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Learn the wildlife of the U.S. national parks

Learn the wildlife of Mammoth Cave National Park

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1,720 species have research-grade observations inside Mammoth Cave 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 gallopavo145
  2. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica60
  3. Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater55
  4. Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina48
  5. Summer Tanager Piranga rubra30
  6. American Robin Turdus migratorius29
  7. Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina27
  8. Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe18
  9. Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus18
  10. Hooded Warbler Setophaga citrina17

Plants

  1. Woodland stonecrop Sedum ternatum213
  2. Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides191
  3. Virginia saxifrage Micranthes virginiensis181
  4. Northern maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum165
  5. Celandine Poppy Chelidonium diphyllum147
  6. Toadshade Trillium sessile142
  7. Fire pink Silene virginica141
  8. Cut-leaved toothwort Cardamine concatenata137
  9. Blue phlox Phlox divaricata137
  10. Dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne134

Mammals

  1. White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus209
  2. Eastern Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis102
  3. Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus21
  4. Big Brown Bat Eptesicus fuscus6
  5. Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus6
  6. Groundhog Marmota monax5

Insects

  1. Mammoth Cave Cricket Hadenoecus subterraneus137
  2. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus129
  3. Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor107
  4. Banded Tussock Moth Halysidota tessellaris85
  5. Red-spotted Admiral Limenitis arthemis75
  6. Zebra Swallowtail Eurytides marcellus62
  7. Six-spotted Tiger Beetle Cicindela sexguttata56
  8. Horned Passalus Beetle Odontotaenius disjunctus44
  9. Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus43
  10. Northern Pearly-eye Lethe anthedon40

Spiders and kin

  1. Dark Fishing Spider Dolomedes tenebrosus75
  2. Eastern Cave Long-jawed Spider Meta ovalis27
  3. Orchard Orbweaver Leucauge venusta23
  4. Arrowhead Orbweaver Verrucosa arenata22
  5. Georgia Wolf Spider Tigrosa georgicola21
  6. Arrow-shaped Orbweaver Micrathena sagittata15
  7. White-banded Fishing Spider Dolomedes albineus13
  8. Lone Star Tick Amblyomma americanum8
  9. American Nursery Web Spider Pisaurina mira7
  10. Spotted Orbweaver Neoscona crucifera7

Reptiles

  1. Eastern Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix65
  2. Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina38
  3. Pond Slider Trachemys scripta38
  4. Common Watersnake Nerodia sipedon37
  5. Central Ratsnake Pantherophis alleghaniensis28
  6. Common Five-lined Skink Plestiodon fasciatus27
  7. Ring-necked Snake Diadophis punctatus24
  8. North American Racer Coluber constrictor18
  9. Common Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis15
  10. Timber Rattlesnake Crotalus horridus15

Amphibians

  1. Fowler's Toad Anaxyrus fowleri100
  2. American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus83
  3. Cave Salamander Eurycea lucifuga53
  4. Northern Zigzag Salamander Plethodon dorsalis48
  5. Eastern Newt Notophthalmus viridescens26
  6. American Toad Anaxyrus americanus23
  7. Green Frog Lithobates clamitans21
  8. Spotted Salamander Ambystoma maculatum13
  9. Wood Frog Lithobates sylvaticus13
  10. Northern Cricket Frog Acris crepitans12

Mollusks

  1. Three-ridge Mussel Amblema plicata13
  2. Pink Heelsplitter Potamilus alatus12
  3. Mapleleaf Quadrula quadrula6
  4. Asian Clam Corbicula fluminea5

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.