Nestled on over 200 acres amidst towering pines and along rolling meadows just eight miles south of Rapid City, Bear Country U.S.A. offers visitors intimate views of wildlife.
The Arctic wolf is a resilient and highly adapted predator native to the frigid tundra of the Arctic regions, including northern Canada and Greenland. They thrive in one of the harshest environments on Earth, where temperatures can plunge below -58°F (-50°C) and the sun may not rise for months during winter.
To survive in these extreme conditions, the Arctic wolf has developed several physical adaptations. Its thick, insulating coat provides protection against the cold, while its white fur offers effective camouflage in the snowy landscape. Compared to other wolf subspecies, the Arctic wolf has a more compact body structure, including shorter legs, ears, and muzzle, which helps minimize heat loss. Additionally, its large, well-padded paws enable it to traverse ice and deep snow efficiently.
Arctic wolves are highly social animals that live in close-knit packs, typically consisting of a mated pair and their offspring. Unlike wolves in more temperate regions, they face fewer threats from humans due to their remote habitat, though climate change and industrial activities pose growing challenges.
Bighorn sheep are large, muscular wild sheep native to North America, primarily found in mountainous regions and rocky terrains. They are well adapted to rugged landscapes, with powerful legs and specialized hooves that provide exceptional grip for climbing steep cliffs and escaping predators. Males, known as rams, are distinguished by their large, curved horns, which can weigh up to 30 pounds, while females, called ewes, have shorter, more slender horns. Their coats are brown with a white rump, helping them blend into their surroundings.
Bighorn sheep have a well-defined social structure. Rams typically form bachelor groups, separate from ewes and lambs for most of the year. Ewes live in maternal herds with their young, providing a stable environment for raising offspring. During the breeding season, or rut, which occurs in late fall, rams compete for dominance through dramatic head-butting battles, using their massive horns to establish hierarchy and gain mating rights.
Behaviorally, bighorn sheep are cautious, relying on their keen eyesight and ability to navigate steep cliffs to avoid predators like mountain lions, coyotes, and golden eagles (which prey on lambs). They are diurnal, most active in the early morning and late afternoon when they graze on grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation. Seasonal migrations are common, with herds moving to higher elevations in summer and descending to lower valleys in winter to find food.
Despite their adaptability, bighorn sheep populations face threats from habitat loss, competition with domestic livestock, and diseases such as pneumonia, which can be transmitted by contact with domestic sheep. Conservation efforts, including habitat protection and disease management, have helped stabilize some populations, but ongoing efforts are needed to ensure their survival.
The American black bear is the most widely distributed bear species in North America, inhabiting a diverse range of environments, including forests, swamps, and mountainous regions across Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. Their adaptability allows them to thrive in both remote wilderness and areas near human settlements.
Black bears are omnivores, with diets that vary by season and location. They primarily eat fruits, nuts, berries, insects, fish, and small mammals but will also scavenge for carrion or human food when available. Their strong sense of smell—seven times more powerful than that of a dog—helps them locate food over long distances.
Despite their name, black bears come in a variety of colors, including brown, cinnamon, blonde, and even white in rare cases. They are excellent climbers and swimmers, often using trees as a refuge from danger or to find food. During winter, black bears enter a state of torpor, a form of hibernation where their metabolism slows down, allowing them to survive off stored body fat until spring.
Highly intelligent and adaptable, black bears play an essential role in their ecosystems by dispersing seeds and maintaining healthy forest environments. However, human-bear interactions have increased as development expands into their habitats, making conservation efforts crucial to ensuring their long-term survival.
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During the 15th century, buffalo dominated the American plains with numbers over 60 million. The Plains Indians followed herds sometimes up to 200 miles across the prairies. The Indians depended on the animal for survival and used every part of the buffalo. They used: hides for teepees and clothing, bones for tools and toys, the meat for food, tendons and muscles for sinewy sewing thread and bowstrings, horns for cups and spoons. They used the brains for hide tanning, the eyes for liquid paint thickener, and the buffalo chips for fuel and baby powder. The destruction of the animal, leading almost to extinction, began in 1830 when government policy advocated their extermination to subdue the “hostile” tribes through starvation. By 1900, less than 1000 buffalo remained. But thanks to federal regulation and careful breeding, there are now about 30,000 buffalo in national parks and privately owned rangeland such as Bear Country U.S.A.
