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The US has got some 64 designated national parks. These parks are home to more than 60% of the nation's endangered species, and represent some of the best remaining habitat for the country's wildlife heritage. They are also seen as "touchstones of shared history and culture." Visitors can opt for fragile coral reefs to complex wetlands while some of the most fascinating national parks are found underwater.
The Badlands National Park, located in southwestern South Dakota, is home to the black-footed ferret, the endangered land mammal in North America. The park, which covers 64,000 sq km, consists of 244,000 acres of buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the mixed grass prairie. The Park contains the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, which are 23 to 35 million years old. "I was totally unprepared for that revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands," said Frank Lloyd Wright.
SPECIES
215 species of birds have been recorded in the park. Some of them are:
Grebes
Pelicans and Cormorants
Herons
Waterfowl
Vultures, Eagles, Hawks, and Falcons
Gallinaceous Birds
Shorebirds
Rails, Coots, and Cranes
Gulls and Terns
Pigeons and Doves
Cuckoos
Owls
Goatsuckers
Swifts
Hummingbirds
Kingfishers
Woodpeckers
Flycatchers
Bluebirds and Thrushes
Mimic Thrushes
Vireos
Warblers
PLANTS
The Park is over 50% mixed grass prairie. Over 60 types of grass thrive here, as well as dozens of flowering plants. Although sparse, a few trees and shrubs successfully eke out an existence with less than 16 inches of precipitation each year.
ANIMALS
The Park is home to several kinds of herd-animals. Mule deer are by far the most common animal but visitors may also see white-tailed deer. Visitors should keep their eyes peeled for three less common animals of the Plains: bison, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn. Plus there is a good chance of spotting some reptiles and amphibians like salamanders, toads, frogs, turtles, lizards and snakes.
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