Yellowstone National Park Wildlife

Yellowstone is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states. Sixty-seven different mammals live here, including grizzly bears, black bears, gray wolves, wolverine, lynx, elk, bison, moose, and numerous small mammals.

View all wildlife safely. You must stay at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves and at least 25 yards (23 m) away from all other animals—including bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes.

Yellowstone National Park's abundant and diverse wildlife are as famous as its geysers. Habitat preferences and seasonal cycles of movement determine, in a general sense, where a particular animal may be at a particular time. Early morning and evening hours are when animals tend to be feeding and thus are more easily seen. But remember that the numbers and variety of animals you see are largely a matter of luck and coincidence.

Elk are the most abundant large mammal found in Yellowstone national Park; paleontological evidence confirms their continuous presence for at least 1,000 years. Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, when market hunting of all large grazing animals was rampant. Not until after 1886, when the U.S. Army was called in to protect the park and wildlife slaughter was brought under control, did the large animals increase in number.

 In recent years, with the reintroduction of the gray wolves, Yellowstone has become even more famous for wildlife watchers.  Almost everyday you can find visitors lined up with spotting scopes in the Lamar and Hayden Valley areas looking for wolves and grizzly bears.  Best viewing is early in the morning and just before dark. During the first weeks of June, both grizzly bears and wolves can be found searching for elk calves hidden among the sagebrush in the Lamar Valley. Yellowstone National Park is truly a great place to view wildlife. Watch a short video of grizzly bears and wolves interacting with each other in Yellowstone Park.

While the large mammals like wolves, elk, bison and bears tend to attract the attention of most visitors, there is a lot of other species that make Yellowstone their home. There are over 300 recored bird species, with 148 of those species nesting in the Park. Eighteen species of fish, including 6 non-native species of fish inhabit the streams and lakes of Yellowstone. In addition to the mammals, birds and fish, there are six species of reptiles and four species of amphibians.