One of the reasons for establishing Olympic National Park was to insure “protection and preservation of interesting fauna, notably the rare Roosevelt elk....” There are 54 species and subspecies of wild mammals occupying their primitive homes on the Olympic Peninsula (Murray L. Johnson and Sherry Johnson, Check List of Mammals of the Olympic Peninsula). Probably all of these occur within the park. The wildlife picture is not a static one, however, as natural disturbances, time, and man bring changes in numbers, kinds, and distribution.
Climatic changes have greatly affected the animal life. There have been periods of extreme cold and periods of warmth. At least four times the ice-age glaciers advanced and melted back. When ice sheets moved down from the north and extensive glaciers formed in the mountains, the animals left. When the ice retreated, the animals returned. Not all animal types were able to survive, so that some animals that once lived in Washington are now extinct. One of these was the mastodon, resembling the present-day elephant. In 1950, a fossil skeleton of a mastodon was found in an excavation on a farm near Port Angeles, and tusks and parts of skeletons have been found from time to time in the bluffs east of Port Angeles.
Because the Olympic Mountains are isolated from other mountains, some animals of the Pacific Northwest have never found their way to the park. For instance, several kinds of animals in the Cascade Mountains are unknown in the Olympics. These include the mantled ground squirrel, pika or cony, and red fox. The wolverine, now rare in the Cascades, has never been seen in the Olympics. But animals move about, and it is entirely possible that there will be natural additions to the Olympic fauna. Dr. Victor B. Scheffer has stated that the red fox and the porcupine are expected to invade the Peninsula sometime in the present century. During 1951, two porcupines were seen on the Peninsula near the ocean—one at Kalaloch and another south of Queets Village.
Other changes have been brought about directly or indirectly by man. The Olympic wolf—a big, gray, magnificent animal—was once fairly numerous, but, because of merciless poisoning and hunting before the park was established, it is now probably extinct.
The coyote, renowned for his ability to survive civilization, has invaded the Olympic Peninsula during the present century. To some extent this animal fills the ecologic niche left vacant by the disappearance of the Olympic wolf.
Long before the National Park was established, mountain goats were brought from British Columbia and Alaska and released on Mount Storm King, near Lake Crescent. The transplanted animals have thrived and multiplied, and have spread eastward across the park.
YOU AND THE ANIMALS
The animals of the park are an integral part of the wilderness scene. The principal purpose for which the park was established was to preserve and display the natural wilderness. Thus, the animals are wild, living in their natural habitat. Not only must the animals and their normal habits be preserved, but their wilderness home as well. Whether the presence of man will be disturbing to the wilderness and its dwellers depends upon how humans behave in it. Any act that would tend to break down wilderness animal behavior is harmful to wildlife and is a violation of park rules.
Proper behavior of park visitors in the presence of national park animals may need explanation. The feeding of wild animals by man is harmful to their best interest. For thousands of years they have been able to feed themselves, and their continued well-being depends on their doing so now and in the future. For example, black bears in Olympic have not yet become troublesome, but bears, by nature, are inclined to become spoiled if artificial feeding habits are encouraged. Bears normally eat many kinds of plant and animal foods, but a camper’s larder contains tidbits that would tickle the palate of any bear. If an animal learns to associate food delicacies with campers, he will repeatedly seek experiences of that kind to the everlasting annoyance, misfortune, and even tragedy of the campers. The thoughtless camper who wilfully, or negligently, starts the bear on the road to ruin may escape the consequences. It is the bear himself and people who appear on the scene later who suffer for the deeds of earlier campers. The bear may become a dangerous nuisance and may have to be destroyed.
The only intelligent and humane solution is to refrain from all practices which tend to disturb or change the animal’s normal way of life. Self-restraint and good camping practice are necessary in order to accomplish this. Under no circumstances offer food to a bear or leave food or garbage where he can get at it. Remember that he is powerfully muscled and can climb trees. Refuse, including cans and bottles, should be burned not only to destroy all that is edible but to destroy food odors. Then, when the charred cans and bottles are placed in refuse containers or buried, the bears will not smell them and dig them out.