in size from small glades to extensive grasslands of thousands of acres. Subject to heavy snow in winter, they often remain moist or even saturated throughout the year, resulting in the growth of bunchgrasses, sedges, and many wildflowers. They occupy poorly drained areas, including the bowls and depressions of ancient glacier sites. Elk, pronghorns and mule deer frequent these habitats.

Related Resources

Seeking Safe Passage - Scientists are increasingly discovering the benefits of protecting wildlife corridors, like those in the Yellowstone ecosystem, that connect isolated wildlife habitats.

A Top Dog Takes Over - Exterminated from Yellowstone National Park eight decades ago, gray wolves are back — and boosting the park's biodiversity.

Rebirth of Yellowstone's Wolves - The saga of the first wolf pups born in the region in seven decades

Clash of the Carnivores - What happens when the hunters become the hunted at Yellowstone?

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