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Learn the wildlife of the U.S. national parks

Learn the wildlife of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

TN · NC

5,375 species have research-grade observations inside Great Smoky Mountains 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. Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo1,583
  2. Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis569
  3. American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos556
  4. Black-throated Green Warbler Setophaga virens180
  5. Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus179
  6. Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe173
  7. Common Merganser Mergus merganser163
  8. Blue-headed Vireo Vireo solitarius149
  9. Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina143
  10. Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea137

Plants

  1. Partridgeberry Mitchella repens1,572
  2. Great rhododendron Rhododendron maximum1,462
  3. Galax Galax urceolata1,390
  4. Showy orchis Galearis spectabilis1,321
  5. Dwarf crested iris Iris cristata1,310
  6. Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides1,298
  7. Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia1,290
  8. American cancer-root Conopholis americana1,174
  9. Mountain doghobble Leucothoe fontanesiana1,171
  10. Woodland stonecrop Sedum ternatum1,108

Mammals

  1. American Black Bear Ursus americanus1,498
  2. White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus1,183
  3. American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus589
  4. Wapiti Cervus canadensis493
  5. Eastern Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis222
  6. Coyote Canis latrans186
  7. Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus81
  8. North American River Otter Lontra canadensis69

Insects

  1. Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor2,304
  2. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus1,073
  3. Megalodacne heros767
  4. Silver-spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus605
  5. Common Eastern Bumble Bee Bombus impatiens598
  6. Red-spotted Admiral Limenitis arthemis501
  7. Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera438
  8. Great Spangled Fritillary Argynnis cybele412
  9. Eastern Comma Polygonia comma397
  10. Ebony Jewelwing Calopteryx maculata365

Spiders and kin

  1. Dark Fishing Spider Dolomedes tenebrosus190
  2. Pocock's Lampshade-web Spider Hypochilus pococki189
  3. Orchard Orbweaver Leucauge venusta148
  4. Banded Fishing Spider Dolomedes vittatus118
  5. American Nursery Web Spider Pisaurina mira107
  6. Marbled Orbweaver Araneus marmoreus93
  7. White-banded Fishing Spider Dolomedes albineus87
  8. Spined Micrathena Micrathena gracilis80
  9. White Micrathena Micrathena mitrata65
  10. Arrowhead Orbweaver Verrucosa arenata64

Reptiles

  1. Common Watersnake Nerodia sipedon532
  2. Central Ratsnake Pantherophis alleghaniensis402
  3. Common Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis392
  4. Eastern Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix307
  5. Eastern Fence Lizard Sceloporus undulatus294
  6. Ring-necked Snake Diadophis punctatus253
  7. Common Five-lined Skink Plestiodon fasciatus236
  8. Timber Rattlesnake Crotalus horridus189
  9. Common Wormsnake Carphophis amoenus115
  10. Common Box Turtle Terrapene carolina76

Amphibians

  1. Cherokee Blackbelly Salamander Desmognathus gvnigeusgwotli1,180
  2. Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamander Eurycea wilderae934
  3. Red-cheeked Salamander Plethodon jordani755
  4. Imitator Salamander Desmognathus imitator602
  5. Seal Salamander Desmognathus monticola554
  6. Spring Salamander Gyrinophilus porphyriticus501
  7. Southern Red-backed Salamander Plethodon serratus373
  8. American Toad Anaxyrus americanus371
  9. Red Salamander Pseudotriton ruber233
  10. Pygmy Salamander Desmognathus wrighti193

Fish

  1. Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis126
  2. Warpaint Shiner Coccotis coccogenis119
  3. Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss112
  4. River Chub Nocomis micropogon88
  5. Tennessee Snubnose Darter Etheostoma simoterum76
  6. Redline Darter Nothonotus rufilineatus66

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.