Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fauna
For many, the fauna in Yellowstone is the main event. With large mammals such as elk,
bison, bighorn sheep, antelope, bears, wolves, and mountain lions, Yellowstone is among
the best areas in the country to see wildlife in its natural habitat. For those willing to get up
early and be patient enough to wait, sometimes for hours, Yellowstone is like the Discovery
Channel brought to life.
There are a few species of reptiles and amphibians known to inhabit the park—10 in
all—thanks to Yellowstone's cool, dry climate, and some 330 species of birds have been
documented since the park's 1872 founding, ranging from tiny calliope hummingbirds to
majestic trumpeter swans.
But it's the big animals that draw more than three million people to the park annually.
The omnipresent bison are the largest animal in the park, with males (bulls) weighing up-
ward of 1,800 pounds and females (cows) averaging about 1,000 pounds. Yellowstone is
the only place in the Lower 48 where wild bison have existed since prehistoric times. The
herd dropped to near-extinction levels at the turn of the 20th century with only 50 animals
within the park boundaries. The importation of 21 bison from private herds and the subse-
quent 50 years of repopulation efforts led to a marked increase in numbers. By 2006 some
3,500 of these wild, woolly behemoths once again roamed the high prairies of Yellowstone,
but significant population fluctuations occur primarily because of fears surrounding the dis-
ease brucellosis. In a given year, the bison population in Yellowstone ranges 2,300-4,500
animals.
THE ECOLOGY OF FIRE
In 1988, wildfires blazed through Yellowstone National Park. To quell the flames, the
largest firefighting effort in U.S. history was organized, involving 25,000 people and
$120 million, but it was the first snowfall of the season that would eventually rein
in the fire. The fires began in July and burned until November. More than 793,000
acres, roughly one-third of the park, were affected, 67 structures were destroyed, and
345 elk and 63 other large mammals died as a direct result of the fire. The entire na-
tion watched in horror as the first national park burned. The park's fire management
plan consequently came under intense scrutiny. The question on everyone's lips was,
“How could this have happened?”
