Predatory Mammals
Yellowstone and Yosemite are two National Parks where visitors have ample opportunity to become acquainted with the BLACK BEAR. Many people, by foolishly feeding or petting these wild animals, have become too intimately acquainted, and have been injured in the process. Here in Rocky Mountain National Park, these opportunities seldom occur, for the bear population is low. If you are lucky enough to see one of these bulky, furry creatures lumbering along the road, do not try to fraternize with it.
Brown bear are present in the park, but not in large numbers.
Although the species present here is called the black bear, there are blonds among them, too. The brown bear and cinnamon bear are merely color phases of the black bear. Bears eat almost everything, including roots, berries, ants, frogs, fish, carrion, and such small mammals or birds as get into their clutches. They seem to be particularly voracious in eating garbage—discarded lunches, bacon, and similar material likely to be present in a campground. The bear is a relatively solitary animal. He has poor eyesight, but good hearing and sense of smell. Bears usually hibernate in fitful sleep, living off stored-up layers of body fat. The surprisingly small, squirrel-sized young are born in February during this semihibernation. The mother gives devoted care to her cubs, and defends them vigorously.
You can’t see grizzlies here, for they were extirpated from this region before the park was established.
The COUGAR has many aliases—mountain lion, catamount, painter, panther, puma—depending upon the locality. Almost 9 feet long including the 3-foot tail, the adult cougar may weigh over 200 pounds. Its coat is dull, yellowish brown; immature cougars have blackish spots. It has acute powers of sight, smell, and hearing. A sly, crafty, and tireless hunter, it is not often seen by man even where it is abundant. The cougar is part of the natural wildlife community, and is protected from hunters within park boundaries. The chances of seeing one here are remote, for many who have spent a lifetime in these mountains have never reported seeing one. A few observations of these animals, however, are usually reported in the park each year.
A much smaller cat occasionally seen in the park is the BOBCAT. It roams the forested areas of the park principally hunting small rodents and rabbits. Grouse also are taken, and on forays above treeline the bobcat may feed upon ptarmigan. It lives in dens in the rocks and sometimes in a hollow tree. Like the snowshoe rabbit upon which it preys, the bobcat has natural “snowshoes”—its feet are expanded in winter by long hairs, which help support the animal on the snow.
A close cousin to the domestic dog is the COYOTE. This exceedingly cunning animal is actually extending its range, despite man’s attempts to wipe it out, and is very common in the park. Few people fail to thrill upon first hearing its song—a high, staccato yipping often heard by visitors as they leave the evening talks at Moraine Park. You can expect to see coyotes almost anywhere in the park; early morning is a good time to look for them in the grassy meadows.
Another member of the dog family, the RED FOX, is seen occasionally by visitors. It is notoriously wary and cunning, and although less fleet-footed than the jackrabbit, it is faster than the coyote. Its family life meets with our approval, for the male actually feeds the female during the lying-in period, and at the risk of its own life leads hunters away from the den and its helpless occupants. It eats almost anything; small rodents are preferred.
People often bring back tales of an unusual animal on the trail above Bear Lake. Usually, they have seen the MARTEN, the largest of our remaining local weasels and an altogether interesting animal. This creature is at home in the treetops or on the forest floor. Like all weasels, it is a voracious feeder and a peril to its neighbors. It successfully hunts birds and squirrels in the trees, and preys on rats, rabbits, fish, grouse, frogs, insects, and other weasels. Its repertory of sounds includes hisses, squalls, barks, growls, and shrieks. It breeds in summer, but the young are not born until the following spring; its life span is about 18 years. It is closely related to the famous Russian sable, and has been nearly exterminated by trapping through most of its original range.
Young martens show the curiosity typical of their kind.
The MINK is rare in the park, but is occasionally seen on Glacier Creek. This member of the weasel family is an excellent swimmer, and catches fish with ease. Its dense and oily fur keeps it warm in cold water, but it lacks any other apparent adaptations to an aquatic life. So agile an animal has few natural enemies apart from disease; its most important predator is, oddly enough, the great horned owl. The young are born blind and helpless, and only the size of one’s finger, but by summer’s end they become self-sufficient.
The WEASEL is a small, sharp-eyed creature with an extremely long body, small triangular head, and furtive ways. Weasels are successful hunters, searching through brush piles and rock heaps and in underground burrows for rodents of all kinds. There are two species in the park—the LONGTAIL WEASEL and the SHORTTAIL WEASEL, or ERMINE. The latter is less than half as large as the former. Like that of certain other mountain dwellers, the fur of weasels becomes white as the snows of winter approach, replacing the brown of summer.
Horseback riders crossing Moraine Park and Beaver Meadows are usually wary of the large holes that are the work of the BADGER. Although a creature of the plains rather than of the mountains, the badger lives in some of the lower meadows of the park, and there have been reports of badgers being seen near Fall River Pass. It is a meat eater, and its large front feet have long claws, which enable it speedily to dig out a ground squirrel.
Red fox.
—Drawing by Walter A. Weber.