Warm-blooded animals both large and small are in the Great Plains. The most famous is the buffalo, or bison. Another hoofed animal of the plains is the pronghorn, a type of antelope unique to North America. It is an incredibly fast animal, second to the cheetah in top speeds. Some of the smaller mammals in the Great Plains are slightly less impressive, but still rare finds in America. The prairie dog, or ground squirrel, is a small type of rodent that lives in burrows. Though many people keep ferrets as domestic pets, their natural habitat is the Great Plains (most notably the endangered black-footed ferret).
There are countless species of birds in the Great Plains, but some are more common to the area. Geese, mallards and ducks occupy the Great Plains, just as they do throughout the majority of America. But feathered creatures like the sage grouse, prairie falcon, long-billed curlew, violet-green swallow and the bohemian waxwing are not in many areas outside of the Plains. There are also many species of owl, including the great horned owl, barred owl, screech owl and even the snowy owl. Meadowlarks of all kinds live in the grassland areas, as do various types of wrens, sparrows, blackbirds, hawks and gulls. Most of these birds head south during the cold season, but nest in the Great Plains during the warmer months.
Cold-blooded creatures are just as common in the Great Plains as the warm blooded. The most common may be the Great Plains Toad, an amphibian that lives in grassland areas. Another amphibian is the tiger salamander. These creatures usually burrow into the earth, only spending time above ground if it is rainy or moist. Many reptiles also inhabit the area. The most common may be the box turtle, an animal found throughout much of the United States, but especially plentiful in wooded areas with rivers or ponds. Snakes of all sorts live in the Great Plains as well, the most common of which is the large but non-venomous rat snake.