Wildlife of Denver, Colorado
Denver's Front Range is the abrupt seam between the Great Plains and the Rockies, so wildlife species from both worlds overlap here. Prairie dogs, pronghorn and burrowing owls hold the plains east of the city, while elk, mule deer, mountain bluebirds and black bears live minutes west up in the foothills.
Best timeMay – June for elk calving and songbirds, September – October for the elk rut in Rocky Mountain NP.
- 1Elk sometimes graze on the golf courses at Estes Park, an hour from Denver.
- 2Rocky Mountain National Park has 60+ moose and one of the healthiest cutthroat trout streams left.
- 3Colorado reintroduced grey wolves in 2023 — the first pack has now bred.
Signature species
Curated for Denver, Colorado, each tagged with its IUCN Red List status.
- LC
Grey wolf
Canis lupus
Newly reintroduced in Colorado.
- LC
Canada lynx
Lynx canadensis
- NT
Greater sage-grouse
Centrocercus urophasianus
- LC
Bighorn sheep
Ovis canadensis
- EN
Boreal toad
Anaxyrus boreas boreas
IUCN codes — EX extinct · EW extinct in wild · CR critically endangered · EN endangered · VU vulnerable · NT near threatened · LC least concern · DD data deficient
Dos & don'ts
Local etiquette that keeps wildlife wild.
Do
- Keep 25m from moose — they injure more people than bears here.
- Carry bear spray above treeline in summer.
- Keep distance — use zoom or binoculars, never bait animals closer.
- Stay on marked trails to avoid trampling nests, burrows and plants.
Don't
- Don't approach elk during the September rut — bulls charge.
- Don't camp near marmot burrows — they chew brake lines for salt.
- Never feed wildlife — human food changes behaviour and shortens lives.
- Don't share exact locations of nests, dens or rare species online.
Spotted here lately
Live from iNaturalist — research-grade observations within 60km, last 30 days.
Loading citizen-science data…