Mammals
Mammals are characterized by the presence of mammary (milk) glands to feed their young, generally give live birth, and are at least partially covered by hair. Mammals of the Southern Rockies are well-adapted to live in the often-harsh conditions of our region, but habitat loss and degradation is now happening at an unprecedented rate, and some species are struggling to adjust.
Black-footed Ferret
The black-footed ferret, a member of the weasel family, is one of the most endangered mammals in North America. It once ranged throughout the Great Plains, but dramatic declines of prairie dog populations have taken a brutal toll on the ferret, which is dependent on prairie dogs for both food and habitat.
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
The black-tailed prairie dog once ranged across the shortgrass and mixed prairies of the Great Plains. It has lost more than 99% of its historic range, largely as a result of habitat destruction and the spread of an exotic disease known as plague.
Canada Lynx
Our campaign to protect and recover the Canada lynx represents an effort to bring back a native cat we had all but wiped out in the Southern Rockies.
Douglas County Pocket Gopher
Pocket gophers often live out their entire lives on less than an acre of land, and aside from brief encounters during the mating season, lead a solitary existence.
Gray Wolf
Gray wolves once roamed the wildlands of the Southern Rockies, but shooting, poisoning, and trapping led to extirpation of wolves in much of the United States by the mid-1930s. Gray wolves are now considered extinct in the Southern Rockies.
Grizzly Bear
Once roaming the entire western half of North America, from Alaska to central Mexico, the grizzly bear is now extinct from approximately 95% of its original range, including the Southern Rockies.
Gunnison’s Prairie Dog
A keystone species, the decline of the Gunnison’s prairie dog is tied to the decline of many other sagebrush ecosystem species.
Kit Fox
Kit fox are one of our region’s most endangered animals, reduced to only about 100 individuals in Colorado.
Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse
Our campaign to protect the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse and its biologically-important streamside habitat is also designed to protect open space and quality of life along the Front Range of Colorado and Wyoming.
Pygmy Rabbit
The Pygmy rabbit is the smallest known rabbit in the world and the only rabbit to dig its own burrows. Its current range is constrained to sagebrush steppe areas in Utah, Nevada, Oregon and Idaho.
Utah Prairie Dog
The critically imperiled Utah prairie dog is only found in small populations in the southwestern part of Utah. Utah prairie dogs have been reduced from their historic acreage of 448,000 to a mere 7,000 acres today – a decline of over 98%.
White-tailed Prairie Dog
The white-tailed prairie dog resembles other prairie dog species, but its white-tipped tail and dark cheek and eyebrow patches are distinctive. Unfortunately, prairie dogs share more than just looks – plague, poisoning, shooting, and habitat loss have caused major declines in all five species.
Wolverine
These fierce predators are the largest member of the weasel family. Though they once inhabited high-altitude regions across the western U.S., wolverines are believed to be extinct in the Southern Rockies.
Wyoming Pocket Gopher
The range of the Wyoming pocket gopher is limited to a small swath of the south-central part of the state. Because of their extremely limited range, the small numbers of individual gophers, and development pressure on their remaining habitat, the species is at a very real risk of extinction.