Wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Visitors to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks often don't realize that these two international treasures represent only a small fraction of the 17 million acres of forests, mountain ranges, wide-open meadows and pristine watercourses that comprise the Greater Yellowstone Geo-ecosystem.

Nowhere else in the United States, including Alaska, can the casual visitor observe such a striking diversity of "charismatic megafauna" (the large mammals) that abound in this region. During many weeks of the year, Wildlife Expeditions clients routinely see five or more species of native ungulates including moose, bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, tens of thousands of elk and several hundred wild bison, direct descendants of the last 25 left in Yellowstone National Park by 1906.

Bald eagles, golden eagles, the elegant sandhill crane and dozens of trumpeter swans are among 300 species of birds in this astoundingly beautiful region. Jackson Hole and Yellowstone are home to that most formidable icon of wildness, the grizzly bear, in addition to the black bear, the elusive cougar, the wolverine, the pine marten and, after a 60-year absence, the gray wolf.

The Greater Yellowstone Geo-ecosystem is home to the largest herds of elk in North America and is one of the few remaining areas in the lower 48 states where the grizzly bear still roams in significant numbers. Greater Yellowstone serves as wintering ground for the rare trumpeter swan and is home to the largest free-ranging herd of bison in the lower 48 states. Greater Yellowstone ’s relatively intact natural landscape appears to retain its full complement of vertebrate wildlife.

Some wildlife species, such as elk, are regarded by ecologists as "keystone" species. They play an indispensable role in ancient processes of migration, protein cycling and human hunting. Their elimination from the ecosystem would trigger a cascade of long-term effects on many other less glamorous animals and plants as well as have devastating effects on the regional economy. Among the many interesting issues that our biologists interpret for clients is that of wildlife diseases and how they can have catastrophic effects on populations like elk that are artificially sustained by winter feeding.

Other wildlife species, such as the pine marten, great gray owl, wolverine and goshawk, represent ecological "indicator" species which are closely associated with a specialized habitat type that has been thus far undamaged by humans and is therefore in need of long-term protection. Special legal protection is extended for some "sensitive" species like the grizzly bear, wolverine and lynx, whose habitat needs require huge areas of wild country, free of roads and other human disturbances. The Greater Yellowstone Geo-ecosystem contains the largest assemblage of these animals anywhere in the contiguous 48 states.

The beaver and bison, animals that we see often and tend to take for granted, have played pivotal roles in the tumultuous history of western immigration, settlement and human conflict. These two species were brought to the edge of extinction thanks to the ignorance, carelessness and greed of 19th-century settlers who perceived these animals and virtually all other wild resources of the land as inexhaustible. In the current era of conservation consciousness, we are fortunate to see these creatures on a nearly daily basis in Grand Teton National Park, and the human community of Jackson Hole works hard to maintain their presence in our midst for future generations.

So come with Wildlife Expeditions on a sojourn into the heart of this dramatic landscape known as the Greater Yellowstone Geo-ecosystem. A day, two days or a week with us will give you a front-row seat to the timeless drama of predator and prey in one of the world's wildest theaters of evolution.

© 2007 Wildlife Expeditions.
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