[Illustration: Gray jays are found in the deep coniferous forests of the park. In some parks gray jays, or “camp robbers,” loiter about campgrounds and picnic areas begging or stealing food. In Glacier, however, they are seldom noticed as they search out seeds, berries, and insects.] [Illustration: A generalized predator, the coyote will eat almost anything, from berries to carrion. When man eliminated most of the coyote’s enemies and competitors, including the wolf, grizzly, and cougar, it enlarged its range to fill the void. Intelligent and social, the coyote thrives despite man’s persecution. Although most numerous in the prairie community, it ranges up to timberline.] [Illustration: The spruce grouse is a year-round resident of the spruce/fir and lodgepole communities. It forages on the ground for seeds and insects, in winter turning to needles. Several other species of grouse occupy different habitats in Glacier.] [Illustration: Chipmunks are found in every community, from prairie to tundra, in Glacier. Each of the park’s three very similar species has its preferred habitat. The diurnal counterpart to nocturnally active mice, which have the same diet of seeds, berries and occasional insects, chipmunks adapt easily to the presence of people and become nuisances if encouraged by handouts. Feeding rodents is dangerous and is harmful to them. By altering their diets and blunting their cautious instincts, daily exposure to “free lunches” makes the animals less fit to face the harsh realities of their natural environment.] [Illustration: Unlike whitetail deer, which remain in lowland areas all year, mule deer range upward into high meadows during the summer. The bucks, especially, are wanderers and travel together. Velvet antlers, worn during the time of summer sociability, presage the autumn contests to come.] [Illustration: The checkerspot butterfly belongs to the most diverse group of animals on the planet—the insects, whose importance can hardly be overestimated. They not only help recycle nutrients in the living community and provide an abundant food base for other lifeforms, but are instrumental in pollinating most of the earth’s terrestrial plants.] [Illustration: Alpine vegetation must be able to survive freezing temperature during the growing season, since winter conditions are possible even in summer. Early bloomers, such as the glacier lily, endure repeated snowfalls during the unstable weather conditions of June.] [Illustration: Unlike mountain goats, these bighorn rams will desert the alpine zone at the approach of winter; they will join other bighorns congregating in the lower valleys.]