Working at Yellowstone National Park can be exciting and unpredictable experience by any reasonable measure. With hydrothermal explosions destroying boardwalks, drunk tourists stealing tow trucks and of course staying safe around the resident wildlife, park staff must always keep their heads on a swivel.
The following video comes from Yellowstone employee Josie Weaver who is reminded to always look both ways before exiting her dormitory because you never know what might be coming around the corner:
67 different mammals live in Yellowstone National Park:
- As of 2021, an estimated 1,063 grizzly bears live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
- Black bears are common.
- Gray wolves were restored in 1995. As of January 2023, 108 live primarily in the park.
- Wolverine and lynx, which require large expanses of undisturbed habitat, live here.
- Seven native ungulate species—elk, mule deer, bison, moose, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and white-tailed deer—live here.
- Nonnative mountain goats have colonized northern portions of the park.
ABOUT YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK MAMMALS:
Yellowstone is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states.
In addition to having a diversity of small animals, Yellowstone is notable for its predator–prey complex of large mammals, including eight ungulate species (bighorn sheep, bison, elk, moose, mountain goats, mule deer, pronghorn, and white-tailed deer) and seven large predators (black bears, Canada lynx, coyotes, grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolverines, and wolves).
The National Park Service’s goal is to maintain the ecological processes that sustain these mammals and their habitats while monitoring the changes taking place in their populations. Seasonal or migratory movements take many species across the park boundary where they are subject to different management policies and uses of land by humans.
Understanding the links between climate change and these drivers will be critical to informing the ecology and management of Yellowstone’s wildlife in the years to come.
