SEE 10 NATIONAL PARKS WITH THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WILD ANIMALS NOW

As part of our weeklong celebration of the beauty of National Parks, in honor of the US National Parks Centennial, we are sharing images of some of the most beautiful wildlife found there. Check them out below.

1. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK -- WYOMING, MONTANA, & IDAHO

You can find many of the biggest wild animals in the United States at Yellowstone National Park.The park, spans 3,600 square miles, across parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It is home to grizzlies, black bears, elk, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and lynx, many of which live in the Hayden and Lamar Valleys.

Wolves and bison were recently reintroduced into the Park.

Check out Thorofare Valley to see the animals in the most remote wilderness. You can get there on horseback for a totally wild time. Book your expedition here.

2. EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK -- FLORIDA

Glide through the Everglades National Park, in Florida, on an airboat, canoe or kayak, to get up close and personal with wild gators, crocodiles, egrets, great blue herons, flamingos, manatees, and white ibis. If you are lucky, you might see a bobcat or the rare Florida panther.

3. KATMAI NATIONAL PARK -- ALASKA

Brooks River and Brooks Falls, in Katmai National Park, Alaska, is where you’ll find lots of grizzlies. That’s because they find lots of sockeye salmon leaping up the falls. Go in July to see the heaviest concentration of feasting.

Check out this video to watch the bears and salmon in action.

4. ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK -- MICHIGAN

Along Greenstone Ridge Trail, in Isle Royale National Park, in the middle of Lake Superior, Michigan, wolves and moose live symbiotically, both thriving in the deep woods and thick bogs.

Backpackers, hikers, boaters, kayakers, canoeists and scuba divers all love the staggering beauty and the peace they find in the  894 square miles (2,320 km2), with only 209 square miles (540 km2) above water.

5. THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK -- NORTH DAKOTA

Check out Wind Canyon, in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, in North Dakota for a beautiful view of wild horses, mule and white-tailed deer, elk, bison, and prairie dogs.

6. DENALI NATIONAL PARK -- ALASKA

The US  equivalent of Africa’s “big five” wild animals live in Denali National Park and Wildlife Preserve, Alaska. They include caribou, moose, Dall sheep, wolves, and grizzly bears. You can also often spot lynx, wolverines, coyotes, porcupines, hoary marmots, and red foxes.

Watch birds migrate to and from the other 6 continents to Denali in Spring and Fall. Golden eagles, peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks; hummingbirds; and northern hawk owls are just a few of the winged species found here.

7. ASSATEAGUE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE -- VIRGINIA

Assateague Island National Seashore is known for its wild horses, feral descendants of domestic animals that are said to have survived a shipwreck off the Virginia coast in the late 17th century.

The horses are split into two main herds, one on the Virginia side and one on the Maryland side of Assateague. The National Park Service manages the Maryland herd. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company owns and manages the Virginia herd, which is allowed to graze on neighboring Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

8. HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK -- HAWAII

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on the Big Island, in Hawaii, is a gorgeous volcanic landscape that spans nearly 325,000 acres. Over 90% of the plant and animal species here are found nowhere else on the planet.

Check out a treasure trove of exotic birds, including the nēnē (the state bird), ‘io (Hawaiian hawk), honeycreeper, and white-tailed tropic bird, which nests in the walls of volcanoes.

You can also ogle carnivorous caterpillars, giant Hawaiian darners (giant dragonflies, with 6” wingspans), and hawksbill turtles.

9. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK -- COLORADO

At Rocky Mountain National Park, in Colorado, herds of elk, moose, bighorn sheep, and deer wander across 265,800 acres, joined by masses of bluebirds, Steller's jays, and butterflies, to name but a few of its wild inhabitants.

10. ACADIA NATIONAL PARK -- MAINE

Acadia National Park covers an archipelago off the coast of Maine, spanning over 47,500 acres. The area is a transitional zone, where mountains meet the sea. It is home to both arboreal and marine animals, including red foxes, long-tailed weasels, beavers, seals, porpoises, minke and humpback whales.

This is a bird-watcher’s paradise, with over 338 identified bird species, including peregrine falcons, bald eagles, herons, and many seabirds.

Read more about Beautiful Parks in 10 Gorgeous New Books Celebrating the Glory of National Parks Now.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Flicka. Yellowstone Elk. Yellowstone National Park.
2. Image: by Peter M Graham. Grizzly Bear. Yellowstone National Park.
3. Image: by Daniel Mayer. Bison Near a Hot Spring in Yellowstone.
4. Image: by Brian Garrett. Obnoxious Ibis. Everglades National Park. Florida.
5. Image: by Richard Mittleman. Brown Bear and Salmon. Katmai Reserve, Alaska.
6. Image: by Gary Kramer/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Gray Wolf. Isle Royale National Park. Michigan.
7. Image: by als pictures. Cow Moose. Isle Royale National Park. Michigan.
8. Image: by Rich Mason. Bison. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit, North Dakota.
9. Image: by Jacob W. Frank, of NPS. Denali National Park and Preserve. Profile of a Bull Caribou. Denali National Park, Alaska.
10. Image: by Rene Rivers. Dall Sheep Close. Denali National Park, Alaska.
11. Image: by Eric Lynch. Assateague Pony Reflection. Assateague Island National Seashore. Maryland.
12. Image: by m01229. Wild Ponies of Assateague. Assateague Island National Seashore.
13. Image: by Marcel Holyoak. Hawaii Amakihi (Hawaiian Honeycreeper), Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii.
14. Image: by Charles Sharp. Red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus mesonauta) in flight, Little Tobago.
15. Image: by John Carrel. Bighorn Shedding Last Winter's Coat. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
16. Image: by Paul Lurrie. Courtesy of IIP Photo Archive Maine Eagle. Acadia National Park, Maine.
17. Image: by James Branaman, for VISIT FLORIDA. Great Blue Heron, Everglades National Park. Florida.
18. Image: by Phil Romans. Assateague Island Horses. Assateague Island National Seashore. Maryland.
19. Image: by BN App - Download now!
20. Image: by informedmindstravel. Bison. Theodore Roosevelt National Park. North Dakota.