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 Zion National Park
 Wildlife

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Do not feed the animals!  Wild animals become unhealthy from eating human food and grow dependent on it as a food source. Often animals that are fed become nuisances and must be destroyed. It is also against the law to feed any wild animal.

Additionally, feeding wildlife is dangerous. Small rodents can and will bite the hand that feeds them, transmitting a variety of diseases. Larger animals, such as deer, have been known to buck or kick suddenly and cause serious injuries.

If you are watching an animal and it notices you, or changes its behavior because of your activities, you are too close. Rather than attempting to get that perfect photograph or get just one step closer, please step back and enjoy your wildlife experience from a safe distance.

Mother deer sometimes leave their fawns alone for short periods of time as they feed. As young fawns have no scent, they are safe from predators. If you observe a fawn by itself, it has probably not been abandoned. Leave the fawn alone, do not feed it, do not pet it, and do not try and catch it; its mother will return.

There are many mammals in Zion, especially of the small variety.  Many larger mammals also are present:

Coyote - Canis latrans: - Fairly common, parkwide.
Gray Wolf - Canis lupus: Extirpated
Kit Fox - Vulpes velox: Rare, lower elevations.
Red Fox - Vulpes vulpes: Rare, parkwide.
Common Gray Fox -Urocyon cinereo-argenteus: Fairly common, lower elevations
Black Bear - Ursus americanus: Rare migrant, high country.
Grizzly Bear - Ursus arctos: Extirpated
Ringtail - Bassariscus astutus: Common, parkwide.
Ermine - Mustela erminea: Uncommon, high elevations.
Raccoon - Procyon lotor: Uncommon, lower elevations.
Long-tailed Weasel - Mustela frenata: Uncommon, parkwide.
American Badger - Taxidea taxus: rare, parkwide.
Western Spotted Skunk - Spilogale gracilis: Uncommon, rocky, low areas.
Striped Skunk - Mephitis mephitis: Common, parkwide.
Mountain Lion - Felis concolor: Fairly common, parkwide.
Bobcat - Lynx rufus: Uncommon, parkwide.
Elk - Cervus elaphus: Uncommon, higher elevations.
Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus: Common, parkwide.
Desert Bighorn - Ovis canadensis nelsoni: Extirpated, reintroduced, uncommon

 

  Images and text courtesy of National Park Service.

 

 


 

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