Take a look inside our Ecomuseum!
We have 17 different species displayed in our museum gallery which you can find in southwest Saskatchewan.
BURROWING OWL (Athene Cunicularia)
The burrowing owl population has been declining and they are listed as endangered. Some organizations have attached geographic positioning system (GPS) backpacks to research their migratory paths to Mexico. The challenge with this research is that the GPS backpack needs to be retrieved to analyze the data. With much fluctuation to the burrowing owl population in the park there has been a supplemental feeding program to provide nest locations with ample food to minimize the impact on young owls trying to survive.
HABITAT: The burrowing owl is found in dry, open areas such as grasslands, prairies and deserts with short grass to spot approaching predators. They use burrows made by other digging animals as their homes.
PREDATORS: Natural enemies for the owl include coyotes, badgers and snakes as well as wild cats and dogs.
REPRODUCTION: Beginning in late March, a pair of Burrowing Owls will find an abandoned burrow and prepare a nest. The female will lay 4-12 eggs, which she will incubate for 3-4 weeks. After hatching, the parents will both care for the young for the first 3 months of their offspring’s lives.
DIET: Burrowing Owls live mainly off insects and small rodents, though rarely hunting their neighbors (e.g. ground squirrels).
CHALLENGES: The decline of Burrowing Owls is mainly due to habitat loss. Agriculture crops do not provide the necessary habitat as well as the lack of badgers, prairie dogs and gophers who would build the burrows.

PRAIRIE RATTLESNAKE (Crotalus Viridis)
Prairie rattlesnakes have been studied in the past to determine important habitat characteristics. These snakes have been found to travel up to 14 km from their wintering hibernaculum but many will remain close to their den if food and shelter are abundant.
HABITAT: Rattlesnakes tend to prefer dry areas with moderate vegetation coverage. They live in rocky outcrops or abandoned burrows, used for den sites.
PREDATORS: Predators of the prairie rattlesnakes are coyotes, badgers, skunks, owls and falcons.
REPRODUCTION: Female rattlesnakes will lay anywhere from 1-25 eggs during their reproduction event. They are known to give birth at communal dens.
DIET: The Prairie Rattlesnake feeds off small rodents (ground squirrels, mice, rats, prairie dogs) but also eats amphibians and smaller reptiles.\
CHALLENGES: The prairie rattlesnake, which warms itself on heated surfaces such as rocks, has begun to find comfort in the road where it becomes hard to see and is easily run over by oncoming vehicles. Because of their venomous bite, the rattlesnake is often ostracized by humans and rarely survives human encounters making these snakes extremely cryptic.

RED FOX (Vulpes Vulpes)
HABITAT: The Red Fox is not a picky animal and occupies 70 million square kilometers throughout the Northern Hemisphere excluding Iceland, the Arctic Islands, parts of Siberia and extreme deserts.
PREDATORS: The predators of the fox are wolves, coyotes and large cats.
REPRODUCTION: They mate in late December and give birth to their only litter of the year in spring. The litter usually consists of 3-6 kits but litters up to 13 have been known to occur.
DIET: The Red Fox generally feeds off of small rodents such as ground squirrels, mice and voles. Secondary prey include water fowl, raccoons, reptiles and insects. Foxes may also eat plants including fruit and berries which can make up their entire diet come fall.
CHALLENGES: The Red Fox carries diseases such as rabies, erysipelas, brucellosis and encephalitis and may often fall victim to them. The fox has been hunted for years for its pelt and has been a contributor to the population decline.

MULE DEER (Odocoileus Hemionus)
HABITAT: Mule deer are very adaptable and range from the high forests of the Rocky Mountains to the hot desert of Sonora, Mexico, though it prefers open areas such as grasslands.
PREDATORS: Predators of the mule deer include wolves, mountain lions and, on rare occasions, coyotes.
REPRODUCTION: Mule deer can have one to two fawns and on extremely rare occasions, triplets. They birth in the spring and continue caring for the fawn throughout the summer and fall.
DIET: Mule deer, classified as a browser, tend to feed off of grasses, leaves and herbs Cactus, cedar and pine also contribute to the mule deer’s diet.
CHALLENGES: The mule deer faces many challenges in the winter as their main food sources are covered up by snow. If the snow fall is too heavy, the deer will begin to starve and die off throughout the winter. There is a hunting season for the mule deer as for many years their population is high and has very few predators in this area.

