11/25/2023 0 Comments Spruce fir moss spider predators![]() ![]() Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been called the "Salamander Capital of the World." Climatic and geologic factors have combined to spur the development of 30 salamander species in five families, making this one of the most diverse areas on earth for this order. Low elevation, slower and warmer streams have the greatest aquatic diversity including four reintroduced federally threatened and endangered small fish: the Smoky Madtom, Yellowfin Madtom, Spotfin Chub, and Duskytail Darter. The park boasts over 50 native fish species, including the brook trout, whose fragile habitat is being wrested from the non-native rainbow and brown trout by active fisheries management. Over 700 miles of streams in the park support fish. Northern species such as the northern flying squirrel, red squirrel, and rock vole thrive at high elevations, while the Northern Saw-whet Owl, Canada Warbler, Common Raven, and other birds reach their southern most breeding point here in the park. Surrounded by warm lowlands, the cool, moist, climate of the park's highest elevations creates islands of habitat suitable for animals commonly found in more northern areas, allowing them to live far south of their present primary ranges. ![]() Several bird species that are listed as Species of Concern breed here, making the park an important source for repopulating areas outside the park that are showing declines in the numbers of these birds. Over 200 species of birds are regularly sighted in the park, 85 of those migrate from the neotropics. Of the 65 other mammal species documented in the park, the white-tailed deer, groundhog, chipmunk, and some squirrel and bat species are the most commonly seen. Though populations are variable, biologists estimate approximately 1,500 bears live in the park, a density of approximately two bears per square mile. ![]() Great Smoky Mountains National Park provides the largest protected bear habitat in the East. The symbol of the Smokies, the American Black Bear, is perhaps the most famous resident of the park. Protected in the park are some 65 species of mammals, over 200 varieties of birds, 67 native fish species, and more than 80 types of reptiles and amphibians. Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains some of the largest tracts of wilderness in the East and is a critical sanctuary for a wide variety of animals. Biologists estimate that 1,500 American Black Bears live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. ![]()
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