I Spy Wildlife
– By #Wall-Badlands Area Chamber
Did you know there are thousands of wildlife nested all over Wall SD and the Badlands National Park that locals and tourists love spotting? Well it’s true! Thousands of critters, big and small! It’s always exciting to get a glimpse of them. The variety of wildlife in Wall ranges from reptiles, rodents, birds, small and big mammals and carnivorous mammals, such as:
- Prairie Dogs
- Ground Squirrels
- Chipmunks
- Black Footed Ferrets
- Prairie Rattle Snakes
- Bull Snakes
- Green Racer snakes
- Skunks
- Badgers
- Coyotes
- Foxes
- Bobcats
- Deer
- Big Horn Sheep
- Bison
- Pronghorn Antelope
- Golden Eagles
- Falcons
- Accipters
- Burrowing Owls
- Buetos
- and many more!
Ever played a game of hide and seek? Get ready to play the ultimate seeking game with the cutest little critters, Prairie Dogs! There is never a shortage of Prairie Dogs. They weigh 1 to 3 pounds each, have short strong arms, long nailed toes that help them dig, short legs, yet can run short distances up to 35 miles per hour. You’ll find Prairie Dogs not only hiding and seeking from their underground towns, but trimming grass, kissing or sniffing each other, eating, predator watching, and building new burrows or maintaining existing ones. These adorable critters are related to ground squirrels and chipmunks. Prairie dogs are nick named the pipsqueaks of the prairie. This name is driven by the way they communicate, with a little bark that sounds like a “squeak or yip”. Prairie dogs communicate extremely well between each other, from the size, shape, animal, color and speed of anything approaching their space. For example, they can tell a coyote vs domesticated dog, a predator or if a human in a blue shirt is approaching them.
Another wild life favorite to spy are Bison. Bison, also known as Buffalo, are massive mammals. Majestic creatures, standing 6.5 feet tall, weighing 2,000 pounds, can run 35 mph, leap 6 feet vertical, have large humps at their shoulders, big heads with horns and are full of long, shaggy brown, black fur that grows thicker during winter months and sheds in spring and early summer. Buffalo spend their days grazing on grass and shrubs 9-11 hours a day, roaming over 2 miles during their grazing time. This magnificent wild life animal is not one to provoke and it’s recommended to maintain a distance of 100 feet whenever possible. It may look gentle, but when provoked you won’t stand a chance. During an attack, bison charge at people and gore them with their horns before throwing them into the air with their powerful neck muscles. So please admire this beauty from your car or a distance!
We hope you enjoy your time touring Wall, SD and the Badlands National Park. Take lots of photos for memories, tag our socials and remember the rule of thumb.; never feed wildlife human food as it can upset their stomachs, and never approach, or provoke the wildlife as they can severely injure you or cause death by attacking you and even passing along an awful disease!
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