• View of the Monument across the Snake River

    Hagerman Fossil Beds

    National Monument Idaho

Mammals

Western Cottontail Rabbit

Cottontail rabbit watching.

NPS Photo

Agricultural and residential development, as well as recreational activity, has altered the wildlife community of the Monument. Mule deer are common. Red foxes, coyotes, badgers, cottontail rabbits, and yellow-bellied marmots are upland residents. River otter, beaver, muskrat, mink, and other furbearers are found in and around Hagerman’s ponds, marshes, and waterways.

The most visible species, when its population is high, is the black-tail jackrabbit. Cottontail and pygmy rabbits are also present. Other species include Townsend's and Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus spp.), canyon mouse (Peromyscus spp.), wood rats (Neotoma spp.), marmots or rockchucks (Marmota flavivventris), and kangaroo rats (Dipodomys ordii).

Predators include coyotes (Canis latrans), badgers (Taxidea taxus), spotted skunks (Spilogale putorius), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), weasels and mink (Mustela spp.), and an occasional bobcat (Lynx rufus).

Did You Know?

Drawing of how the Hagerman Horse may have appeared.

The zebra-like horse fossil Equus simplicidens was originally named Plesippus shoshonensis by Dr. Gidley, Smithsonian paleontologist, who led the 1929 excavation at Hagerman.  He felt the fossil was different enough to represent a new species distinct from any other fossil horses.