Colorado is blessed. From its grassy prairies to its high mountain peaks, our state is home to an abundance of hoofed, horned, and antlered wildlife. They are Colorado's Magnificent Seven—moose, elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorns, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats. We may know their ways, may have glimpsed them many times, may have hunted them, but each new encounter with these great mammals leaves us feeling touched by the wild.
This abundance of large, dramatic mammals—sometimes referred to, jokingly and otherwise, as "charismatic mega-fauna"—is a special treasure shared by only a few other Western states. Of North America's free-ranging large grazing mammals, only caribou, Dall sheep and musk ox, animals of the far north and Arctic Circle, are not found in our state. Bison exist here in captive herds but are no longer a free-ranging species and wild horses are feral animals—domestic animals that have gone back to living in the wild.
Wildlife has a powerful effect on viewers. The sight of a heavy-antlered bull moose, a gathering of elegant mule deer does, or a playful mountain goat kid bounding up a slope like a hobby horse electrifies viewers. Faces light up, conversation becomes excited, watchers gaze in awe and fascination. While hunters have long enjoyed hunting these large mammals, there is a tremendous interest in viewing them as well. A 1995 study found 56% of Colorado residents travel one or miles from their homes specifically to watch wild animals, excluding visits to zoos or hunting and fishing trips. Wildlife watchers spend nearly $1.3 billion annually in Colorado on travel, lodging, food, and equipment.
Most of us have probably seen deer many times, yet who doesn't pause with a sense of pleasure and wonder at the sight of large ears, doe eyes, and delicate muzzle poised shyly at the edge of the trees? Deer, in fact, are the number one most popular animal Coloradans want to see, according to a survey of wildlife viewing interest. After deer (not differentiated by species), elk are the second most desirable mammal, then moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goats. Pronghorn come in fourteenth in desirability of viewing, still in the upper half of 32 categories of animals.
In a single day, a diligent traveler moving from grasslands to mountain peaks could conceivably see all seven of these large mammals, though it would take excellent luck and steady travel. While seeing all seven is a tall order in a day, viewing four or five is a good possibility, given the right route or destination. A drive up Mount Evans might easily yield a peek at mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and goats, while a tour through North Park could well offer moose, mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and elk. One caveat to bear in mind: seeing wildlife is serendipitous. A full day spent searching for animals might also turn up none at all.
Colorado's Magnificent Seven are found in all corners of the state, some of them even in suburban areas, but the key to success in seeing specific animals lies with learning a bit about each species. It helps to know the appropriate habitats to visit in search of them, and what to look for. All the wishing in the world won't yield a moose on the eastern plains and a pronghorn will never be found grazing with bighorn sheep on a mountain slope.
To really succeed at viewing the Magnificent Seven, watchers need to cultivate an observer's eye. The key is to not just look for them but to LOOK for them. While hiking, while driving, while cycling through wildlife habitat, wildlife watchers need to be watching for things that subtly stand out from the background, movement on an otherwise still landscape, shapes that don't quite fit in, colors and patterns that are out of place. It's no accident that wildlife are difficult to see, camouflaged against the background of their habitats, but subtle cues to their presence are still there. Success in seeing animals comes with paying attention and training the eye to notice those subtle differences. A group of large boulders that doesn't quite look exactly like boulders may be a herd of resting bighorns. Several flashes of white on a drab prairie landscape may be the rumps of fleeing pronghorns.
Watching wildlife also carries responsibilities. The sight of the summer's bighorn lambs romping on a green mountainside like youngsters in a playground touches a viewer's heart like no description in a book ever could. Yet it's important that viewing these animals not step over the bounds by stressing or endangering them, or violating their wildness by turning them into twinkle-eating beggars. A bighorn ewe poking her head in a car window for junk food treats has lost an element of her wildness. The best of all worlds is for watchers to enjoy their viewing experience, with a neutral response from the watched. Ideally animals should neither approach viewers nor flee at the sight of humans, but just go about calmly making a living. After all, that's really the way we want to see our Magnificent Seven—still Magnificent.
Next: Ethics and Responsibility
(The information contained in this issue of Colorado's Wildlife Company was accurate at the time of original publication. Situations and circumstances described, staff positions, contact information, and dates of some events may have changed in the interim. Present knowledge and understanding of biological and behavioral facts and information may also be different, now, than presented here.)