page_title: Big Bend National Park
section_title: Flora and fauna
hierarchical_section_title: Big Bend National Park / Flora and fauna
caption_attribution_description: Pronghorn
context_page_description: Big Bend National Park is an American national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States. The park protects more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 75 species of mammals.
  Geological features in the park include sea fossils and dinosaur bones, as well as volcanic dikes. The area has a rich cultural history, from archeological sites dating back nearly 10,000 years to more recent pioneers, ranchers, and miners. The Chisos Mountains are located in the park, the only mountain range in the United States to be fully contained within the boundary of a national park.
  The park encompasses an area of 801,163 acres. For more than 1,000 miles, the Rio Grande/Río Bravo forms the boundary between Mexico and the United States, and Big Bend National Park administers approximately 118 miles along that boundary. The park was named after a large bend in the river, and the Texas—Mexico border.
context_section_description: Despite its harsh desert environment, Big Bend has more than 1,200 species of plants (including 60 cactus species), over 600 species of vertebrates, and about 3,600 insect species. The variety of life is largely due to the diverse ecology and changes in elevation between the dry, hot desert, the cool mountains, and the fertile river valley.
  Most of the animals are not visible in the day, particularly in the desert. The park comes alive at night, with many of the animals foraging for food. About 150 cougar (Puma concolor) sightings are reported per year, despite the fact that only two dozen cougars live in the park. Other species that inhabit the park include coyote (Canis latrans), kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spp.), greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), gray fox (Urycon cinereoargenteus), collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), and black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus). Mexican black bears (Ursus americanus eremicus) are also present in the mountain areas.
  The variety of cactus and other plant life add color to the Big Bend region. Cactus species in the park include prickly pear (Opuntia spp.), claretcup (Echinocereus coccineus), and pitaya (E. enneacanthus). In the spring, the wildflowers are in full bloom and the yucca flowers display bright colors. Bluebonnets (Lupinus spp.) are prevalent in Big Bend, and white and pink bluebonnets are sometimes visible by the road. Other flowering plants such as the desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata), desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), rock nettle (Eucnide urens), and lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) abound in Big Bend.
  The first U.S. record of the northern tufted flycatcher (Mitrephanes phaeocercus), a Central American species, was from this site in November 1991. Birders also flock to the park, as it is home to the only area in the United States within the breeding range of the Colima warbler (Vermivora crissalis).
  Plans to reintroduce the Mexican wolf to Big Bend National Park were rejected in the late 1980s by the state of Texas. Disagreement over the reintroduction included the question of whether the park contained enough prey animals, such as deer and javelinas, to sustain a wolf population.
caption: Pronghorns
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