American Animals Montana and Nevada

Wildlife of Montana

The US state of Montana is located north of Wyoming and just below the southern border of Canada. The state is sparsely populated and has a lot of native wildlife, including the rarest mammal in North America, the black-footed ferret. There are more than 100 other species of mammals and some 440 different bird species. You can also find dozens of reptile and amphibian species and lots of wild game animals.

Official State Animal

Grizzly Bear

Official State Bird

Western Meadowlark

Among the wildlife you can see in Montana are bison, elk, bighorn sheep, moose, lynx, coyotes, wolverines, and wolves among others.

Some of the best parks for viewing wildlife are:

Greycliff Prairie Dog Town State Park which is a sanctuary for prairie dogs in southeast Montana.

Wild Horse Island is an island in the middle of Flathead Lake and a wonderful place to see wild horses.

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center where you can view grizzly bears and wolves and learn about them.

Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge has a wetland habitat with waterfowl like mallards, northern shovelers, gadwalls, redheads, and ruddy ducks. It has become an important breeding area for the Flathead Valley Canada goose population.

You can see red-necked and western grebes nesting on the refuge. In the summer there are white pelicans and in the active rookery are great blue herons, and double-crested cormorants.

Other birds include song sparrows, yellow-headed and red-winged blackbirds, and ring-necked pheasants. Ospreys nest on platforms, which are located on the south shore of the refugee.

Endangered animals

Black-footed ferret

Whooping crane

Pallid Sturgeon

White Sturgeon

Grizzly Bear

Wildlife of Nevada

Many tourists head to Nevada to enjoy the excitement of casino towns like Las Vegas and Reno. However, there are also amazing stretches of desert with wild and beautiful landscapes and even wild animals to see. The US state of Nevada is a large southwestern state bordering California to the west, Utah to the east, Arizona to the south, and Oregon and Idaho to the north. It is the driest state in the US and a third of it is in the Mojave Desert.

Lying in the Intermountain Plateau which is a region of rugged, elevated terrain bordered by the Rocky Mountains there are over 300 snow-capped mountain ranges broken up by wide valleys. Within these valleys are arid forests, hundreds of acres of marshlands, and many large lakes.

The wild animals that live in this state can survive in these rugged environments. There are more than 4,000 animal species among them 490 birds, 52 reptiles, and dozens of rodents.

Official State Animal

Desert bighorn sheep

Official State Bird

Mountain bluebird

The state's biggest predators are coyotes, mountain lions, and bobcats.

Pronghorn antelope, mule deer, and elk graze in huge herds all across the state.

Nevada also has gray foxes, kit foxes, and Sierra Nevada red foxes.

Among small mammals, there are bats, black-tailed jackrabbits, beavers, and river otters.

Native rodents are the Orid's kangaroo rat, the Wyoming ground squirrel, and the yellow pine chipmunk.

Others include ringtails, muskrats, and mountain beavers.

Upon the cliffs, you'll find bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and mule deer.

Wild horses and wild donkeys run in the desert and grasslands. Half of the wild horses in the US live in Nevada.

Other animals living in the desert are several snake species, frogs, turtles, and a strange reptile called the Gila monster. It is the only venomous lizard native to the US.

Nevada has hundreds of bird and waterfowl species among them the California quail, roadrunner, Steller's jay, and great blue heron.

Where To Find the Top Wild Animals in Nevada

The famous Desert National Wildlife Refuge is the largest in the US outside of Alaska. It was established to protect desert bighorn sheep. It now includes the rarest and most endangered species. Natural pools inside the refuge are home to the Devil's Hole desert pupfish which is one of the rarest fish in the world and the White River spring fish.

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is considered to be one of the best birding spots in the western US. This is a protected wetlands area that is home to over 280 bird species stopping here during their southward migration. It is a protected area for dozens of waterfowl and shorebird species.

Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a huge oasis in the middle of a dry stretch of desert. Many of the animals here are not normally found in desert terrains.

There is a huge sparkling lake and 360,00 acres of marshland. There are over 200 shorebird species, antelope, deer, and other animals.

Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge was established to protect the pronghorn antelope. There are also songbirds, mule deer, endangered fish, and endangered mammals among them the pygmy rabbit.

Endangered Animals in Nevada

Least Bell’s vireo

Yellow-billed cuckoo

Clover Valley speckled dace

Railroad Valley spring fish

Sierra Nevada red fox

Desert tortoise

Mountain yellow-legged frog

North American wolverine

Carson wandering skipper