Learn more about the research and action taking place to help the prairie's at-risk animals.

Prairie Dogs

Prairie dogs are keystone species on the Great Plains and important to many other species including mountain plovers and endangered black-footed ferrets. 

Swift Fox

Like many grassland species, the small and charismatic swift fox has been displaced from over 60 percent of its historic range. 

Black-Footed Ferrets

The black-footed ferret is one of the most endangered mammals in North America. 

Big Cats

The cougar population on the northern Great Plains is similar to bears and wolves and was completely wiped out by the early 1900s.

Grassland Birds

The Northern Great Plains provide invaluable habitat for native and migrating birds, including most of North America’s imperiled grassland bird species. 

Pronghorn

Pronghorn are one of the only remaining large animals endemic to the Great Plains. 

Bison

Bison used to number in the millions on the Great Plains, but animals in conservation herds now number less than 20,000 and are considered “near threatened.”

 

Want to know more about the region's biodiversity? Download the American Prairie Species List.

Learn more about Montana's Species of Concern.