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Wildlife - Boulder - Denver - Golden and Lyons
The Front Range of Colorado touches three distinct ecosystems - grassland prairie, pinyon-ponderosa woodlands and montane - that support a rich variety of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Rabbit, hare, prairie dog, fox, coyote, badger, bobcat, mule deer, elk, black bear and mountain lion all call the Front Range their home.
Black Bear
The American Black Bear or "ursus americanus" is the most common bear found in the United States and the only bear in Colorado. Despite its name, the Black Bear comes in a variety of colors including cinnamon brown, pale white and even a bluish hue. The weight of a Black Bear can vary widely depending on the age, sex, and geographic location of the bear. Generally, however, they weigh anywhere between 150 and 600 pounds. Unlike the Brown Bear, the Black Bear displays no hump on its back, which makes it easily discernable from its larger and more dangerous cousin. The Black Bear's claws are also much darker and shorter than a Brown Bear's claws, another distinguishing feature.
Although Black Bears possesses color vision their eyesight is poor, so they rely upon a keen, directional sense of smell to navigate the wilderness and find food. The diet of a Black Bear consists mainly of berries, nuts, grasses, insects and occasionally small mammals. While the bears are generally vegetarians, they have been knows to feed on animal carcasses and will eat virtually anything especially right before hibernation when they need to put on their winter weight.
Black Bears do hibernate, but most often, they do not sleep the entire winter. They are know to wake up during hibernation and "sleep walk" to find some food, drink some water and even go to the bathroom. It is not necessary for them to eat, drink or go to the bathroom during the hibernation period, but bears in warmer climates are often awoken by warm weather which signals a false end to their hibernation. Upon realization that winter is still in full gear, the bears will retreat to their dens to fall back asleep until they wake again. The hibernation period generally lasts around 7 months.
Mountain Lion
Mountain Lions have the widest distribution of any species of native mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Today, they are commonly found from the Front Range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains through to the entire west coast, along the Mexican border in Texas' Big Bend National Park, and there are rare sightings in Florida. The population of cougars, once near extinction, is growing rapidly and is expected to move east as the years go by, some even predicting cougars in New Jersey within 20 years. Cougars have become so common, that they are once again causing problems with ranchers who often spot cougars taking off with their livestock. This could be a dangerous issue for the continued survival of the species as ranchers are now being permitted to put down cougars that are caught taking livestock.
Mountain lions have many common names including: cougar, panther, catamount and puma. Mountain Lions are the largest wild felines in North America and full-grown males can exceed 200 lbs in weight. Mountain lions hunt during off-hours and tend to avoid people if possible. Their primary prey is deer or elk, but they've been known to eat porcupines, coyotes, raccoons, birds, foxes, prairie dogs, and grasses. On average, one mountain lion will generally consume about one deer, per week.
Called "caching", a lion will cover the remains of its prey with needles and sticks, and return to the kill periodically to feed until the meat spoils. Caches are commonly found under thick brush, low trees and tall grasses. If you find a lion kill, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. The lion may be near and when in hunting mode, they make no distinction between prey.
Coyote
Coyotes are very adaptable animals and can live in a variety of environments. Living in major metropolitan areas as well as the deserts of Utah, coyotes feed on everything from small mammals, berries and grasses to the occasional left-overs of another animal's kill.
Coyote tracks average 2.5 inches long. The hind print is generally smaller than their front print. The inner two toes are smaller than the outer two. Coyotes are graceful jumpers, excellent runners and are quite skiddish when approached. They also don't mind the water and will swim to pursue a kill.
Coyotes live in dens. Coyote dens are usually located in hollow trees, burrows, small caves, or in the brush under a large tree. Coyotes, like rattlesnakes, will sometimes move in to the den of another animal.
Coyote pups are generaly born in late spring and will be able to survive on their own the following fall. Coyotes are diurnal mammals, active both day and night.
A great way to distingish between canine and feline prints is by claw marks. If you see a print you are unsure about, look for claw marks. If you see them, more than likely, the track was left by a canine. Felines have retractable claws and rarely show their claws in a track.
