Threatened Colorado

Threatened and Endangered Mammals in Colorado

Threatened Colorado profiles 12 mammals. Two are federally endangered: Black-footed Ferret and New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse. Four are federally threatened, and the other six are proposed for federal listing, listed by Colorado or tracked as at risk.

This list includes federally listed mammals, mammals proposed for federal listing, Colorado state-listed mammals and Colorado species of special concern.

By Threatened Colorado , Two Colorado natives , About us

Last reviewed , Checked against USFWS, CPW sources , Sources (6)

Colorado's listed mammals range from prairie to peaks. On the plains, sylvatic plague kills prairie dogs, which CPW calls "a keystone species integral to the health of ecosystems across Colorado and beyond"; USFWS says black-footed ferrets eat mostly prairie dogs and live in their burrows. In the high country, USFWS listed the wolverine as threatened mainly because of climate change, which it expects to cut snowpack in areas wolverines use by as much as 50 percent in some places.

Several have been brought back on purpose. CPW has released more than 500 black-footed ferrets since 2001, and estimates 75–100 lynx now live in the state after releases that began in 1999. Voters passed Proposition 114 on November 3, 2020, and ten gray wolves were released in December 2023. The full list is on Reintroduced species.

What do these statuses mean?

Federally endangered (2)

Federally threatened (4)

Proposed for federal listing (1)

State-listed in Colorado (not federally listed) (2)

Other at-risk species (3)

Native & Rare mammals (6)

Not listed as threatened or endangered, and not counted above: native mammals that are rare or show how their habitat is doing. About Native & Rare

Questions people ask

All 83 questions about mammals

Where they live

Explore Colorado's life zones

Sources (6)
  1. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Prairie dogs. cpw.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)
  2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). fws.gov (opens in a new tab)
  3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Threatened species status with section 4(d) rule for North American wolverine (Federal Register, 2023). federalregister.gov (opens in a new tab)
  4. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Black-footed ferret. cpw.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)
  5. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Lynx. cpw.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)
  6. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Bringing wolves back to Colorado. cpw.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)

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