Crater Lake

Crater Lake National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Crater Lake National Park Checklist of Mammals A- Abundant LC - Locally Common R - Rare C - Common U - Uncommon P - Present, but not often seen * - federally listed threatened species + - federally listed species of concern Help us out! To further park research, please report any sightings of animals listed as other than abundant or common to a park visitor center. Please report all bear sightings. S W Opossums Virginia Opossum U P Shrews and Moles Marsh Shrew Pacific Shrew Water Shrew Fog Shrew Trowbridge’s Shrew Vagrant Shrew Shrew-mole Broad-footed Mole U U C R U C C U P P P P P P P P Bats California Myotis Long-eared Myotis + Little Brown Myotis Long-legged Myotis + Yuma Myotis + Hoary Bat Silver-haired Bat Big brown Bat Pallid Bat R U C U R C R C R - Pikas, Rabbits, and Hares American Pika Snowshoe Hare White-tailed Jackrabbit C C U P U U U C R U A C LC LC P P P P P P P P A R A C U P R P P P Rodents Mountain Beaver Yellow-pine Chipmunk Least Chipmunk Siskiyou Chipmunk Townsend’s Chipmunk Yellow-bellied Marmot California Ground Squirrel Belding’s Ground Squirrel Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Western Gray Squirrel Douglas’ Squirrel Northern Flying Squirrel Botta’s Pocket Gopher S C R R A LC U C U LC LC U U U LC R LC LC C W P P R P P P P P P P P P P P R P P P Carnivores Coyote Red Fox Common Gray Fox Black Bear Ringtail Common Raccoon Marten Fisher + Ermine Long-tailed Weasel Mink Wolverine + American Badger Western Spotted Skunk Striped Skunk Northern River Otter Mountain lion Lynx * Bobcat C C U C R R C R R C R R C U LC R R R R C R R P R P LC P P P R R P R R R R R R Deer, Elk, and Pronghorn Elk Mule Deer Pronghorn C C R R R - Western Pocket Gopher Great Basin Pocket Mouse American Beaver Deer Mouse Bushy-tailed Woodrat Dusky-footed Woodrat Western Red-backed Vole Heather Vole Red Tree Vole Long-tailed Vole Montane Vole Creeping Vole Water Vole Townsend’s Vole Common Muskrat Western Jumping Mouse Pacific Jumping Mouse Common Porcupine Please don’t feed the animals! More than fifty mammals make their home at Crater Lake National Park, ranging in size from the little brown bat to the Roosevelt elk. While most visitors to the park hope to see a bear or an elk, you’re more likely to encounter birds, chipmunks, and ground squirrels. These animals live in a harsh volcanic landscape that is buried by snow eight months of the year. Be a gracious guest during your visit—enjoy watching the wild animals, but do not feed them! No matter how much they may beg or plead for your food, feeding animals is not permit­ ted. Here’s why: It’s bad for the animals Animals that learn to depend on human handouts lose their instinctive abilities to find food for them­ selves. Even a single potato chip is bad for wild animals—potato chips do not naturally occur in their diet. Neither do cheese curls, candy, sand­ wiches, or even peanuts or raisins. Animals quickly come to recognize humans as a source of food, and may forget their natural food seeking skills. When winter comes, the easy food supply they’ve come to depend on disappears. They may now starve be­ cause they have lost their self-sufficiency. Wild animals that are fed by humans are soon no longer “wild.” They lose their natural fear of hu­ mans and become vulnerable to other animals that would harm them. Increased territorial behavior and fighting may occur when many animals are crowded into small areas competing for the same food. Every creature plays an important role in natural ecological cycles. Disrupting these cycles may have dramatic consequences. be collecting pine seeds to eat now and to store in winter caches. These caches are also an important food source for larger animals, such as bears. Many of the stored seeds may germinate. They have, in effect, been “planted.” Research indicates that small mammals or birds plant most of the whitebark pines which cling to the rim of the caldera. When these animals rely on us for food and stop gathering pine seeds, whitebark pines cease to be planted. Whitebark pine roots, in turn, play a role in stabilizing the rim of the caldera. The chain has been broken. It’s bad for the ecosystem Wild animals seem to face difficult challenges for survival. It’s natural to want to “help out.” However, this is the life for which they are designed and adapted. Even with good intentions, we may easily disrupt natural processes. Consider the following example: Feeding birds and squirrels is a common practice. However, without our snacks, these animals would Crater Lake National Park receives half a million visitors per year. If each person feeds just one animal just one treat, that still equals half a million instances of feeding every year! It’s dangerous for you All of the animals in the park are wild. Wild animals do, indeed, often bite the hand that feeds them. Wild animals—and the ticks, fleas, and lice they carry—may also harbor diseases, which may be transmitted to you through contact with them or their feces. But I didn’t hand it any food! If you are a messy camper or a litterbug, you are, in effect, feeding the wildlife. “Feeding” may result not only from giving food to an animal but also from leaving food out at your campsite or allowing food scraps to remain at your picnic site. These actions are in fact unlawful in national parks and are pun­ ishable by a citation and a fine. We take feeding park wildlife seriously! How can I help? Glad you asked! Make sure that you leave a clean camp or picnic site. Leave no trace of your visit— not even an apple core. If you see other visitors feeding wildlife, ask them to stop. Enjoy Crater Lake and all its inhabitants in their wild and natural state. EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA R e v. 12/2001 klb