The Golden Eagle is one of two large brown eagles residing in North America. Females are generally larger than the males; juveniles tend to be much darker than the adults. Goldens in the Front Range area are not true migrants. Because their diet consists of perrenially available small to medium-size mammals, the eagles simply expand their home territory during winter. Goldens tend to use the same nest site for many generations. They can be seen carrying nesting material to enlarge or repair an older nest. These materials consist of various kinds of sticks, especially pine boughs. These scented boughs act as parasite control by repelling insects that find the smell unappealing. These birds are protected by wildlife closures.
Peregrine Falcons are found throughout North America but are uncommon in general. Plumage varies distinctly between adults and juveniles. Adults have dark heads with dark mustache marks that contrast sharply with black streaking on white underparts. Juveniles have darker underparts such that the black streaking is not quite as prominent. Unlike the Golden Eagle, most Peregrines search for ledges on a rock face rather than a nest. They scrape out any debris that has fallen on the ledge during the winter or previous years. Due to increasing numbers in the United States, the Peregrine Falcon was downgraded from "Endangered" to "Threatened" on the federal endangered species list in 1999.
The Prairie Falcon looks much like the Peregrine, although its coloration is overall more pale. Rather than a stark black and white contrast, Prairie Falcons have gray spots on a much whiter underside. Prairies are also far more common along the Front Range than the Peregrines. Both falcon species scrape debris out from desired nest sites. The ledge they create is known as an eyrie; sometimes potholes or other indentations in a rock face are used.
Hiding in tall wetland grasses lives a small, shy mouse with a long tail; the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse. This nocturnal mouse is now listed as threatened with extinction by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
Though they may seem everywhere in the Front Range, Black-tailed prairie dogs have been decimated in the West. Approximately 98% of the their habitat has been destroyed since Euro-American settlement. The Hops Blue butterfly is known from a few sites along the Front Range, and no where else in the world. It and its food plant, wild hops, are strictly protected.
Townsend's Big-eared Bats spend the months of April through October on Front Range territory. Multiple females bearing one pup each seek roosting sites in caves along the Front Range. Pups are raised in a nursery system under the watchful care of many mothers. But even under normal conditions without human interference, pups suffer high mortality rates. Those that survive through fall migrate short distances to higher elevations. Once arriving in a colder climate, the bats hibernate until their April return. These bats are protected by wildlife closures.
Black Bear
The American Black Bear or "ursus americanus" is the most common bear found in the United States and the only bear in Colorado. Despite its name, the Black Bear comes in a variety of colors including cinnamon brown, pale white and even a bluish hue. The weight of a Black Bear can vary widely depending on the age, sex, and geographic location of the bear. Generally, however, they weigh anywhere between 150 and 600 pounds. Unlike the Brown Bear, the Black Bear displays no hump on its back, which makes it easily discernable from its larger and more dangerous cousin. The Black Bear's claws are also much darker and shorter than a Brown Bear's claws, another distinguishing feature.
Although Black Bears possesses color vision their eyesight is poor, so they rely upon a keen, directional sense of smell to navigate the wilderness and find food. The diet of a Black Bear consists mainly of berries, nuts, grasses, insects and occasionally small mammals. While the bears are generally vegetarians, they have been knows to feed on animal carcasses and will eat virtually anything especially right before hibernation when they need to put on their winter weight.
Black Bears do hibernate, but most often, they do not sleep the entire winter. They are know to wake up during hibernation and "sleep walk" to find some food, drink some water and even go to the bathroom. It is not necessary for them to eat, drink or go to the bathroom during the hibernation period, but bears in warmer climates are often awoken by warm weather which signals a false end to their hibernation. Upon realization that winter is still in full gear, the bears will retreat to their dens to fall back asleep until they wake again. The hibernation period generally lasts around 7 months.
Mountain Lion
Mountain Lions have the widest distribution of any species of native mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Today, they are commonly found from the Front Range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains through to the entire west coast, along the Mexican border in Texas' Big Bend National Park, and there are rare sightings in Florida. The population of cougars, once near extinction, is growing rapidly and is expected to move east as the years go by, some even predicting cougars in New Jersey within 20 years. Cougars have become so common, that they are once again causing problems with ranchers who often spot cougars taking off with their livestock. This could be a dangerous issue for the continued survival of the species as ranchers are now being permitted to put down cougars that are caught taking livestock.
