Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park

4,179
Total Species
16
Categories
5
Threatened
2,076
Native Species

Yellowstone National Park documents 4,179 species, including 5 federally threatened or endangered taxa — making it a priority park for conservation monitoring.

Species Inventory by Category

Insect1,764Vascular Plant1,444Bird330Chromista204Other Non-vertebrates80Mammal78Crab/Lobster/Shrimp64Slug/Snail61Spider/Scorpion43Fungi37Fish19Protozoa18Non-vascular Plant15Reptile9Amphibian9Bacteria4

Taxonomic Order Distribution

Top 12 orders by species count in this park.

Order Category Species Families
Coleoptera Insect 485 47
Diptera Insect 404 37
Poales Vascular Plant 287 4
Lepidoptera Insect 285 10
Asterales Vascular Plant 228 3
Trichoptera Insect 164 17
Passeriformes Bird 150 27
Caryophyllales Vascular Plant 122 10
Plecoptera Insect 96 9
Brassicales Vascular Plant 95 3
Lamiales Vascular Plant 91 8
Ephemeroptera Insect 80 8

Native vs Non-Native Composition

Native: 2,076 species (50%)
Non-native: 233 species (6%)

Common Native Wildlife

Abundant or commonly-observed native species recorded in Yellowstone National Park:

Species Scientific Name Category Abundance
Boreal Chorus Frog Pseudacris maculata Amphibian Abundant
Columbia Spotted Frog Rana luteiventris Amphibian Abundant
American Coot Fulica americana Bird Abundant
American Robin Turdus migratorius Bird Abundant
Barrow's Goldeneye Bucephala islandica Bird Abundant
Canada Goose Branta canadensis Bird Abundant
Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina Bird Abundant
Clark's Nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana Bird Abundant
Common Raven Corvus corax Bird Abundant
Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis Bird Abundant

Federally Listed Threatened & Endangered Species

5 species in Yellowstone National Park carry federal threatened or endangered status.

Species Category Status Nativeness
Canada lynx, Canadian Lynx, lynx Mammal NA Native
Grizzly Bear Mammal NA Native
June Sucker Fish NA Unknown
Rainbow trout Fish NA Non-native
scrub pine, white pine, whitebark pine Vascular Plant NA Native

Tracked Non-Native Species

Non-native species documented in the park inventory:

Species Scientific Name Category Abundance
American Bullfrog, Bullfrog Rana catesbeiana Amphibian NA
Arctic Skua, Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus Bird NA
Cattle Egret, Western Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Bird Unknown
Chukar, Chukar Partridge Alectoris chukar Bird Occasional
Common Pigeon, Rock Dove, Rock Pigeon Columba livia Bird Uncommon
Common Starling, European Starling Sturnus vulgaris Bird Uncommon
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway Bird Unknown
Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto Bird Occasional

Abundance Profile

Abundance Level Species Count Percentage
Uncommon 696 16.7%
NA 668 16%
Rare 451 10.8%
Common 383 9.2%
Abundant 153 3.7%
Occasional 11 0.3%