Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wildlife
The 2.5 million acres of wilderness within Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
constitute the biological heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem - the earth's largest
intact temperate ecosystem. Greater Yellowstone radiates out from its untamed core into 18
million acres of surrounding federal lands and private property, forming a vast wilderness
that is one of the world's premier wildlife-viewing areas, especially for larger mammals.
Animals and plant communities within Yel-
lowstone are shaped by the region's legacy as a
geologic and geothermal 'hot spot.' Not only
has uplift made the park a high-elevation land-
scape, but the leaching of rhyolite volcanic de-
posits has created acidic soils ideal for the
lodgepole pine forests that cover 60% of Yel-
lowstone's main plateau. The park's elevation also led to extensive glaciation during the ice
ages, which left behind impermeable deposits that create waterlogged landscapes in places
like Hayden Valley.
Charismatic species of Yellowstone include the lynx, bald eagle, grizzly bear, whooping
crane and reintroduced gray wolf. Featured below are some species visitors are most likely
to see - or would most like to see.
Catch up with cool research happening at the park
at
www.greateryellowstonescience.org
, a portal
which lays out the natural and cultural resources of
both Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