LONG TAILED WEASEL (Mustela Frenata)
Long tailed weasels are brown in the summer and white during the winter. The black tipped tail remains year round.
HABITAT: The weasel has a wide variety of habitat though it prefers regions in which it will have access to stumps, rock piles, or ground burrows. It lives throughout North and South America.
PREDATORS: Predators of the long tailed weasel include coyotes, owls, birds of prey and larger snakes.
REPRODUCTION: The weasel mates in the summer between July and August, with a 10 month pregnancy. The litter produces 5-8 kits which are born between April and May of the following year.
DIET: The diet of the long tailed weasel consists primarily of rodents but will also eat birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects.
CHALLENGES: Though the long tailed weasel is quite well distributed throughout its southern habitats in Saskatchewan the weasel faces many problems such as competition with other predators or being prayed upon themselves.

PAINTED TURTLE (Chrysemsys Picta)
HABITAT: The turtle lives from the Pacific to the Atlantic and everywhere in between. They prefer areas with muddy banks. Soft bottomed rivers, and shallow water with rocks to sun themselves on during the summer months.
PREDATORS: Most turtles are eaten as eggs or hatchlings by rodents, canines, other turtles and snakes. The adult’s hard shell protects them from most predators though they are preyed upon by canines, raccoons and birds of prey.
REPRODUCTION: The turtles mate in spring and autumn and the females dig the nests to lay their eggs in spring and mid-summer.
DIET: The painted turtle eats aquatic vegetation, algae, small water insects and fish.
CHALLENGES: The Painted Turtle is thriving population wise and, throughout its region, ranges from 10-840 turtles per hectare of water surface. They are not of concern conservation wise due to their ability to survive in polluted waters. Loss of habitat (drying of wet lands, removal of logs and rock and clearing of shoreline vegetation), road-kill, human introduced predators and over-collection are all causes of turtle mortality.

SHARP TAILED GROUSE (Tympanuchus Phasianellus)
HABITAT: The grouse live in grasslands areas with sparse shrubs and trees. They prefer short grassed prairie and only live in wooded areas during the winter and nesting season.
REPRODUCTION: The female chooses the most appropriate mate around late April, early May. She breeds with the male before leaving to find her own nest and raise her young in solitude.
DIET: The grouse finds food in the ground in the summer and up in trees during the winter. They feed off of seeds, berries, leaves and insects (primarily grasshoppers).

GREATER SAGE GROUSE (Centrocercus Urophasianus)
The lekking behavior of male sage grouse is a spectacular sight. The lengthy dancing display and sounds created are like nothing else seen in nature. The population is declining rapidly and very few birds return to breed in Canada.
HABITAT: The sage grouse is completely dependent upon the sage brush as it is their main food source year round and used exclusively for cover. Sagebrush grows in dry, grassland areas, which is where the grouse chooses its home.
PREDATORS: Coyotes, skunks, badgers and large birds of prey.
REPRODUCTION: Sage Grouse only breeds where sagebrush is present and the male chooses his lek in a nearby clearing. The female will leave after breeding to find a nest and raise her chicks on her own but she will rarely venture far from the breeding lek of the male.
DIET: The majority of the grouse’s food is sagebrush leaves and flowers though insects, seeds and berries fill a portion of their diet.
CHALLENGES: The sage grouse population has declined from 16 million to 350,000 over the last century. This is due to loss of habitat, predation, mortality by barbed wire fences and the destruction of the sagebrush habitat due to agriculture.

BEAVER (Castor Canadensis)
HABITAT: The beaver lives in wet areas, rivers or lake openings, with plenty of trees, where they may build their lodges or dams. They live all over North America and are Canada’s national symbol.
PREDATORS: Predators of the beaver include coyotes, bears, mountain lions and wolves. Otters will fight with beavers over territory, but rarely will the fight end in death.
REPRODUCTION: Beavers live in families consisting of a monogamous male and female and their kits.
DIET: Beavers eat the bark and soft tissue of trees as well as water vegetation and berries.
CHALLENGES: The beaver has faced many challenges over the years and in the late 1800’s was nearly extinct due to hunting for their pelts. Though the population has bounced back, it has not been to its full extent due to the fact that people view the beaver as a pest. Destruction of wetlands and forests are leaving the beavers homeless and without food.

