While the majority of national park visitors come in search of untapped nature, the 63 parks spread across the country are also great places to spot a wide range of rare wildlife.
On top of animals such as moose and gray bears, Yellowstone National Park across Montana, Wyoming and Idaho is the only place in the U.S. where one can see nearly-extinct bison.Â
Parks in the southern parts of the country such as Death Valley and Grand Canyon, meanwhile, are where one will find animals such as bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes and bighorn sheep.
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‘First time a pack has been confirmed in a national park’
While the National Park Service (NPS) has lists where one can find the species that exist in a given national park, occasionally some escape attempts to track them.Â
Over in Northern California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, park authorities have confirmed the presence of a pack of gray wolves.
The apex predator was formerly thought to have been hunted into extinction from the park in the 1920s but has increasingly been getting spotted in certain parts of northern California over the last year. While most were individual sightings, this is the first time that a pack with the capability to breed has been confirmed by authorities.
“The pack previously confirmed in October 2024 … consists of two breeding adults and a minimum of two pups,” nonprofit California Wolf Watch wrote on Facebook (META). “While gray wolves have been confirmed dispersing through the park … this is the first time a pack has been confirmed inside the national park. They currently do not have a name yet and this yet to be named wolf pack is one of a dozen groups/packs confirmed living in California.”
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The sighting prompted significant discussion among those living in the area. While conservationists were particularly excited to see a nearly-extinct species, others are also stressing the need to inform the public about the presence of the predator.Â
As with all wolves, gray wolves are an apex predator that may attack any humans it perceives to be a danger. Local farmers have also been concerned that wolves could come after livestock such as chickens.
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“When wolves were extirpated from California by 1924, Sierra Nevada Red Foxes have been negatively impacted and outcompeted by coyotes so with the return of wolves to California, it is anticipated wolves will be reducing coyote numbers leading to a potential increase in Sierra Nevada Red Foxes,” California Wolf Watch writes further.Â
The latter is also a rare fox species that exists exclusively across the park and some parts of nearby Oregon.
Over the last year, there have been a number of incidents in which park visitors found themselves in dangerous and in some cases fatal situations after either accidentally or intentionally getting too close to wildlife.
“The safest (and often best) view of wildlife is from inside a car,” the NPS writes in its wildlife guidance. “Always stay at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards (23 meters) away from all other animals, including bison and elk.”
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