Animals Discovered by Lewis & Clark

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark departed St. Louis on May 14, 1804 on the first American exploration of the Louisiana Purchase and areas west to the Pacific Ocean. The expedition the two men led endured challenging weather and hostile native tribes. Among the subjects chronicled during the more than two-year journey were many North American species of animals seen for the first time by white settlers.

  1. North American Prairie Species

    • From the Dakota territories to what is now eastern Montana and parts of Wyoming, Lewis and Clark observed prairie dogs, named because of their vocalizations when startled or when alerting the community. According to the expedition's journals, prairie wolves -- now called coyotes -- sometimes kept the men up at night while they moved through the Black Hills of the Dakota Territories. Bison roamed the plains and the men noted their size, hides and numbers. The black-footed ferret was observed and recorded as well as the whooping crane, prairie chicken and burrowing owl.

    Northern Rocky Mountain Species

    • The grizzly bear was frequently written about in Lewis and Clark's naturalist journals; the men were impressed with the size and ferocity of the bear. The ungulates of the region -- elk, bighorn sheep and mountain goats -- also appeared in their notes. Because the exploration team lived off the land by fishing and hunting, members also recorded species of fish such as the bull trout and the westslope cutthroat trout.

    Pacific Northwest Species

    • As the men made their way into what are now Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, they found the wolverine, weasel and mink, which belong to the same family. Woodland caribou still roamed the forests and high country of the Oregon territory that the expedition passed through. Once the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean, they recorded sea otters and sea lions along the coast. Fishers -- another relative of the weasel -- and the lynx were also observed.