Endangered Species is a 1982 American science fiction horror film directed and co-written by Alan Rudolph, and starring Robert Urich, JoBeth Williams, Peter Coyote, and Hoyt Axton. It follows a former New York City police officer (Urich) who relocates to a rural Colorado town, where a newly-appointed sheriff (Williams) is investigating a series of bizarre cattle mutilations.

Plot

Ruben Castle, a brutish and alcoholic New York City police officer, quits his job and becomes sober, allowing him to reunite with his estranged teenage daughter, Mackenzie. Ruben decides to bring Mackenzie with him to Colorado, where he plans to start a new life. En route, the pair become stranded near the rural small town of Buffalo after their trailer suffers a tire blowout. Mackenzie rushes in her father's car to find a tow truck, and crashes into the vehicle of the newly-appointed town sheriff, Harriet Perdue. Ruben and Mackenzie park their trailer in a campground, and become acquainted with the townspeople. Ruben encounters Harriet several times, and learns she is investigating a series of mysterious cattle mutilations, which have spurred conspiracy theories among locals ranging from UFOs to a Satanic cult in the area.