1. What is the ONLY organism that lives above the snow in the alpine in winter? Answer: The white-tailed ptarmigan - it turns white in winter to blend in with the snow. Here's a picture of a ptarmigan
2. What mammal is never seen above-ground? Answer: The northern pocket gopher - it almost never leaves its burrow.
3. What animal is now the "most feared", because it's a carrier of a deadly disease? Answer: The deer mouse - it is a carrier for Hanta virus.
4. What's the most common plant of the alpine? Answer: The Alpine Avens or Acomastylis rossii is the most common plant of the alpine.
5. Which tree species live above timberline? Answer: They are usually Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) or Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii), but sometimes you can find a Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) or a Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
6. Some of the alpine tree islands are actually moving across the tundra. How is this possible? Answer: The end of the tree island closest to the wind dies and crumbles while the end away from the wind puts down roots and grows forward. The tree appears to crawl across the tundra, away from the wind, about an inch or two a year.
7. What animals are now extinct:
Answer: Three species of amphibians--tiger salamander, striped chorus frog and the boreal toad--are found elsewhere above treeline in Colorado, but these species have not been seen in the last decade from Niwot Ridge. Also, bighorn sheep are no longer on Niwot Ridge, but can be found in other Colorado Alpines.
Answer: The Grizzly bear is now extinct in Colorado. David Armstrong notes that the grey wolf and bison (a beast not usually associated with tundra!) were hunted to extinction as well.
Back to the Niwot Ridge Quiz Page .
