Plan Your Visit Visitor Activities: Wildlife
Viewing
ALWAYS KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE
WHEN VIEWING WILDLIFE All animals require food, water,
and shelter. Each species also has particular living space,
or habitat, requirements. To learn more about wildlife habitats
and animal behavior, attend ranger-led
activities and download the Mammals
checklist for Grand Teton Naitonal Park.
OXBOW
BEND
One mile east of Jackson Lake Junction. Slow-moving water
provides habitat for fish such as suckers and trout, which
become food for river otters, ospreys, bald eagles, American
white pelicans, and common mergansers. Look for swimming beavers
and muskrats. Moose browse on abundant willows at the waters
edge. Elk occasionally graze in open aspen groves to the east.
TIMBERED
ISLAND
A forested ridge southeast of Jenny Lake. Small bands of pronghorn
antelope, the fastest North American land animal, forage on
nearby sagebrush throughout the day. Elk leave the shade of
Timbered Island at dawn and dusk to eat the grasses growing
among the surrounding sagebrush.
MORMON
ROW
East of Highway 26-89-91, one mile north of Moose Junction.
Along Mormon Row and Antelope Flats Road, bison and pronghorn
can be seen grazing in spring, summer, and fall. Also watch
for coyotes, Northern harriers, and American kestrels hunting
mice, Uinta ground squirrels, and grasshoppers. Sage grouse,
sage thrashers, and sparrows also frequent the area.
SNAKE
RIVER
Jackson Lake Dam south to Moose. Elk and bison graze in grassy
meadows along the river. Bison also eat grasses in the sagebrush
flats on the benches above the river. Bald eagles, ospreys,
and great blue herons build large stick nests within sight
of the river. Beavers and moose eat willows that line the
waterway.
CASCADE
CANYON
West of Jenny Lake. Look for, but do not feed, golden-mantled
ground squirrels at Inspiration Point. Pikas and yellow-bellied
marmots live in scattered boulder fields. Mule deer and moose
occasionally browse on shrubs growing at the mouth of the
canyon. Listen for the numerous songbirds that nest in the
canyon.
BLACKTAIL
PONDS
Half-mile north of Moose on Highway 26-89-191. Old beaver
ponds have filled in and now support grassy meadows where
elk graze during the cooler parts of the day. Several kinds
of ducks feed in the side channels of the Snake River. Moose
browse on willows growing along the river.
Be a Responsible Wildlife Observer
Use binoculars, spotting scopes
or long lenses for close views and photographs. Always maintain
a safe distance of at least 300 feet from large animals
such as bears, bison, moose, and elk.
Never position yourself between
an adult and its offspring. Females with young are especially
defensive.
It is illegal to feed wildlife,
including ground squirrels and birds. Feeding wild animals
makes them dependent on people, and animals often bite the
hand that feeds them.
Do not harass wildlife. Harassment
is any human action that causes unusual behavior, or a change
of behavior, in an animal. Repeated encounters with people
can have negative, long-term impacts on wildlife,including
increased levels of stress and the avoidance of essential
feeding areas.
Nesting birds are easily disturbed.
For wildlife, raising young is a private affair. If an adult
bird on a nest fl.ies off at your approach, or circles you
or screams in alarm, you are too close to the nest. Unattended
nestlings readily succumb to predation and exposure to heat,
cold, and wet weather.
Allow other visitors a chance
to enjoy wildlife. If your actions cause an animal to flee,
you have deprived other visitors of a viewing opportunity.
Use an animals behavior as a guide to your actions,
and limit the time you spend with wildlife, just as you
would when visiting a friends home.