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Badlands in winter

Wildlife wintering well in North Dakota’s Badlands

Kim Fundingsland/MDN As this Jan. 31 photo illustrates, there has been minimal snowfall over much of western North Dakota, including the Theodore Roosevelt National Park-North Unit.

WATFORD CITY – What a winter it has been. Very little snow has fallen and, until recently, temperatures have been quite mild given the winter season. For wildlife that must endure whatever weather winter brings, no matter how brutal, the season has been a wonderful gift.

Deer, elk, and bison in the badlands terrain of Theodore Roosevelt National Park have not had to exert extra energy scraping and pawing through deep snow to find enough forage to survive until spring. Not this winter. The land is virtually 100 percent open due to a lack of snow.

“It’s easier for ungulates with minimal snow cover, easier to get to vegetation for grazing,” said Megan Klosterman, natural resources specialist for T.R. National Park in Medora.

A recent trip to T.R. North Unit found bison roaming with ease, able to graze virtually anywhere in the park without the usual challenges brought by a North Dakota winter. Deer were seen lying in the sun, a stark contrast to most winters when they must fight to survive both deep snow and frigid temperatures.

Only in recent days has the thermometer plummeted but, with forage easy to obtain, even a spell of cold temperatures is not likely to have much of a negative effect on mule deer, white-tailed deer, or bighorn sheep.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN Without having to paw through deep snow, grazing has been easy for wildlife in the Badlands this winter, as revealed in this Jan. 31 photo.

Of course, the most prominent wildlife in T.R. National Park is the bison, the burly and remarkable residents of the plains that are perfectly adapted to live in the hottest days of the summer and the coldest days of winter.

“They are built for this extreme environment,” said Klosterman.

Klosterman said the T.R. National Park elk herd was doing well too. Although an occasional elk can be found in the North Unit, Klosterman was referring to the large herd that lives in the South Unit near Medora.

While no snow cover makes winter survival easier for many animals, it’s not always the best situation for other wildlife such as sharptailed grouse, rabbits, and small rodents.

“When the snow is there it does provide some insulation in the winter,” explained Klosterman.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN Bison cross the frozen Little Missouri River near the Juniper Campground in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park-North Unit. Bison are well suited to handling extreme temperature swings in North Dakota.

Without snow to burrow into or go completely underneath, grouse and rodents and such can find themselves exposed to sub-zero temperatures and bitter windchills. Still, with the very late start to the usual winter weather and the minutes of daylight increasing each day, and barring a prolonged cold spell, it appears this winter season is destined to become one of the least severe experienced in many, many years and a plus for North Dakota wildlife.

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