Wildlife Viewing

One of the most obvious pleasures of spending time in the wilderness or the mountains is the chance meetings with wildlife, whether it is the birds perched above as you pass under the trees or the bears that try to steal your food as you sleep (never forget your bear bags!). The Rockies are teeming with animals great and small, and a good place to start is Rocky Mountain National Park, where you're sure to see elks, mule deer, black bears, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and moose, just to name a few. Yellowstone's birds (ravens, herons, trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, and ospreys are among the 230 species living in the park) and mammals inhabit every corner of the park. Wolves were reintroduced in 1995 and have flourished, enriching Yellowstone's overall biodiversity. Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming also shelters an abundance of wildlife, with deer, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, bats, beavers, and various others coexisting in a variety of habitats in the park.