Hot Springs National Park occupies a 5,550 acre area adjacent to the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. This smallest of all the U.S, National Parks is set almost within a city in order to enclose the naturally occurring volcanic springs beneath the earth.
A wide variety of small ground animals call Hot Springs National Park home. Because of its positioning within the city limits of Hot Springs, Arkansas, there are no larger animals present within the park. Common residents include: whitetail deer, raccoons, woodchuck, possums, chipmunks, squirrels, grey foxes, cotton tail rabbits, waterdog, eel, and several types of salamander, toad and frog.
Birds found in the park include several species of: heron, owl, goose, vulture, hawk, woodpecker, plover, flycatcher, swallow, wren, tanager, crow, warbler, nuthatch, sparrow, oriole, vireo and finch. Other birds in the park include: grackle, cowbird, blackbird, grosbeak, cardinal, bunting, junco, redstart, ovenbird, yellowthroat, creeper, chickadee, titmouse, dove, blue jay, killdeer, kingbird, pewee, woodcock, cuckoo, roadrunner, bobwhite, kestrel, eagle, osprey, flicker, sapsucker, kingfisher, hummingbird, swift and whip-poor-will.
Wildroses, mayapples, spiderworts, wild iris, redbuds, nettles and a wide variety of grasses. Trees found in the park include: dogwood, hickory, pine and oak.
