Tuesday, January 4, 2022

WILDLIFE IN THE AMERICAN WEST By Cheri Kay Clifton

As western authors, we know that settings are as important as our characters and plots. We want our readers to get a clear and vibrant sense of the western location in which our story takes place.

One way I use to engage my readers and enhance the believability of my fictional books is to be sure to include the sights and sounds of western wildlife common to the story’s location, be it in the prairies, great plains, mountains, or deserts.

For you reference, below is a compilation of commonly found wildlife in the Western United States.

 GREAT PLAINS & PRAIRIES:

American Bison
Pronghorn Antelope
Mule Deer
Black Tailed Jackrabbit
Whitetail Deer
Prairie Dog
Ferret
Coyote
Grey Wolf
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Badger
Golden Eagle
Prairie Falcon
Prairie Chicken
Western Meadowlark

MOUNTAINS ELEVATION 5000 & ABOVE

Elk (Wapiti – is a Native American word meaning “white rump)
Black Tailed Deer
Bighorn Sheep
Rocky Mountain Goat
Grizzly Bear
Black Bear
Mountain Lion
Bobcat
Wolf
Beaver
Porcupine
Tree Martin
Great Horned Owl
Peregrine Falcon
Moose
Mountain Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker
Mountain Jay
Western Bluebird

DESERTS:

Blacktail Deer
Pronghorn Antelope
Desert Bighorn
Antelope Jackrabbit
Coyote
Desert Woodrat
Mountain Lion
Jaguar
Desert Tortoise
Roadrunner
Trap Door Spider
Gila Monster
Harris Hawk
Common Raven
Quail
Desert Sidewinder Snake
Desert Iguana
Stink Bug

HAPPY NEW YEAR & THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!


My Author page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLZOKC

Book 1, Trail To Destiny - A turbulent cross-country journey of heated passion, bitter vengeance and a haunted past lead Grey Wolf & Laura Westbrook on their Trail To Destiny.

Book 2, Destiny's Journey - Family deception kept Jennifer O’Malley from marrying her first love ten years ago, West Point officer, Glen Herrington.  Now a Civil War widow, she leaves war-torn Richmond, determined to find her destiny.  She makes the long journey west in search of Glen, only to discover he is a notorious outlaw with a price on his head.

Book 3, Yesteryear’s Destiny - When Angela Moore skydives out of a plane and into the western frontier of yesteryear, she not only meets the love of her life, Ben Herrington, but discovers a fateful revelation that exceeds the boundaries of time and will control her destiny.


2 comments:

  1. Thank you for the reference guide, Cheri Kay. You've given me a post to print and save. Happy New Year with many sales!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I, too, keep many of the posts from our SOTW authors for reference. I admire and appreciate the talent of our authors in their writing craft as well as the well-researched western history evident in their books.

    ReplyDelete

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