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

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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 Elk

The elk is primarily nocturnal, but is especially active at dusk and dawn. Unlike the much smaller white-tailed deer, which is often heard crashing through the brush, the elk moves through the forest rapidly and almost silently. The bull can run up to 35 miles per hour, and both bull and cow are strong swimmers. This animal marks the areas it frequents by stripping the bark from seedlings. The cow uses her lower incisors and the bull the base of his antlers. These posts may serve as territorial markers, warning other elk to keep out.

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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