A buffalo’s habitat varies. They live primarily on plains, prairies, river valleys and sometimes forests. Free ranging buffalo occur only in national parks and reserves such as Yellowstone and Custer. While we often call these animals buffalo, their proper name is bison. True buffalo only live in Africa and Asia.
The American buffalo is the largest terrestrial animal in North America. Bulls can weigh up to 2000 pounds, but are very good swimmers in spite of their weight. A buffalo will eat anywhere from 2% to 3% of their body weight “A DAY!!!” This means for every 1,000 pounds, 20 to 30 pounds of food is needed. Bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds so if you do the math, that is over 60 pounds of food per animal per day.
During breeding season, the bulls will fight for cow harems. They stand 20 feet apart and charge colliding foreheads with no apparent injury. This continues until one gives up. Bulls have little time to eat during the breeding season and can lose up to 200 pounds. Gestation is anywhere between eight to nine months. Calves are born in late spring and are light tan or Carmel color. After a few days of birth, the calf can keep up with the herd and follows it’s mother until the next spring. As they grow older, they develop heavier and darker hair and the characteristic hump. Buffalo are closely related to cattle and have been successfully crossbred with their domestic cousins to produce a “beefalo.”
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The Canadian Lynx is found in the forests of northern United States and Canada. They are found mostly in forested areas, swamps, and in the tundra in Northern Canada.
They are stout-bodied animals with thick, soft fur and short, stubby tails. They also have a tuft of hair, more than 2 cm long, at the tip of each ear. Their backs are dark Grey and their belly is grayish-white, often with black spots. They have long legs and extremely large feet that enable it to travel easily over deep snow. They are very agile climbers, spending some of their time in good weather on the limbs of trees, waiting for the weaker mammals and terrestrial birds that constitute their prey to pass beneath them.
It is common for Canadian Lynx to stalk their prey. They generally hunt alone, although group hunting and ambushing has been observed. They feed mostly on Snowshoe Hares. They will also eat small birds, rodents, deer, and caribou. Although not a timid hunter, the lynx will rarely contest its prey if confronted by other carnivores and will leave the kill uneaten. But when it comes to protecting their young, nothing holds them back.
They den in hollow logs, caves, beneath roots and other sheltered places. The Lynx’s range is about 50 miles, but their breeding range is considerably smaller (5 miles). They breed in the months of January and February and the gestation period is about two months. Litters can be anywhere from one to four kittens, but usually the mother will give birth to two kittens. By the fall, the youngsters will be well on their way to fending for themselves. Kittens may take meat at one month, but are not weaned until five months old. When winter comes they have still not got their adult teeth or fully developed their claws so that, although they will be accompanying their mother on hunting expeditions for some time, they are not yet able to survive alone. They stay with their mother until the next mating season, when they are usually chased away by suitors. Siblings often stay together for a time after separating from their mother.
These cats have a function of predation to perform to keep the wild animals and birds in proper numbers. Where they have been eliminated by over-shooting and trapping, an over abundance of animals such as rabbits and grouse have occurred. Their only refuge is in the deep woods and sometimes not even that can save them from the site of the human’s gun.
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The elk are also called “Wapiti”, which is the Cree Indian word for “white” referring the color of the animal’s rump.
In the wild, elk live chiefly in high, open mountain pastures in summer, and in lower wooded slopes or dense woods during the winter.
They are named just like cattle: cow, bull, calf. We handle and manage then like cattle. In the summer, the cows and calves live together while the bulls form “bachelor” herds. In the fall, breeding season the bulls fight, sometimes to the death, for a harem. The bull elk will stand on its rear legs and strike out with his sharp, cloven hooves. Not only are the bulls strong, they are very fast, running up to 35 mph, and, unlike deer, they can move through the forest almost silently. The calves are born with white spots for camouflage just like a deer fawn.
