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Nature & Wildlife in Yosemite National Park

The best encounters with nature and wildlife in Yosemite are legion. Our Sierra Nevada doesn't have the same kind of habitat that gives Yellowstone the big, charismatic fauna, but the broad elevation range (2000-13000 feet) actually gives Yosemite greater biotic diversity overall. Keep your eyes and ears open, and you'll find lots of wonderful creatures all around.

Start your explorations at either the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center or (in summer) the Nature Center at Happy Isles, in the far east end of Yosemite Valley. Both facilities have great exhibits on park wildlife and other natural history. Bookstores (non-profit) in both places have lots of useful resources for learning about flora and fauna, and rangers, volunteers and bookstore staff are valuable sources of local knowledge. Ranger walks and the Junior Ranger programs at Happy Isles are terrific ways to explore what lives in Yosemite.

The next best thing to do is to get out anywhere in Yosemite early in the morning. Fewer people are about, animals may be more active, and you're far more likely to find critters if you're out before 8-9 a.m., before traffic and tourists get going. Be quiet, walk slowly, stop and listen every so often. If it's wintertime, look for animal tracks in the snow - here's a way to "see" much more animal activity than you can in the summer; it's almost like spotting invisible animals.

Yosemite Valley has pretty good habitat diversity, and has lots of animals that don't mind people and cars: mule deer, coyotes, and bears are seen here every day. All the signs and literature you see about protecting your food from bears are telling the truth. The bears aren't very dangerous to us -they just want our food. Secure your food (NOT in your car) and you should be fine. Along similar lines, never feed the cute ground squirrels that may come begging. Feeding wildlife our food teaches them bad habits and causes problems on several levels. Take a picture but no feeding!