Sites at the Wind Cave National Park (WCNP) in South Dakota dominated by warm-season grasses were used by elk (Cervus elaphus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), while sites dominated by cool-season grasses were used by pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and bison (Bison bison). Although bison and pronghorn had the greatest amount of habitat use overlap during all seasons, direct competition between the two species is low, since they prefer different forage. Bison eat graminoids year-round, whereas pronghorn prefer forbs. Elk and mule deer were alike in habitat utilization, but had very different food habits and spatial distribution. The elk diets consisted mainly of forbs and graminoids whereas mule deer fed mostly on browse. Overall, mule deer had very little distributional overlap with all of the species, especially elk and pronghorn. During times of increased elk populations, elk may have displaced mule deer in WCNP through competition for browse and agonistic behavior. Due to spatial and habitat division, as well as differing food habits, the ungulates at WCNP are able to coexist.
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