Wildlife Notes

Moose are tall, gangly creatures that normally eat from the trees. When a food source is on the ground things get challenging. Learn more in this post.

Red-bellied snakes can be found in the eastern half of North Dakota and are the state's smallest snake reaching lengths of only 8-10 inches. 

Did you know a hummingbird has about 1,000 feathers on its body, whereas a Northern pintail has nearly 15,000? Feathers vary in structure and function. Check out this cool interactive learning tool, All About Feathers.

Have you ever wondered how a bony fish can be aged? Biologists count the growth sections of their otoliths. Learn more in this post.

The plains spadefoot (Spea bombifrons) is the most easily recognized toad in North Dakota. Its skin is smooth like that of a frog, and it has a distinct vertical pupil like that of a cat. Its color varies from a light cream, to gray or brown, and may have small orange spots.

The whooping cranes that make their way through North Dakota each spring are part of a population of about 500 birds that are on their way from their wintering grounds at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to their nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada, a distance of about 2,500 miles.

Channel catfish are aptly nicknamed swimming tongues. Find out why in this Wildlife News post

Department Upland Game Management Supervisor Jesse Kolar took this awesome video of a bull elk bugling in the badlands (Fall 2019).

Did you know that Canada geese will sometimes appropriate old nests of tree nesting birds like eagles? How do the goslings get down from these nests? Find out here. 

The northern hawk owl is a unique looking creature that can occasionally be found in North Dakota in the winter. 

Is it a monarch butterfly or a viceroy? Viceroy, along with many other species, use mimicry to aide survival. Find out more in this post.

What is a leopard pike? Find out here!

Did you know that the eyes on an American Bittern are set in their face so they can easily focus downward? Bittern eat a wide variety of prey like fish, insects, small reptiles and mammals which they use stalking behaviors to capture. 

Many species of wading birds migrate through North Dakota. Some even breed here. Learn more in this short video.

Bigmouth buffalo and smallmouth buffalo are members of the sucker family and both native to the Missouri River System in North Dakota.

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), a member of the rose family, is the state fruit of North Dakota. This small tree or shrub grows to a height of 20 feet. 

While some larger predators will take on an occasional porcupine, only one in North Dakota is a truly effective predator of porcupines. Learn more.

Learn about owls that migrate through and/or nest in North Dakota.

So, how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Well, a New York state wildlife expert, Richard Thomas, decided to answer that question some years back.

Badgers are found statewide in North Dakota. Find out more about this hard-digging furbearer in this segment of North Dakota Outdoors.

This clash of bighorn sheep was observed in the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the fall of 2019. It was an epic battle, but in the end, no clear winner emerged...

Did you know that temperature influences the gender of painted turtles in the egg? If the temperature of egg incubation is around 78 degrees F, then the hatchlings will be male. If it is around 86 degrees F they will be females. For temperatures between 78 and 86 F they could be either.

Did you know that birds stand on their toes rather than their feet? Learn more in this Wildlife Notes post.

Arguably one of North Dakota's more entertaining upland game species is the sharp-tailed grouse. In the spring these grouse can be found on leks (dancing grounds) where males display to attract mates.

Lowhead dams can be great locations for fishing, but they can also present real safety hazards. Find out more in this short video from a 2018 North Dakota Outdoors program.

Spiny and smooth softshell turtles can be found in the southern portions of the Missouri River System in North Dakota.