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Big Bend National ParkHorse riders descending the Laguna Meadow Trail towards the Basin, mid-1940s
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Big Bend National Park
Wildlife Sightings
 
Black bear on the Window Trail, 2006
David Warren
Black bear on the Window Trail, 2006

Big Bend is a wild place, dynamic and wide open, complete with the age-old life and death struggle of competition, survival of the fittest, a wildlife paradise. With over 650 species of vertebrates and 3,600 species of insects, Big Bend is a living, breathing laboratory of biodiversity. Visitors see it in action daily, often reporting their encounters with javelinas, sighting a mother bear with cubs, or delighting in the antics of the roadrunner chasing its lizard prey.

Below are summaries of black bear and mountain lion sightings, taken from wildlife sighting cards turned in by park staff and visitors. Rare bird sightings are also collected and posted on a quarterly basis.

Remember, we can only list the sightings you report. Always report unusual sightings to a park ranger.

 

Monthly Bear and Mountain Lion Sighting Summary Reports

2008
January | February | March | April

Previous years
2007 (January-December)
2006 (January-December)
2005 (January-December)

Captured through the binoculars
Rare Bird sightings
Find out what's being seen in the park
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Toll Mountain  

Did You Know?
Toll Mountain, 7415' (2260m), forming a prominent part of the Chisos Basin, is named for Roger Toll, Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. During winters, he evaluated proposed park sites. It was in this role, leaving the Big Bend in 1936, that he was killed in a car accident.
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Last Updated: May 08, 2008 at 10:39 EST