Seeing as Glacier Country Montana is home to Glacier National Park, one of the most diverse ecosystems in the northwestern United States, the following information is based upon data pertaining to the park. However, most all of these animals are present throughout the whole of Glacier Country. Using the park as a case-study helps to avoid becoming too generalized on the topic. When viewing wildlife in Montana, please be courteous, because this is their home as well.
Wildlife is one of Glacier Countries main attractions. Check out our flash game, created around this wonderful attraction.
Threatened Species
Two threatened species of mammals, the grizzly bear and the Canadian lynx, are found in the park. (Find out about Bear Safety). Although their numbers remain at historical levels, both are listed as threatened because in virtually every other region of the U.S. outside of Alaska, they are either extremely rare or absent from their historical range. The number of grizzlies and lynx in the park is not known for certain, but park biologists believe that there are slightly less than 350 grizzlies park wide. An estimated 800 black bears are believed to exist in the park. The black bear is less aggressive than the grizzly and a recent study using DNA to identify hair samples indicated that there are about six times as many black bears as there are grizzlies.
Montana Bears
Everything you ever wanted to know about grizzly bears, black bears... and "Smokey Bear" too!
Mammals
Another study has indicated that the wolverine, another very rare mammal in the lower 48 states, continues to reside in the park. Other large mammals such as the mountain goat (the official park symbol), bighorn sheep, moose, elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, coyote, and the rarely seen mountain lion, are either plentiful or common. Unlike in Yellowstone National Park, which commenced a wolf reintroduction program in the 1990s, wolves have existed almost continuously in Glacier.
62 species of mammals in all have been documented in the park, including badger, beavers, river otter, porcupine, mink, marten, fisher, six species of bats and numerous other smaller mammals.
Birds
A total of 260 species of birds have been recorded, with raptors such as the bald eagle, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, osprey and several species of hawks residing year round. Glacier Park is perhaps the best place to see harlequin ducks in the lower 48 states. These "clown ducks", painted in a gray-orange-black-white costume, seem to frolic as they swim and dive in the turbulent water of McDonald Creek. They walk the bottom in search of mollusks and aquatic insects. Their peculiar barking call can often be heard above the roar of rapids when feeding and they emit a squeaking sound during courtship rituals.
The great blue heron, tundra swan, Canada goose and American pigeon are species of waterfowl more commonly encountered in the park. Great horned owl, Clark's nutcracker, Steller's jay, pileated woodpecker and cedar waxwing reside in the dense forests along the mountainsides, and in the higher altitudes, the ptarmigan, timberline sparrow and rosy finch are the most likely to be seen. The Clark's nutcracker is less plentiful than in past years due to the reduction in the number of whitebark pines.
Birding Trails: Pathways from Conservation to Adventure.
These trails, covering stretches of roadway across many miles, offer birders, naturalists, and general eco-tourists grand opportunities to explore. Birding and nature trails are fundamentally driving-routes linking key birding locations. The growth of birding trails combines Americans' love of the automobile with the increasing interest in birds, creating access and opportunities.
Reptiles
Because of the colder climate, ectothermic reptiles are all but absent, with two species of garter snakes and the western painted turtle being the only three reptile species proven to exist. Glacier Park's cold winters, short growing seasons and high altitudes are less than ideal for reptiles. These animals are "ectothermic", meaning they gather body heat from their surroundings. There are only three species of reptiles in the park, with a fourth suspected to be present. The common garter snake and western terrestrial garter snake (sometimes called the "wandering" garter snake ) are the two most likely to be seen.
Western painted turtles can be seen basking on logs in and around low elevation lakes on the west side of the park. The term "painted" is appropriate, especially for the western variety. Only a few sightings of the rubber boa have been made in the park, none documented. They are probably present, but nocturnal feeding habits (they feed mostly on small rodents) make them difficult to locate.
Amphibians
Glacier National Park contains over 1,500 miles of streams and rivers and about 700 lakes, ponds, marshes, bogs, and other wetland habitats. Amphibians found in the park exhibit some highly specialized adaptations. The tailed frog, named for the male's inside-out reproductive opening (cloacae), is unusual. Many scientists consider them the most primitive frog in North America. Boreal toads are disappearing from parts of their Rocky Mountain range, although there is no evidence they are declining in Glacier Park. The large Moose Fire of 2001 added a new wrinkle to the boreal toad story. In the burned area nearly a dozen new toad breeding sites appeared the following year. Some park roads had to be closed for a time because thousands of migrating toadlets were moving across them. Other amphibian species found in Glacier National Park are (1) the long-toed salamander with a chartreuse stripe along its back, (2) the Columbia spotted frog, the most commonly seen amphibian, (3) the Pacific treefrog, mainly in the Lake McDonald valley area, and (4) the boreal chorus frog, a tiny species recently found at a few locations on the east side of the park.
Fish
Glacier is also home to the endangered bull trout, which is illegal to possess and must be returned to the water if caught inadvertently. Lake trout (also called mackinaw), historically found only in park waters draining to Hudson Bay, now occur in most of the large lakes west of the Continental Divide. However, there is no evidence that non-native lake trout were directly stocked in park waters. They apparently became established in several of the park's west side lakes through migration from the lower Flathead River system where they were introduced during the early 1900's.
Several other species were directly introduced into park waters including rainbow trout, brook trout, Yellowstone cutthroat trout, kokanee, lake whitefish and grayling.
Bull trout (Federally listed as a "threatened" species), westslope cutthroat trout, largescale suckers, northern pikeminnow, redside shiners, peamouth, and several species of sculpins are native to the park's west side. Several high, pristine fishless lakes in the park have been stocked with non-native sportfish species.
Preserving Glacier’s Native Bull Trout (pdf)
Insects, Spiders, Centipedes, Millipedes
It would be nearly impossible to compile a complete list of arthropods (insects, spiders, etc.) for any one area of the world. There are simply too many. Glacier National Park is no exception. Every year scientists discover new species of insects, mites or spiders. Experts say there may be five million species worldwide -- most still unidentified. There are many strange and interesting arthropods in the park.
For an education on insect diversity, examine any large rotting log in the west-side ancient forest. Centipedes, millipedes, sowbugs, mites, beetles, spiders -- in some logs, 20,000 species -- go about their work turning a dead tree into soil. Here, life is dedicated to recycling dead matter into nutrients that will nurture new life.
The prairies to the east of the park are hot in the summer. To escape the heat, millions of army cutworm moths migrate to high, cool alpine areas in the mountains of Glacier Park and roost under the loose rocks of talus slopes. Grizzly bears turn these over and feast on the moths for a few weeks during late summer. Ladybird beetles also congregate in certain alpine areas and grizzlies, always hungry, also know about this natural gathering. In five areas of the park (at last count), small colonies of 10 to 30 Yellowstone checkerspot butterflies live. They lay their eggs only on black bearberry leaves in sunny, wet spots. The black bearberry is an early-stage successional plant -- it grows just after the pioneer species take root following a fire. The combination of dependency on wildfire and utilization of a specific plant for reproduction makes life precarious for checkerspots. But they are here. Natural systems comprise a complex mix of species, habitats and the nuances of inanimate and environmental factors. The magic of Glacier Park is that we can observe life in a truly wild and intact system.
