Mammals
American bison
North America's largest land animal, with wild herds on Antelope Island, in the Henry Mountains and in the Book Cliffs.
Utah prairie dog
A colony-dwelling rodent found nowhere but southwestern Utah, and federally listed as threatened.
The Utah prairie dog lives only in Utah. The Division of Wildlife Resources says it occurs in parts of seven counties in the southwest of the state and is the only vertebrate other than fish found nowhere else. It is clay to reddish brown, with a short white-tipped tail and a black stripe above each eye.
Prairie dogs live in colonies, or towns, in short-grass meadows, with deep burrows and many entrances. Lookouts bark warnings, with different calls for different predators. Their digging loosens soil, and they feed badgers, rattlesnakes, coyotes and birds of prey. On the high plateaus they hibernate from October to late March. Poisoning, disease and other eradication cut their numbers sharply in the 20th century; Bryce Canyon National Park says its reintroduction effort succeeded.
Watching and staying safe
Watch from a distance. The park notes their fleas can carry sylvatic plague.