Each March the bulls shed their rack of antlers. The rack will drop off completely and the next one is already starting to grow. The new antlers, which grow almost an inch a day, are filled with blood vessels and can weigh up to 35 pounds. The antlers have a velvet-like covering, which is why we call this process “in the velvet.” They will reach their full length in mid-summer when the blood vessels inside dry up and the much-lighter antler becomes calcified like a bone. Preparing himself for breeding season, the bull runs the velvet off on tree limbs and sharpens the tines.
Habitat
Mouflon are wild sheep native to the Mediterranean region.
Diet
Mouflon are herbivores, primarily feeding on grasses, leaves, and shrubs.
Lifespan
A mouflon typically lives for 10 to 14 years in the wild, and up to 16 years in captivity.
Weight
Between 88 and 120 pounds
Scientific Name
Ovis Orientalis
Breeding
Mouflons typically breed in the fall, with females giving birth to one or two lambs in the spring.
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The Mountain lion is a very agile animal. It can easily cover 23 ft. in a single leap. They are known for their speed and quickness. One wouldn’t think that such a large animal could be quick, but they are.
Mountain lions are carnivores (meat eaters) and generally hunt in daylight where there are no humans. The mountain lion stalks its prey and when it attempts to flee, it pounces on the back of an animal with a powerful leap that knocks it to the ground. Once the lion has its prey on the ground, the prey can be killed with a single bite to the back of the neck. Mountain lions have huge hunting territories, and they eat all kinds of different animals. Deer is their principal source food, but they have been known to feed on rancher’s cattle. They can run very fast over short distances, but they tire quickly. Therefore, the cat must capture its prey on the first attack. If the prey is able to avoid the initial attack, it usually escapes. Mountain lions rarely share hunting territories and usually avoid each other. On the off chance two meet, they will make no attempt to defend their own territories or take over those of others.
The territories of male mountain lions may overlap those of females, so the males can detect when females are ready to mate. During a 14-day period of mating, a male and female hunt together and sleep next to each other. The female later gives birth in a carefully hidden den, located between rocks or in a cave. Blind at birth, the cubs have spotted coats until they are six months old. They begin to take meat provided by their mother at six weeks. Although they can hunt for themselves after nine months, they usually remain with their mother for two years. The cubs then leave her and wonder off to establish a territory of their own.
Many folk tales repeat the savagery of cougars, their numerous attacks on man and their bloodcurdling screams, but authentic, unprovoked attacks on man are far less numerous than those of the domesticated bull. Unless cornered, the cougar avoids contact with man, but at bay he is an adversary that should command respect and caution.
These cats spend most of their time on the ground, but they are adept at climbing trees and often do so when pursued by dogs. Their chief range preferences are rocky, precipitous canyons, escarpments, rim rocks or, in the absence of these, dense brush. Heavily timbered areas usually are avoided. Looking for scrapes, the signpost of the male, which consist of small piles of leaves, grasses and so forth, which he scrapes together and on which he urinates, can usually detect the presence of a cougar in an area. These are best looked for on their travel routes along the ridges and rim rocks.
Contrary to popular opinion, cougars seldom use caves as dens. An area under an overhanging ledge, a crevice in a cliff, a dry cavity in a jumbled pile of rocks, an enlarged badger burrow, a cavity under the roots of a tree or a dense thicket seem to be more desirable.
Their food is almost entirely animal matter, but. as with domestic cats, grasses may be eaten occasionally. The chief item of diet is deer Analyses of stomachs revealed that in the Southwest the mule deer accounted for 54 percent of the total food (by frequency of occurrence); white-tailed deer, 28 percent; porcupines, 5.8 percent; cottontails, 3.9 percent; jackrabbits, 2 percent; domestic cows, 1.6 percent; miscellaneous (including sheep, goats, skunks, foxes, coyotes, beavers, prairie dogs and grasses), 4.7 percent – In certain areas they are known to kill and feed upon horses, particularly colts. In general, the cougar’s food habits are of neutral or beneficial character. The high percentage of predation on deer probably is beneficial from a game management view in most instances because the cougar tends to prevent overpopulation of deer, which is the bane of the game manager in many areas where this cat has been exterminated.
