Colorado Life Zones: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 1: Choose One of the Life Zones or Choices Below

Subalpine Life Zone: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 2: Choose a Topic from the Subalpine Life Zone & Scroll Down

General Information

Through the Seasons

Extreme Weather

Awesome Adaptations

Plants and Trees

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles & Amphibians

Mammals of the Subalpine Life Zone

Similar to the Montane life zone, mammals in the subalpine have adapted to the seasons in different ways. Many animals, like mule deer and elk, migrate down to lower elevations during the fall, winter, spring, and come back early in the summer. Predators like Mountain lions and packs of coyotes follow them in their movement.

The animals that stay most of year in the subalpine have other tricks. Many mammals grow thick warm fur, like the canada lynx. Some even change colors from white in the winter to brown in the summer to blend in, like the snowshoe hare and short-tailed weasel. Still others, like the yellow-bellied marmot & least chipmunk, build a den or shelter from the weather and hibernate. The american pika and pine squirrel are master storers of food during the summer, saving plants and cones to eat in the long winter months. All animals must put on a lot of weight and fat in the summer to survive the cold snowy winter.

Some animals, like the wolverine and grizzly bear, are so secretive and the subalpine is so high and rugged that we don't know if they exist in Colorado today. We know that they used to live in Colorado from furs, bones, and true historical accounts. Recently, people think they have seen far off small glimpses of wolverines and grizzly bears. However, it is possible it could be a different animal, like the black bear or pine marten. Grizzly Bears and Wolverines can be so secretive that it is difficult for wildlife rangers to check if it is a true sighting. They may or may not still live here.

Canada Lynx

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Bear Country USA

Animal Files

Mountain Lion or Cougar

CO Div of Wildlife

Bear Country USA

Animal Files

Southwest Wildlife

Red Fox

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Bear Country USA

Animal Files

Short-tailed Weasel or Ermine

CO Div of Wildlife

Blue Planet Biome

Animal Files

Coyote

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Animal Files

Bear Country USA

Southwest Wildlife

Pine or American Marten

CO Div of Wildlife

CSU NDIS

Utah Div of Wildlife

Animal Files

Grizzly Bear ?

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife

Animal Files

Wolverine ?

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife

Animal Files

Porcupine

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Bear Country USA

Southwest Wildlife

Snowshoe Hare

MBG net

CO Div of Wildlife

Utah Div of Wildlife

National Geographic

Pine or Red Squirrel, or Chickaree

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Utah Div of Wildlife

Golden-mantled Ground SquirrelNature_Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Utah Div of Wildlife

Yellow-bellied Marmot

CO Div of Wildlife

Utah Div of Wildlife

Animal Files

Colorado Chipmunk

Least Chipmunk

Shrews

CO Div of Wildlife

CSU NDIS

Utah Div of Wildlife

Bushy-tailed

Woodrat

CO Div of Wildlife

CSU NDIS

Utah Div of Wildlife

American Pika

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Utah Div of Wildlife

Voles/Meadow Mice

White-footed Mice

CSU NDIS

Utah Div of Wildlife

Northern Pocket Gopher

CO Div of Wildlife

CSU NDIS

Utah Div of Wildlife

Long-legged Myotis

CO Div of Wildlife

CSU NDIS

Utah Div of Wildlife

Elk or Wapiti

CO Div of Wildlife

Bear Country U.S.A.

Mule Deer

CO Div of Wildlife

Utah Div of Wildlife

Animal Files

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

Nature Works

CO Div of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife

Bear Country USA

Mountain Goat

CO Div of Wildlife

Bear Country USA

Oregon Zoo

Blue Planet Biome

Awesome Adaptations: Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

There is a reason why the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is the state mammal of Colorado. Its many adaptations have inspired people of the beauty and ruggedness of Colorado. First, the bighorn sheep lives in cold, windy, and steep places. The bighorn sheep has warm fur to protect from the wind and snow. It has special hooves, an excellent sense of balance, and strong legs that help the bighorn climb the steep rocky mountains.Bighorn sheep need to eat lots of grass and shrubs in the short spring, summer, and fall to put on enough fat to survive the winter. During harsh winter, bighorns may move down to the subalpine or montane foothills life zones. The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep have found a way to live in very harsh life zones.

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep live in groups called flocks. The females are called ewes and have smaller horns. The male mountain bighorn sheep, called rams, have large c-shaped horns. Bighorn sheep keep their horns their whole life and do not shed them, unlike the elk that grow and sheds antlers each year. Over it's lifetime, a ram's horns will continue to grow and get more curly. During mating season in the fall, the rams run at each other and butt heads to prove who is the strongest ram that will mate with the ewes. The collisions can be quite strong and the cracking sound may be heard from far away. They can do this because they have thick skulls and strong necks.

The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep population has been threatened by diseases brought bydomestic sheep and cows, loss of habitat, and overhunting in the late 1800's and early 1900's. They use to number over 1 million in the western United States. By the 1950's, the population in the Colorado numbered around 2,000 mountain bighorn sheep and lived in only a small part of the state. The Colorado Division of Wildlife has helped the population of bighorn sheep to grow and have been relocating mountain bighorn sheep across the state. Today their numbers are around 70,000 (*Defenders of Wildlife) in the western United States. As humans build their cabins, ranches, and houses further in the mountains we must recognize and respect we are building our homes in wild places that need to be kept wild. We must also be careful when bringing new species to an area that they may affect the native animals. The diseases brought by domestic sheep have killed many native mountain bighorn sheep. The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is a symbol of Colorado and the west, and we need to protect this proud rugged animal.

Sources of information and to find more information:Nature Works,CO Div of Wildlife,Defenders of Wildlife,Bear Country USA

Awesome Adaptations: Canada Lynx

The Canada lynxis a beautiful cat that has many adaptations to help it live the cold snowy rough Rocky Mountains. The lynx have thick whitish-tan and gray warm fur to protect them from the cold snowy weather. The fur also helps it blend into its habitat. They have excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing. They use these to hunt their most common food, snowhoe hares. They sometimes will also eat other small animals or weakened or sick larger animals like deer. The Canada lynx have an advantage hunting in the snow. The lynx have very large paws that help it stay on top of the snow instead of sinking in the deep snow. It is the same reason humans wear snowshoes in the winter. The lynx is great at silently sneaking up and ambushing its prey. When the lynx catches its prey, it will sink its sharp claws in the animal and bite with its sharp teeth in the neck to try and suffocate the prey. They make look cute and cuddly, but the Canada lynx is one tough cat.

The Canada lynx had lived in land that is now Colorado for a long time before settlers came from the eastern United States. However, they were hunted for their furs and killed because they were a larger predator in the 1800's and early 1900's. The Colorado Division of Wildlife has brought the Canada lynx back to the state to hopefully set up a large enough population to stay in the state. Canada lynx are still doing well in the northern Rocky Mountains, and some of those cats were captured and released in Colorado. The Canada lynx may be easy to get confused with the bobcat. They look similar except the lynx is bigger and their are other small differeences. So if you see a lynx in the wild: 1. You are incredibly lucky and need to respect its space. 2. You should report it to the Colorado Division of Wildlife about when and where you spotted the Canada lynx.

Sources of information and to find more information:Nature Works,CO Div of Wildlife,Bear Country USA