Wildlife In
The Great Smoky Mountains
National Park

As human activities dominate ever-larger portions of the American landscape, our National Parks have become increasingly valuable as sanctuaries for rare and endangered wildlife. Endangered Park animals include the northern flying squirrel, Peregrine Falcon, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Indiana bat, spruce-fir moss spider, and the Smoky madtom. The Park Service has been involved in a number of efforts to save these species from extinction. Park resource management crews have conducted prescribed fires in old-growth pine-oak forest to create suitable nesting sites for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Crews have also erected solid steel barricades at cave entrances to protect endangered bats from spelunkers during critical times of the year. Reintroduction programs have also increased the survival chances for Smoky madtoms and Peregrine Falcons.

Viewing wildlife in the Smokies can be challenging because most of the Park is covered by dense forest. Open areas like Cataloochee and Cades Cove offer some of the best opportunities to see whitetail deer, black bear, raccoon, Wild Turkey, woodchuck, and other animals. During winter, wildlife is more visible because deciduous trees have lost their leaves. Since many animals are most active at night, it can be advantageous to look for wildlife during early morning and late evening. It's also a good idea to carry binoculars. And don't forget to scan the trees. Many animals spend their days among the branches.

Prior to Park establishment in 1934, a number of animals native to the Smoky Mountains were eradicated by hunting, trapping, changing land uses, and other causes. Extirpated species include bison, elk, mountain lion, gray wolf, red wolf, fisher, river otter, Peregrine Falcon, and several species of fish. A primary goal of the National Park Service is to preserve the flora and fauna of the Smokies in a condition similar to that which existed prior to the arrival of modern, technological humans. In accordance with this mission, the Park Service has reintroduced the river otter, elk, red wolf, and Peregrine Falcon to the Smokies.

Surrounded by warm lowlands, the cool, moist, climate of the park's highest elevations creates islands of habitat suitable for animals commonly found in more northern areas, allowing them to live far south of their present primary ranges. Northern species such as the northern flying squirrel, red squirrel, and rock vole thrive at high elevations, while the Northern Saw-whet Owl, Canada Warbler, Common Raven, and other birds reach their southern most breeding point here in the park.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains some of the largest tracts of wilderness in the East and is a critical sanctuary for a wide variety of animals. Protected in the park are some 66 species of mammals, over 200 varieties of birds, 50 native fish species, and more than 80 types of reptiles and amphibians. Of the 200+ species of birds that are regularly sighted in the Park, 85 of them migrate from the neotropics, 120 of them nest in the Park, and 30 of those are listed as Species of Concern, making the Park an important source for repopulating areas outside the Park that are showing declines in the numbers of these birds.

The symbol of the Smokies, the American Black Bear, is perhaps the most famous resident of the Park. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park provides the largest protected bear habitat in the East. Though populations are variable, biologists estimate approximately 1,800 bears live in the park, a density of over two bears per square mile.

Of the 66 mammal speciesÊliving in the park, the largest is the elk, tipping the scales at nearly 700 pounds. The smallest is the rare pygmy shrew - a diminutive creature that weighs less than a dime. Some, such as the coyote and bobcat are reclusive, while whitetail deer are very common and obvious. In addition to deer, visitors most often see red and gray squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks, raccoons, opossums, red and gray foxes, skunks, and bats.

The black bear is the largest predator in the park. It is most often spotted in open areas such as Cades Cove and Cataloochee Valley. Ten other carnivore species inhabit the park, including coyotes, red foxes, and gray foxes. These nocturnal animals are not often seen unless surprised after dark along roadsides. Scientists believe that the bobcat is the only wild feline that is lives in the park. Visitors occasionally report seeing mountain lions, however, no concrete scientific evidence of their existence (such as tracks, scat, or other signs) has been found in the area in nearly 30 years.

Raccoons prowling campgrounds for unsecured human food are second only to bears in causing wildlife problems for visitors. Raccoons and skunks can carry rabies, a deadly disease, so always report unusual animal behavior to a park ranger.

Bats are unique mammals with forelimbs specialized for true flight. All eleven species of bats in the park feed exclusively on insects. Seven of these species hibernate during colder months while the other four species migrate. The big brown bat, eastern red bat, and eastern pipistrelle are most commonly seen. The park protects the largest colony of the federally endangered Indiana myotis in the state of Tennessee. Most of the caves in the park provide critical bat habitat. Because bats can be harmed by human disturbance in these caves, visitors are prohibited from entering them.

There are 27 species of rodents in the park -- the most of any mammal order. The deer mouse and white-footed mouse are the most common mammals in the park, though they are often only seen by campers and hikers who are startled by them as they forage for food during the night. Eastern chipmunks, gray squirrels, and red squirrels are common in the forests. The solitary woodchuck, also known as a ground hog, is less common but can be seen in open meadows and along mowed roadsides at lower elevations. Signs of the park's largest rodent, the beaver, are evident in cuttings and dams along the lower portions of creeks in the west and southwest park areas. The federally endangered Carolina northern flying squirrel is night active in the yellow birch and conifer forests of the upper elevations.

The park's eleven shrew and mole species are insectivores that are rarely seen as they tunnel in search of invertebrate prey beneath the soil and vegetation mats.

Two species of rabbit live in the park. The Eastern cottontail is common in many habitats and can often be seen in open areas, while the Appalachian cottontail is an uncommon and secretive forest dweller.

Mammals native to the area, but no longer living here include bison and gray wolves. Several efforts to reintroduce species that had beenÊextirpated from the park have been successful. Northern river otters wereÊreintroduced in the 1990s. Although secretive, they are active day or night in all seasons and can occasionally be seen along the larger creeks.

In 2001 the parkÊbegan a five-year experimental release program to determine if elk could be successfully reintroduced. These animals last roamed the southern Appalachians in the early 1800's. Most of the park's elk stay in the Cataloochee Valley area and are best viewed at a distance in the early morning or late evening when they move into the fields to feed.

The park's efforts to reintroduce red wolves were unsuccessful. A number of factors were responsible for this failure, including low reproduction rates and high pup mortality. The wolves were removed from the park and relocated to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.

The wild European hog is a non-native species that causes widespread damage to the park's ecosystem by wallowing and rooting.ÊAlthough total eradication of this destructive speciesÊis probably not possible, wildlife biologists trap or shoot non-native hogs to keep their numbers in check and reduce the damage caused by the animals.

Over 700 miles of streams in the park support fish. The park boasts over 50 native fish species, including the brook trout, whose fragile habitat is being wrested from the non-native rainbow and brown trout by active fisheries management. Low elevation, slower and warmer streams have the greatest aquatic diversity includingÊfour reintroduced federally threatened and endangered small fish: the Smoky Madtom, Yellowfin Madtom, Spotfin Chub, and Duskytail Darter.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been called the "Salamander Capital of the World." Climatic and geologic factors have combined to spur the development of 30 salamander species in five families, making this one of the most diverse areas on earth for this order. In fact, lungless salamanders have undergone an extraordinary level of evolutionary diversification in the park, 24 species inhabit the park, making it the center of diversity for the family.