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 Pronghorn

The fastest animal in the Western Hemisphere and among the fastest in the world, the pronghorn, often making 20-foot bounds, has been clocked at 70 miles per hour. Speeds of 45 miles per hour are not unusual, and the animal can easily cruise at 30 miles per hour for about 15 miles. Active night and day, it inhabits open terrain and relies on spotting enemies at a distance giving it time to flee. In summer, it grazes on a number of plant species and drinks little water when moist green vegetation is available; in winter, it browses on many different plants, favoring sagebrush.

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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