wildlife

Elk and deer are plentiful here and can be spotted feeding in herds near the side of the highways, particularly at dawn and dusk.  Elk herds can be quite large, with numbers reaching to 200 animals.  Marmots are ubiquitous in the regional high country and can be seen sunning on the rock piles where they make their homes or heard with their unique high-pitch squeals, hence the nickname “whistling pig.”  Coyotes can be seen slinking off to the sides of valley roads and mountain lions, though extremely elusive, also make their homes in the region.  A smaller cat, the lynx, has made a comeback in the high reaches of the backcountry in recent years thanks to a successful reintroduction program by the state.  And then there are the black bears; nearly everyone has a favorite run-in story as a result of the bears’ insatiable appetite for people food.

As for feathered friends, there are many, including ptarmigans, grouse, and pheasants, as well as hawks, gray jays, Stellar’s jays and eagles.  Beavers have made a comeback, and have the run of the large pond near Telluride’s Town Park, called, of course, the Beaver Pond.  Seldom seen themselves, the remnants of the beavers’ nighttime work – gnawed tree stumps – are easily identified along the banks of tributaries.  Look closely along waterways for the rare great blue heron or for smaller species like hummingbirds, butterflies and dragonflies; or peer into pools along riverbanks for a flash of a rainbow trout.

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