Wildlife & animals you meet in Colorado

Birds you'll notice

Colorado has more than 400 kinds of birds. A few you'll meet:

• Bald and golden eagles, hawks, and falcons — soaring over plains and rivers; bald eagles gather along rivers in winter.
• Wild turkeys — flocks in the foothills and forests.
• White-tailed ptarmigan and grouse — high-country game birds (ptarmigan turn white in winter).
• "Camp robbers" — the bold gray jays and Steller's jays that swoop in for your lunch. Don't feed them.
• Black-billed magpies — flashy black-and-white birds, smart and noisy, all over the state.
• Sandhill cranes — one of Colorado's great wildlife shows: tens of thousands stop in the San Luis Valley each spring and fall (see Where to see wildlife).

Snakes, spiders & bugs

Rattlesnakes (the only snakes to really worry about)

Colorado has three kinds of rattlesnakes. The common one is the prairie (plains) rattlesnake, found on both sides of the mountains, mostly in grasslands, rocks, and foothills below about 9,000 feet. (There's also the midget-faded rattlesnake in the western river canyons and the massasauga in the far southeast.) Bites are rare and very few have been fatal in recent decades — but they're serious.

• Avoid it: watch where you put your hands and feet, wear sturdy boots in rocky or grassy areas, keep dogs leashed, and heed the rattle — it's a warning to back off.
• If bitten: move away from the snake and call 911 immediately. Take off rings, watches, or tight clothing before swelling starts, and keep the bite below heart level. Do NOT cut the bite, suck the venom, apply ice, use a tourniquet, or use a venom-extractor kit — and don't try to catch the snake. Get to an ER for antivenom fast. Most bites land on a hand or foot, reaching or stepping where you can't see.

The harmless look-alike

The bull snake (gopher snake) looks a lot like a rattlesnake and even flattens its head and shakes its tail to bluff — but it has no rattle, no venom, and it helps by eating rodents. If you're not sure what kind of snake it is, just back away and leave it alone.

Spiders

• Black widow — shiny black with a red hourglass; venomous, lives in woodpiles, sheds, and crawlspaces. Bites are uncommon; see a doctor if bitten.
• Brown recluse — extremely rare in Colorado. Most "recluse bites" here are something else.
• Tarantulas — big, hairy, and harmless (see the famous fall "migration" in the quirks).

Ticks, mosquitoes & bees

• Ticks — the Rocky Mountain wood tick is the one people most often meet, in spring and early summer. The diseases to know are Colorado tick fever, tick-borne relapsing fever, tularemia, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Lyme disease is uncommon in Colorado. Check yourself and your dog after hikes and remove ticks promptly.
• Mosquitoes — West Nile virus is a real summer risk; use repellent at dawn and dusk and dump standing water.
• Bees & wasps — normal precautions; carry an epinephrine auto-injector if you're allergic.

The wildlife laws

A few rules surprise people:

• Feeding big-game wildlife is illegal. Under Colorado law you can't intentionally feed deer, elk, pronghorn, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, bears, or moose. It makes animals sick, bold, and dangerous — and it can get them killed. Feeding smaller wildlife is also harmful and may be restricted locally. The safe rule: don't feed wildlife.
• You can't keep wild animals as pets. In Colorado you cannot take a wild animal home — even babies, and even species that are legal pets in other states. Special licenses exist only for narrow purposes (rehabilitation, falconry, scientific work).
• You can't harass wildlife. Don't chase, corner, or pursue animals — on foot, with a vehicle, or with a drone.
• Leave the rescuing to the pros. Only licensed wildlife rehabilitators may care for injured or orphaned wild animals. If you find one that's truly hurt or orphaned, call CPW — don't take it in yourself.
• Report poaching and problems. Call CPW or Operation Game Thief, Colorado's wildlife crime tip line, at 1-877-265-6648. Tips can be anonymous and may earn a reward.

Wildlife on the road

Deer and elk on the road cause thousands of crashes a year, especially at dawn and dusk and in fall. Slow down in wildlife zones, use your high beams when you can to catch the eyeshine, and remember: if one crosses, more are coming — brake for the second and third animal. If a collision is unavoidable, brake hard but don't swerve off the road into something worse. Slow down at the marked wildlife crossings Colorado has built over highways like I-25, US 160, and SH 9.

If you do hit a large animal: pull off safely and put on your hazards. Call the State Patrol or sheriff — especially if the animal is blocking a lane or still alive — and don't approach a wounded elk or moose; a hurt animal is dangerous. Document the damage for your insurance.

You can legally salvage some roadkill — but there's a process. For big game (deer, elk, moose, pronghorn), you need CPW's okay: a donation certificate or authorization, and you must notify CPW or an authorized agency within 48 hours of taking the animal — you may have to show it for inspection. Small animals (rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, skunks) generally don't require a report. Never salvage migratory birds, threatened or endangered species, or anything the law prohibits. Get safely off the road first, make sure the animal is actually dead, and when in doubt, call CPW before loading anything.

Wildlife at home (yards, trash & pets)

Most "problem wildlife" is really a food problem we created.

• Bears: use a bear-resistant trash can (or store trash in the garage until pickup), take down bird feeders in spring through fall, clean grills, and don't leave pet food out. A bear that finds food at your house keeps coming back — and may be killed for it.
• Bird feeders: in bear country, take feeders down roughly April through November — they're a top bear attractant, and some towns will cite you. Clean seed feeders often (dirty ones spread salmonella and finch eye disease), and on hummingbird feeders use a 1-part-sugar-to-4-parts-water mix (no red dye, no honey), changed every couple of days in the heat so it doesn't grow deadly mold.
• Coyotes & foxes: keep small pets supervised, feed pets indoors, and secure trash. Haze coyotes that get bold.
• Chickens, bees, and livestock: secure them well with sturdy coops, night sheltering, and electric fencing, and consider a livestock guardian animal (dog, donkey, or llama). Colorado now has bears, mountain lions, and wolves in some areas; CPW offers guidance, and for wolves there are conflict-reduction tools (range riders, fladry, carcass cleanup) plus a depredation-compensation program. Report a confirmed wolf sighting or loss to CPW.
• Deer & elk in the yard: don't feed them (it's illegal), and accept that fences and unappetizing plants work better than trying to befriend them.

Colorado's wildlife claims to fame

• State animal: the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (native).
• State bird: the lark bunting (a plains songbird).
• State fish: the greenback cutthroat trout — thought extinct, then found again (see the fishing guide).
• Biggest brag: the largest elk herd in the world (more than 280,000 animals).
• No grizzlies. The last known Colorado grizzly was killed in 1979 in the southern mountains; today the only bear here is the black bear.
• Wolves are back. Gone for decades, gray wolves were released starting in December 2023 (voters approved it in 2020) and are protected as they re-establish.