RICHARDSON’S GROUND SQUIRREL (Urocitellus Richardsonii)
Richardson’s ground squirrels use a variety of habitats and are a very adaptable species. In Grasslands National Park they can be found in large numbers living alongside Black-tailed Prairie Dogs in their colonies. They are significantly smaller than Prairie Dogs, their burrow openings are smaller and less kept. Because of their lack of grooming behavior they tend to carry more fleas that can transmit the sylvatic plague.
HABITAT: The Richardson’s Ground Squirrel (or more mistakenly called, the gopher) are native to short grass prairie and easily thrived as forests were being cut down and their land preference expanded.
PREDATORS: The Ground Squirrel fears hawks, badgers, weasels, coyotes, lynxes, and any other predator that frequents the prairie.
REPRODUCTION: A female squirrel will give birth in the spring to 5-8 young. The offspring will live in the burrows for 1 month before heading off on their own.
DIET: The Richardson’s Ground Squirrel lives off seeds, nuts, grains, grasses and insects.
CHALLENGES: The ground squirrel does not face any challenges. Their population growth is healthy, if not over abundant at times, and with the squirrels easy adaptability, have no issues finding new turf should the old one be destroyed for building or farming. These squirrels are pests to some and their burrows have been the fall of many horses and farm machinery on top of their free feeding off farmer’s crop.

BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOG (Cynomys Ludovicianus)
Black-tailed prairie dogs are a keystone species for Grasslands National Park as this species creates a unique ecosystem of burrows with heavily grazed vegetation. They have one of the most complex communication systems found in the animal kingdom. They are able to differentiate and communicate the difference between aerial predators from non threatening bird species. They also live in social groups where they groom, play and raise young together. There has been a long term study in partnership with the Calgary Zoo to learn more about their population dynamics.
HABITAT: The Prairie Dog lives in short grass prairie, mixed-grass prairie and desert grassland. Their habitat depends upon rainfall, slope, soil type and vegetative cover type. They naturally choose already disturbed areas.
PREDATORS: The Prairie Dog is often hunted by coyotes, snakes, birds of prey, badgers, bobcats and black-footed ferrets.
REPRODUCTION: The mating season is anywhere from February to April. There is only one litter a year which, though unknown what the actual birth rate is, the survival rate is 3-5 offspring that make it to the surface.
DIET: Preference goes to grasses over any other vegetation and it makes up 75% of their diet in the summer months. They will also feed off small insects like grasshoppers and beetles.
CHALLENGES: The Black Tailed Prairie Dog has a decreasing population due to habitat loss, insecticide poisoning, trapping and diseases such as the sylvatic plague. The plague is known to wipe out entire colonies and throughout the United States and now Canada, there is a management plan in place to control the spread of the fleas that carry the plague bacteria.

BOBCAT (Lynx Rufus)
HABITAT: The bobcat, though it has a preference of woodlands, does not depend solely on the deep forest. These cats are also found in deserts, swamps, mountain areas and agricultural lands.
PREDATORS: Bobcats have few predators though are known for eliminating each other as competition over territory and females. Grey wolves, coyotes, and cougars are all natural predators of the Bobcat.
REPRODUCTION: Both male and female bobcats will breed with multiple mates before delivering 1-6 kittens. Within 6 months, the young have begun to disperse and begin seeking territory of their own before they themselves can breed at 1 year.
DIET: Bobcats will hunt big game when food is scarce (such as deer in the winter) and small animals like rodents, birds, fish and insects when there is an abundance of food. (e.g. the summer time).
CHALLENGES: Disease, accidents, starvation, vehicles and hunters are all main causes of the bobcat’s demise. Their greatest predator, humans, finds sport in hunting these creatures before they are able to mate, thus halting the reproduction rate.

