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In order to successfully pick your winners, you will need to learn about the eight animals participating in the Colorado Critter Challenge. Below is information about these animals as well as links to additional resources.
Colorado Wildlife (A - Z )
Colorado Wildlife (A - Z )
Scroll to learn more about Colorado wildlife.
Don't forget to stop by Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Species Profiles for each of these animals!
Don't forget to stop by Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Species Profiles for each of these animals!
Big Brown Bat
Big Brown Bat
The big brown bat is one of the most common and widely-distributed types of bats in Colorado. This type of bat spends the entire year in Colorado but hibernates during the winter. When hibernating, it typically roosts in caves or rock crevices. This type of bat, like many others, primarily eats insects, including those pesky mosquitos! The big brown bat is found in rural, forested areas but has also been found living in urban areas and cities.
Black Bear
Black Bear
The name black bear can be a bit misleading, as black bears can also be brown, cinnamon, or blonde. Despite being our largest omnivore, a black bear's diet is over 90% vegetation. Bears in Colorado typically hibernate in winter dens from November through March and need to eat 20,000 calories a day throughout the fall to put on sufficient fat stores. Black bears are locally common in the western two-thirds of the state, primarily in montane and subalpine forests, although they often become habituated to living near people.
Great Horned Owl
Great Horned Owl
The great horned owl is not only Colorado's most common owl, it is also our largest, with a wingspan of nearly five feet! Their ability to live in many different habitats is due in part to their diverse diet. While their favorite meal is a rabbit, they also won't turn down reptiles, mice, squirrels, smaller birds, or even a juvenile raccoon! While they prefer to live in a mix of open fields and protective forests, they have adapted to even urban environments. These predators are primarily nocturnal and roost in trees during the day, though you can sometimes spot them hunting at dawn or dusk.
Plains Garter Snake
Plains Garter Snake
Plains garter snakes are widely distributed throughout Colorado. However, these snakes have small home ranges and will not travel far during their life. They eat all sorts of amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders. Their diet also includes small fish, birds, rodents, worms, and grasshoppers. Plains garter snakes often find their prey by following the scent trails they leave behind. These snakes are active from March to November and then will hibernate in burrows or rock crevices close to a water source.
Photo Credit: Andrew DuBois
Fact Sheets: Snakes of Colorado Animal Diversity Web Critter Catalog
Videos: Wiz Science Snake Adaptations
Preble's Jumping Meadow Mouse
Preble's Jumping Meadow Mouse
Preble's meadow jumping mouse is a small rodent that lives in highly vegetated areas by rivers and streams. They thrive in areas with a lot of shrubs, grasses, and other plants. In September, the Preble's mouse is usually entering hibernation and will stay burrowed until May. Like bears, mice need to eat a lot of food while preparing for hibernation. This mouse is largely nocturnal. The Preble's mouse is an important part of its ecosystem since it is the prey of many animals including foxes, snakes, owls, hawks, and bullfrogs. At this point, due to habitat loss, the Preble's meadow jumping mouse is listed as "Threatened" under the US Endangered Species Act.
Photo credit: Angie Florinchi
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow trout are one of the most common fish found in Colorado's freshwater streams and rivers. These fish prefer cooler waters and eat primarily insects, crustaceans, fish eggs, and small fish. The females lay eggs (known as spawning) in March and April. Trout are strong swimmers in normal river conditions. The desired habitat of rainbow trout is being destroyed by soil erosion, vegetation loss, and pollution.
Red Fox
Red Fox
Equal parts predator and scavenger, red fox are opportunistic omnivores at home in grassland, riparian, and even urban habitats. Their diet consists of small mammals, ground nesting birds, reptiles, insects, nuts, and berries. They typically range five to ten square miles in search of food and rely on earthen burrows, or dens, to raise their pups in the spring. Come fall the young will disperse and find territories of their own while adult red fox mate for life.
Photo Credit: Andrew Hoffman
Western Chorus Frog
Western Chorus Frog
This type of frog is found across the state of Colorado, typically as a part of a freshwater aquatic ecosystem - meaning it is almost always found by a body of water. Adults of this species are most active at night since they do not have many defense mechanisms. During the winter, these frogs live in underground burrows or under a layer of thick vegetation. As a tadpole, the western chorus frog feeds on algae in the water. Adults and juveniles feed on ants, spiders, flies, and beetles. In mountainous areas, the larvae metamorphase into small frogs in later summer and into September.
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