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All animals have their own unique needs, and the canyon provides habitats for a wide range of them.
It has warmth for sun-seeking salamanders and cool air for furry black bears. There are leafy plants for sheep and deer to eat, and cool waters for fish to swim in.
The Grand Canyon provides a welcoming habitat for many creatures. It’s home to more than 80 species of mammals and 50 species of reptiles and amphibians. You’ll also find 25 fish species and more than 300 kinds of birds.
Today, the most common animal in the Grand Canyon is the human tourist. But right now, let’s hang out with a few of the locals and learn more about them.
Fish
▲ While hundreds of species of fish thrive in the Colorado River, only eight are native to the Grand Canyon. Other fish are stocked (supplied) by humans. The native squawfish (above), which is endangered, can grow up to 5 feet long and weigh up to 80 pounds.
◀ One negative effect of the Glen Canyon Dam is the cooling down of the waters of the Colorado River. Native fish that once thrived became extinct, and others are endangered. The non-native rainbow trout (left), introduced by humans, further threatens native species.
Arachnids
▲ More than six types of scorpions are found in the canyon, but the most common is the six-inch giant hairy scorpion. Its bite is usually no worse than a bee sting.
Reptiles
◀ Living on the sizzling rocks at lower elevations of the canyon is the little zebra-tailed lizard. It’s only around 3.5 inches long. When this cold-blooded reptile senses danger, it stands up on its hind legs and speeds away at up to 18 miles per hour!
Birds
▲ Nesting high in the cliff walls is a bird that matches the canyon in beauty and elegance. It’s the golden eagle. With a wingspan of more than six feet, it can easily swoop down to grab food. It feasts on squirrels, jackrabbits, mice, fish, and even baby bighorn sheep.
◀ The rarest bird in the canyon is the California condor. With a wingspan of 10 feet, it is the largest bird in North America. These birds were once nearly extinct, but now more than 70 live in the park, thanks to captive-breeding efforts in the 1980s and 1990s.
Mammals
▲ The most feared predator in the canyon is the mountain lion, also known as a panther, puma, or cougar. Rarely seen, it’s most active at night. This animal can weigh up to 160 pounds. Living mostly in forests along the North Rim, its diet consists of mule deer, elk, and bighorn sheep.
▲ Elk live in the forested rims of the canyon. An elk can be a tasty 750-pound meal for a mountain lion. Like bighorn sheep and mountain lions, elk were once hunted nearly to extinction.
◀ Bighorn sheep live only on the most remote slopes of the inner canyon. They stand nearly motionless on the edges of cliffs. You can easily identify them by their curled horns. When bighorn feel threatened, they can leap almost vertically to a canyon ledge sticking out above them.
The Kaibab squirrel, a native of the canyon’s North Rim, lives nowhere else on Earth. ▶
