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Learn the wildlife of the U.S. national parks

Learn the wildlife of Wind Cave National Park

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749 species have research-grade observations inside Wind 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. Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus45
  2. Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia45
  3. American Robin Turdus migratorius37
  4. Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo36
  5. Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta33
  6. Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia30
  7. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica28
  8. Western Wood-Pewee Contopus sordidulus28
  9. Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus27
  10. Yellow-breasted Chat Icteria virens23

Plants

  1. Great Plains yucca Yucca glauca121
  2. Rocky Mountains Ponderosa Pine Pinus scopulorum104
  3. Green-flower Hedgehog Cactus Echinocereus viridiflorus101
  4. Hoary vervain Verbena stricta96
  5. Upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera92
  6. Leadplant Amorpha canescens91
  7. Narrow-leaved purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia86
  8. Chokecherry Prunus virginiana71
  9. Western poison ivy Toxicodendron rydbergii64
  10. Great mullein Verbascum thapsus62

Mammals

  1. American Bison Bos bison522
  2. Black-tailed Prairie Dog Cynomys ludovicianus515
  3. Pronghorn Antilocapra americana170
  4. Coyote Canis latrans106
  5. Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus40
  6. Wapiti Cervus canadensis37
  7. American Badger Taxidea taxus19
  8. White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus12
  9. American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus12
  10. Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel Ictidomys tridecemlineatus11

Insects

  1. Common Checkered-Skipper Burnsius communis19
  2. Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis18
  3. Brown-belted Bumble Bee Bombus griseocollis18
  4. Two-striped Grasshopper Melanoplus bivittatus16
  5. Plains Bee Assassin Apiomerus spissipes16
  6. Plains Lubber Grasshopper Brachystola magna14
  7. Melissa Blue Plebejus melissa12
  8. Common Wood-Nymph Cercyonis pegala11
  9. Prairie Walkingstick Diapheromera velii11
  10. Megacyllene powersi11

Spiders and kin

  1. Western Black Widow Latrodectus hesperus8
  2. Bold Jumping Spider Phidippus audax7
  3. Yellow Garden Spider Argiope aurantia6
  4. Banded Garden Spider Argiope trifasciata5
  5. Elm Finger Gall Mite Aceria parulmi3
  6. Goldenrod Crab Spider Misumena vatia2
  7. Carolina Wolf Spider Hogna carolinensis2

Reptiles

  1. Prairie Rattlesnake Crotalus viridis24
  2. Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer22
  3. North American Racer Coluber constrictor10
  4. Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta9
  5. Common Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis8
  6. Plains Garter Snake Thamnophis radix6
  7. Western Terrestrial Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans3
  8. Plains Hognose Snake Heterodon nasicus2
  9. Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina2

Amphibians

  1. Woodhouse's Toad Anaxyrus woodhousii10
  2. Boreal Chorus Frog Pseudacris maculata4
  3. Northern Leopard Frog Lithobates pipiens3

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.