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD (Xanthocephalus Xanthocephalus)
HABITAT: Yellow-headed Blackbirds thrive in marsh areas. Unlike the Red-Winged Blackbird, this one requires larger wetlands with deeper water for nesting.
PREDATORS: Predators of the yellow-headed blackbird include coyotes, foxes and large birds of prey.
REPRODUCTION: Blackbirds live in colonies during breeding, and a male will have up to 6 mates for the season. The female will build a nest in the bulrushes of the marsh and lay 4 eggs which she will incubate for 12-16 days.
DIET: For the summer and spring, yellow-headed blackbirds will feed off insects as well as feed that to their young. For the rest of the year, they typically eat grains and seeds.
CHALLENGES: Currently, yellow-headed blackbirds are not under any threat though their numbers are dwindling thanks to pesticides used on crops that they feed off of during the fall. They are vulnerable to habitat loss due to the drainage of wetlands.

NORTHERN SHOVELER (Anas Clypeata)
No duck in North America has a bigger bill than the Northern Shoveler. Its bill is longer than the head.
HABITAT: The Northern Shoveler lives in open wetlands or marshes with some emergent vegetation.
PREDATORS: The Shoveler’s enemies include coyotes, bobcats, foxes and badgers.
REPRODUCTION: The monogamous Northern Shoveler nests in open grasslands far from the water’s edge and there they lay about 9 eggs which they will incubate, hatch and then lead to the water for further rearing.
DIET: The Shoveler feeds off aquatic plants aquatic and non-aquatic insects as well as mollusks. They frequently swim with their bill held partly in the water and strain out small aquatic plants and invertebrates to eat as they swim.
CHALLENGES: The Northern Shoveler’s population has soared in recent years with a total of 4 million in 2011.

COYOTE (Canis Latrans)
HABITAT: Coyotes are very versatile when it comes to their habitat. They can be found in forest, grassland and desert areas as well as known to travel into urban and suburban regions.
PREDATORS: Predators of the coyote are wolves, bears and mountain lions. Since the prairies lack these large mammals, coyotes are the dominant predator in these parts.
REPRODUCTION: Female coyotes have a 5 day period between January and March in which mating occurs The pair will stay together to raise the litter, born between March and April and can consist of anywhere between 1-19 pups with an average of 6.
DIET: Coyotes hunt small mammals mostly, including prairie dogs, rabbits, mice and voles but also feed off snakes, lizards and birds. Coyotes are also great scavengers and will often find discarded carcasses of larger animals to feed off of.
CHALLENGES: The coyote’s natural enemies are not a major problem with species decline. Humans are responsible for 90% of coyote deaths over the past years as they are listed as a pest.

SWAINSON’S HAWK (Buteo Swainsoni)
This hawk migrates in huge flocks each year to Argentina which can be up to 27,000 km. They claim territories that can be up to 5 square kilometers.
HABITAT: Open rangeland, hill country, plains and grasslands.
PREDATORS: They have very few predators, but can be taken down by coyotes if the opportunity arises.
REPRODUCTION: These monogamous will incubate their eggs for 30 days and the male and female will take turns incubating and feeding. They only have one brood per year and they will have their first flight at one month old.
DIET: Grasshoppers, crickets, ground squirrels, mice, rabbits, lizards, frogs, toads and occasionally upland game birds.
CHALLENGES: Their population numbers have declined recently due to eating insects that have been poisoned by insecticides in their wintering ground. They are common to see in Southwest Saskatchewan.

GREAT HORNED OWL (Bubo Virginianus)
HABITAT: The great horned owl resides in a variety of areas including desert, forest, mountainous regions, prairie and tundra. The owl is widely distributed from Northern North America to the tip of South America.
PREDATORS: Owl fledglings are preyed upon by wolves, coyotes and wild cats. Adult great horned owls, though have no predators, are often killed in battles over territory by larger birds such as eagles and other owls.
REPRODUCTION: The owls breed in December and will often take over an older, used nest rather than build one of their own or use crevices or hollows in trees to roost instead. Fledglings are rarely hatched into a group of more than 4, and are fed by the male owl along with the mother.
DIET: The great horned owl is a versatile predator and it was said that “almost any living creature that walks, crawls, flies or swims, except for large animals, is the great horned owls legitimate prey” These owls are also known to take on prey two to three times their weight such as skunks or badgers.
CHALLENGES: The great horned owl has had a population crash due to manmade objects such as power lines and buildings Owls keep the natural balance of prey population in order.
