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Learn the wildlife of the U.S. national parks

Learn the wildlife of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

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569 species have research-grade observations inside Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on iNaturalist. KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos, so you know what you're looking at before you go.

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Āki the kiwi, KnowKi's guide

Most recorded here

The species with the most research-grade observations on iNaturalist, and how many each has. Most recorded doesn't mean native.

Birds

  1. Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus67
  2. Green-tailed Towhee Pipilo chlorurus56
  3. Dusky Grouse Dendragapus obscurus52
  4. Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma woodhouseii51
  5. Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana28
  6. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura24
  7. Common Raven Corvus corax21
  8. Black-headed Grosbeak Pheucticus melanocephalus20
  9. White-throated Swift Aeronautes saxatalis18
  10. Evening Grosbeak Hesperiphona vespertina18

Plants

  1. Brittle Pricklypear Opuntia fragilis264
  2. Gambel Oak Quercus gambelii166
  3. Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata158
  4. Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus montanus145
  5. Gunnison's Mariposa Lily Calochortus gunnisonii141
  6. Hooker's onion Allium acuminatum138
  7. Kingcup Cactus Echinocereus triglochidiatus123
  8. Sulfur buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum120
  9. Creeping mahonia Berberis repens96
  10. Colorado Pinyon Pinus edulis80

Mammals

  1. Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Callospermophilus lateralis129
  2. Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus55
  3. Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis44
  4. Rock Squirrel Otospermophilus variegatus42
  5. Mountain Cottontail Sylvilagus nuttallii26
  6. American Black Bear Ursus americanus14
  7. Desert Cottontail Sylvilagus audubonii5
  8. Least Chipmunk Neotamias minimus3
  9. Bobcat Lynx rufus2
  10. White-tailed Prairie Dog Cynomys leucurus2

Insects

  1. Weidemeyer's Admiral Limenitis weidemeyerii37
  2. Xanthoteras eburneum31
  3. Western Tent Caterpillar Moth Malacosoma californica18
  4. Dasymutilla vestita15
  5. Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides11
  6. Ornate Checkered Beetle Trichodes ornatus11
  7. Painted Lady Vanessa cardui10
  8. Putnam's Cicada Platypedia putnami10
  9. Pale Swallowtail Papilio eurymedon9
  10. Common Ringlet Coenonympha california9

Spiders and kin

  1. Salticus peckhamae2
  2. Goldenrod Crab Spider Misumena vatia1
  3. Six-spotted Orbweaver Araniella displicata1

Reptiles

  1. Plateau Fence Lizard Sceloporus tristichus156
  2. Eastern Collared Lizard Crotaphytus collaris68
  3. Common Sagebrush Lizard Sceloporus graciosus22
  4. Plateau Striped Whiptail Aspidoscelis velox19
  5. Ornate Tree Lizard Urosaurus ornatus17
  6. Smooth Greensnake Opheodrys vernalis17
  7. Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer16
  8. Western Terrestrial Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans8
  9. Striped Whipsnake Masticophis taeniatus3
  10. Greater Short-horned Lizard Phrynosoma hernandesi2

How a trip works

A trip has its own trail of lessons: meet six species, match them to new photos, then practice with four choices. Species you learn go into your Fieldbook, and starting a trip earns its Passport stamp. Your home place stays as it is.

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Species lists and counts from research-grade observations on iNaturalist, as of October 2026. KnowKi is not affiliated with the National Park Service. Free, with no ads, no account and no purchases.