National Park Rocky Mountain Colorado National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Watching Wildlife A WILD PLACE With elk bugling in the fall, Will you be sure to see bighorn As you learn about the lives and bighorn sheep with lambs in the sheep? Maybe not. But while habits of animals, you will know spring, coyotes howling, beavers looking for sheep you might see when and where to look for building, and eagles aloft, Rocky a coyote or a hawk. That is the them. Get up at dawn to look for Mountain National Park is one of adventure of looking for animals elk or deer in Beaver Meadows. America's great places to see in the wild instead of in a zoo. Listen for owls and watch for wildlife. bats at dusk in Moraine Park. Success in wildlife watching Keep an eye out for otters along grows with experience. the Colorado River. KEEPING ROCKY WILD Remember that animals you see Animals you see in the park are One purpose of National Parks is in the park may encounter many often feeding. When people get to preserve wild places and all people every day. Even too close, animals sense danger that lives there. With about three celebrities get tired of and waste energy moving away. million people coming to Rocky photographers chasing them; for Repeated disturbance means each year, park wildlife is under wildlife, repeated harassment animals do not get enough to stress. Each of us can help by weakens and kills. eat. learning how to watch animals without disturbing them. Guides for Successful Wildlife Viewing D Watch wildlife from a D Drive slowly. Watch for distance. If animals notice you, animals crossing the road. or if they seem nervous, you Deer and elk are seldom are too close. Move away alone: if you see one animal quietly. cross the road, look out for others that may follow it. n Use binoculars or a tele- photo lens to get close views. D Stop your car to watch animals only if you can pull off D Never approach wildlife. the road safely. Do not block Harassing animals is unlawful. traffic. D Keep pets in your vehicle. D Talk quietly so you don't Pets may scare wildlife, and disturb the animals or people animals can hurt your pet. A nearby. If watching from your deer can crush a dog's skull car, turn off the motor. with its hooves. JfK Printed with Soyoil Ink Hi# on Recycled Paper FINDING WILDLIFE MORE THAN MEGAFAUNA Among the best places to see There is more to wildlife wildlife in the park are roadside watching than the big and the pullouts in open areas. Bighorn furry. Watch magpies in a sheep visit natural mineral licks meadow pouncing on in Horseshoe Park, especially in grasshoppers. Stop by a stream May and June. Moose live in the to study a trout's sleek style. Kawuneeche Valley. Coyotes, Look closely at wildflowers to deer, and elk feed in all the open discover the butterflies, longhorn meadows. From Trail Ridge beetles, and leafhoppers that live Road, look for elk, marmots, and around plants. Exploring with a birds on the tundra. hand lens can open up a CLOSED AREAS PROTECT dramatic world of small lives. Elk, moose, and deer are most WILDLIFE active at dawn and dusk. But Listen for wild sounds. Marmots bighorn sheep are active all day. To protect wildlife at critical whistle and hummingbirds trill by So are marmots, squirrels, and times, parts of the park are day. By starlight, owls and chipmunks. Birds are easier to sometimes closed to people. coyotes hoot and bay. find in early morning. Beavers work mostly at night. The Crater Trail on Specimen What is the best way to see Mountain is closed from May wildlife at Rocky? Just pick a Ask a ranger about how to find through mid-July during bighorn spot—say, in a meadow or near animals. Check the park lambing season. This lets sheep a stream—and sit quietly. Soon newspaper for ranger programs move freely from the lambing animals nearby will become that focus on wildlife. area to feeding grounds active again. Meanwhile, as John elsewhere. Muir said, Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows During the elk rut in September into trees... while cares will drop and October, most large off like autumn leaves. meadows in the park are closed to off-trail travel from 5 pm until 7 am. When people stay out of the meadows, the elk spend more time in the open where people can see them from roadsides. While birds of prey are nesting (mid-April to mid-July), some Why is it illegal to feed rock climbing routes are closed animals in National Parks? on Lumpy Ridge and Sheep Mountain. Closed areas are posted at trailheads. D Animals can hurt people who feed them, but more often, the animals suffer. D Animals fed by people become beggars. They often bite. Some have fleas that can infect people with plague. n Beggar animals often stay near roads, where cars hit them. a Imagine: One peanut from each park visitor would add over three tons of extra food per year. Some animals would overpopulate, crowding out other wildlife. Then many of the extra animals would die in winter when no one feeds them. .