Cougars are thought to be monogamous, at least for the mating period. The female is said to initiate the courtship and mating act. There appear to be no regular periods of reproduction. A female containing four large embryos was killed in April; another with three young nearly ready to be born was killed on January 20. Also, records are available for October and December. The gestation period is about 3 months. The number of young ranges from two to five, averaging three. At birth, the kittens are woolly, spotted, have short tails and weigh about 1 pound each. They develop teeth when about a month old, are weaned when about 2 or 3 months old and may remain with their mother until more than 1 year old. Adult females usually breed every other year.
Habitat
Northern Mexico to Central and Western United States and Canada.
Diet
They are herbivores. Feeding on grass, beans, pods, nuts, acorns, and berries.
Lifespan
9-11 years.
Weight
150-203 pounds.
Scientific Name
Order: Artiodactyla; Family: Cervidae; Genus: Odocoileus; Species: Odocoileus hemionus.
Breeding
Typically mate during the fall. After a gestation period of 190-200 days, does typically give birth to 2 fawns.
Fun Facts:
While they share some similar characteristics with pigs, they are referred to as hogs, they are not closely related to domestic pigs or the wild boars that plague many areas in the US. The band is a closed group that never accepts outside individuals to join their group, and will expel roughly 1 in 10 offspring from the group.
Habitat
Central and western North America.
Diet
They are herbivores. Their diet is comprised of forbs, shrubs, grasses, and cacti.
Lifespan
Typically up to 10 years.
Weight
88-106 pounds.
Scientific Name
Order: Artiodactyla; Family: Antilocapridae; Genus: Antilocapra; Species: Antilocapra americana.
Breeding
After a gestation period of 7-8 months, they give birth to an average of 1 fawn, with twin fawns also being common.
Fun Facts:
It is the fastest mammal in the Western hemisphere, and second only to the African cheetah. It can reach speeds up to 55mph.
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Wild reindeer are found in Scandinavia and northern Russia. Both male and female reindeer have antlers. New antlers are fully grown by July, but do not harden until fall. These are the only members of the deer family (Cervidae) whose females grow antlers. The antlers are covered with “velvet”, vascularized tissue, in summer. The males drop their antlers in winter, while pregnant females usually retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring. Their coats are very think which provides them with excellent insulation. Their hooves are very broad which enable them to travel efficiently through snow and swamp. Their hooves also make a clicking sound when they walk. When people hear the sound, they often think that the reindeer has an injured ankle. But this is normal. Their diet is mosses, lichens, and other tundra plants.
Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) are semi-domesticated caribou. Although similar, there are fundamental differences in the behavior of reindeer and their wild cousins, caribou. They tend to be smaller than caribou, with shorter legs, and are a lighter color. It is believed they have been domesticated in Eurasia for at least 7000 years, which is longer than the horse (Edwards, 1994) In Eurasia reindeer are classified as either domesticated or wild, while in North America they are called reindeer if they are of the Eurasian domesticated variety, or caribou if they are of the wild variety. This domesticated factor makes them different from caribou in that they need to be tended on the range to keep them safe from predators, and may need to be driven to a better grazing area if theirs becomes sparse.
Reindeer eat lichen in winter and spring, and grass, birch and willow leaves, mushrooms. They will always try to go to where the new greens are, which may be contrary to the direction the herder wants the herd to go. During the summer, herds move to breezy places, either near the shore or high up so they may avoid flies. Insects are very bothersome to the reindeer, making them very unruly and difficult for the herder to keep track of or round up. Near fall, the herd begins to move inland, toward more sheltered areas. They winter in open forest and on slopes, where the wind may blow the snow off the forage.
