The first cave to be classified as a national park, Wind Cave was established in 1903 by Teddy Roosevelt. The Lakota Sioux believed in their creation myth that the cave is where they emerged with the creation of the world.
In Salamandar Cave, another cave in the park, the oldest fossil of the now extinct Dire Wolf (Canis dirus) was found. The fossil dates to 252,000 years ago.