Mountain lions have many common names including: cougar, panther, catamount and puma. Mountain Lions are the largest wild felines in North America and full-grown males can exceed 200 lbs in weight. Mountain lions hunt during off-hours and tend to avoid people if possible. Their primary prey is deer or elk, but they've been known to eat porcupines, coyotes, raccoons, birds, foxes, prairie dogs, and grasses. On average, one mountain lion will generally consume about one deer, per week.
Called "caching", a lion will cover the remains of its prey with needles and sticks, and return to the kill periodically to feed until the meat spoils. Caches are commonly found under thick brush, low trees and tall grasses. If you find a lion kill, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. The lion may be near and when in hunting mode, they make no distinction between prey.
Coyote
Coyotes are very adaptable animals and can live in a variety of environments. Living in major metropolitan areas as well as the deserts of Utah, coyotes feed on everything from small mammals, berries and grasses to the occasional left-overs of another animal's kill.
Coyote tracks average 2.5 inches long. The hind print is generally smaller than their front print. The inner two toes are smaller than the outer two. Coyotes are graceful jumpers, excellent runners and are quite skiddish when approached. They also don't mind the water and will swim to pursue a kill.
Coyotes live in dens. Coyote dens are usually located in hollow trees, burrows, small caves, or in the brush under a large tree. Coyotes, like rattlesnakes, will sometimes move in to the den of another animal.
Coyote pups are generaly born in late spring and will be able to survive on their own the following fall. Coyotes are diurnal mammals, active both day and night.
A great way to distingish between canine and feline prints is by claw marks. If you see a print you are unsure about, look for claw marks. If you see them, more than likely, the track was left by a canine. Felines have retractable claws and rarely show their claws in a track.
The Golden Eagle is one of two large brown eagles residing in North America. Females are generally larger than the males; juveniles tend to be much darker than the adults. Goldens in the Front Range area are not true migrants. Because their diet consists of perrenially available small to medium-size mammals, the eagles simply expand their home territory during winter. Goldens tend to use the same nest site for many generations. They can be seen carrying nesting material to enlarge or repair an older nest. These materials consist of various kinds of sticks, especially pine boughs. These scented boughs act as parasite control by repelling insects that find the smell unappealing. These birds are protected by wildlife closures.
Peregrine Falcons are found throughout North America but are uncommon in general. Plumage varies distinctly between adults and juveniles. Adults have dark heads with dark mustache marks that contrast sharply with black streaking on white underparts. Juveniles have darker underparts such that the black streaking is not quite as prominent. Unlike the Golden Eagle, most Peregrines search for ledges on a rock face rather than a nest. They scrape out any debris that has fallen on the ledge during the winter or previous years. Due to increasing numbers in the United States, the Peregrine Falcon was downgraded from "Endangered" to "Threatened" on the federal endangered species list in 1999.
The Prairie Falcon looks much like the Peregrine, although its coloration is overall more pale. Rather than a stark black and white contrast, Prairie Falcons have gray spots on a much whiter underside. Prairies are also far more common along the Front Range than the Peregrines. Both falcon species scrape debris out from desired nest sites. The ledge they create is known as an eyrie; sometimes potholes or other indentations in a rock face are used.
Hiding in tall wetland grasses lives a small, shy mouse with a long tail; the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse. This nocturnal mouse is now listed as threatened with extinction by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
Though they may seem everywhere in the Front Range, Black-tailed prairie dogs have been decimated in the West. Approximately 98% of the their habitat has been destroyed since Euro-American settlement. The Hops Blue butterfly is known from a few sites along the Front Range, and no where else in the world. It and its food plant, wild hops, are strictly protected.
Townsend's Big-eared Bats spend the months of April through October on Front Range territory. Multiple females bearing one pup each seek roosting sites in caves along the Front Range. Pups are raised in a nursery system under the watchful care of many mothers. But even under normal conditions without human interference, pups suffer high mortality rates. Those that survive through fall migrate short distances to higher elevations. Once arriving in a colder climate, the bats hibernate until their April return. These bats are protected by wildlife closures.
