Birdlife is plentiful; common species include
horned larks, Sprague's pipits, lark buntings,
and black-billed magpies. Long-billed curlews,
and the great grey and short- eared owls are
quite rare and numbered among the endangered
species are the peregrine falcon, the ferruginous
hawk, the longerhead strike, and Baird's
sparrow. The Burrowing owl, once well adapted
to prairie life, prepares its nest by refurbishing
the holes abandoned by gophers, badgers and
prairie dogs, and prefers an open treeless habitat.
The natural prey of larger hawks and prairie
animals, it is at risk because of habitat loss,
pesticide use, road kill and hunters. Waterfowl
nest in the potholes and the open grasslands
are still home to the sage grouse and sharp-tailed
grouse. Painted turtles, short- horned lizards,
prairie rattlesnakes, the yellow-bellied racer,
the plains spadefoot toad and the Great Plains
toad are all protected inhabitants of the park.
Commonly seen mammals include
the pronghorn antelope, mule deer and white-tailed
deer. The rich wildlife of the prairie, where
bison herds took days to pass a given point
and the elk, grizzly and cougar roamed everywhere,
will never be seen again. The black- footed
ferret and greater prairie chicken are thought
to be no longer in the grassland regions. The
Frenchman River Valley is the only place in
Canada where you can still see the black-tailed
prairie dog in its natural habitat. Presently
there are some 14 colonies in the park. A critical
species in the ecosystem, its existence means
the survival of the coyote, fox and badger as
well as the burrowing owl and other endangered
species. The Swift Fox once made its home on
the Canadian prairies but settlement took its
inevitable toll - habitat loss, trapping, and
poisoning directed at coyotes and wolves annihilated
these harmless little canines until by the 1930Žs
they were gone. Today, efforts to re- introduce
a self-sustaining, wild population - a small
but meaningful response - is meeting with some
success.
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