Wildlife at it's best

The wildlife you will see in this edition of our blog should be very interesting when you consider many of the following factors. We were not in Africa to capture the images of the lions and tigers. We were not in bear or wolf country to get the photographs of these wild critters. When you look at the images you will see contentment and very healthy animals. Before I answer the questions that I just posed, let's look at the photographs.

You've seen wolves that I have photographed since they were re-introduced in the wild. This wolf was not in Yellowstone National Park and seems very relaxed and healthy.

Was this tiger posing for me to take this photograph, was it looking for something to attack, or had it just finished eating. I was at least 1500 feet away and you get this image as a result of zoom lens and software. It seems that it had plenty of roaming room which in fact it did.

Maybe something was itching the back of it's neck. It was not concerned about me being near by or it could have been very tense. Have you ever seen a tiger as relaxed as this one and it seems to be enjoying the comfort of the scratch.

This bear seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere. But it was a very healthy bear and I can assure you that it was not being chased by another critter. You aren't seeing any trees in the photos and it doesn't look like a park or a jungle.

When was the last time you saw a lion this relaxed. It's resting in the sun and there doesn't appear to be tens of people peering at it. If you like wildlife, you might enjoy visiting them. Keep reading and we'll finish the story before you you're through.

Is this more of what you would expect with these creatures? This seems to be more like what you would expect of a lion in the wild. Or, is it mating season and this guy is calling his girl friend or telling his competitor that this is his territory.

Based on this picture, it was none of the above. He's content with his surroundings and is probably ready to take a nap.

So where was I? This visit was a lot better than any zoo that I've been to, especially if you are concerned about the life of these animals. Being penned up in cage for your life is OK if you are on the other side of the cage, but if you are the animal, it's not like it was in the wild. 

We had the opportunity to visit the Wildlife Sanctuary in Colorado a few years ago and have returned  each time we're in Boulder, Colorado visiting our family and grandchildren. The owners of the sanctuary and generous contributions have permitted them to give these animals freedoms that few captured wild life ever get. I was on a mile long elevated walkway taking these photographs. The wildlife were not in the least bit concerned about our visit as you can see from these pictures.

I have added the logo of the Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the website for those of you who are interested in learning more about these animals and their benefactors. If you are ever in the Denver area, take the time to visit this wonderful establishment.

It was fun having the opportunity to capture the images of these animals without having to spend days and dollars traveling to their natural habitat.

                                                                           ENJOY

We saw it all except a moose

We spent 2 days in Yellowstone National Park between Christmas and New Years. We saw it all except for a moose. No, we didn't see any bears because they are hibernating. We drove to Cooke City the first day and made it across Lamar Valley before returning to Gardiner on the second day. As we drove across Lamar we saw lots of bison and then we spotted this coyote in the valley. We thought he was looking for dinner and the next photograph proves the point.
The coyote had that alert look. We had seen this for several minutes when we captured this view. The very next photograph captured the action.The coyote is in the air, diving into the snow for dinner. We were too far away to see if the dive was sucessful, but based on the actions after the jump, we guessed it got something. With our spotting scope and a close examination of the body of this coyote, we believe it was a female and it was pregnant. You are probably saying, you had to take coyotes because you didn't see any wolves. Wrong.

This was one of 3 wolves we saw. We learned that the pack that we have published in our blog before were on the other side of the mountain with a large carcass. The first day they were eating and the second day they were resting. If you have viewed our blog recently, you will have seen a bighorn ram courting his girl friend as we ventured to Woodbine on Christmas day. Well, this is not the same couple, but you can tell from the look on their faces that they are mates. It was snowing as we took this picture, near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone.The bighorns come to the lower elevations in the winter. You will normally see some of the bighorn rams as you enter the park. This time we were leaving the park on the second day when this gentleman posed for us. We were impressed, hope you are also.

And speaking of big horns, the next 2 guys would not be pleased that we referred to the growth on their heads as horns, they are antlers. We had seen alot of female elk but the boys were not to be found until we rounded a corner and what should appear. They were resting.

We also saw pronghorns. Two great days in Yellowstone, as it always is.

More Yellowstone

Today, we start with a young elk trying to hide in the tall grass, curious as to what I was doing, then to another elk who has just started to re-grow his antlers. Growing at 1.5 inches per day, he should have a full rack within a month or two. The finish is velvet but as his antlers get fully grown he starts to rub them on trees to remove the velvet and also we lose some bark from the trees. Do you like pronghorn or antelope - he is the fastest animal on the planet with the exception of the cheetah. The wolves -we'll start with a gray wolf who was in the same area as the black wolf, near a carcass. The black wolf is #480 who you saw a couple days ago with the bison,he's also Casanova's brother. The last picture he was howling. Note sure if he was calling some of his buddies, if he had smelled the carcass, or just wanted to brag.

When you read this, Marty and I will be on our way back to Yellowstone for another day in the park. See you later

Yellowstone was great

We actually spent 5 days in Yellowstone National Park. Our visit was primarily to the area between Mammoth Hot Springs and Cooke City. In addition to the seminar that we attended, we experienced the wolf migration into the area around Mammoth Hot Springs. At least one female has had a litter a pups within a mile of the city and the males have been observed in Mammoth looking for food. Everyone is concerned as to what will happen next. You may have read about this in your local paper.

If you have been to Yellowstone, you know that buffalo, bison, or tatonka, are a major item. You see them everywhere. I captured these pictures to update you on what's happening with them. There were a significant number of new calves that had just been born, this young calf was with its mother in the snow of which there was still quite a bit still on the ground. Buffalo's for a short distance can move very rapidly. I thought this made a great picture of this big bull acknowledging that he could go very rapidly if required, in fact he could exceed the speed limit for a short distance. Finally, I saw this wolf (he is #302's younger brother) by himself initially. He started to wonder across a large meadow - - at the end of the meadow was a buffalo. They started to converge on each other which peaked my interest. Ultimately they got close enough for this picture and after they posed for me they went their separate ways. More tomorrow.

and then there were wolves

On the eastern trip through the Lamar Valley, we were focused on other things as we missed the buffalo carcass. We turned around at Soda Butte and were blessed with a fury of activity. The highlight of our visit was a wolf couple who first chased another wolf away and then turned around to howl. Howl they did, it was loud, entertaining, and perhaps intimidating. I captured their image as they sang and soon they were on their way as if they were strutting off the stage. These 3 pictures captured the moments.

and guess what was hustling across the valley

Two days in a row as we traversed across the Lamar Valley, we saw remnants of the Druid wolf pack, in high gear headed east the first day and west the second day. These were not leisurely meanderings across the valley, they were intent on getting somewhere or something. We could not figure out what but we knew they were in a hurry. Here's one of them.

Clint's Pictures

I purchased my first serious camera in 1977, upgraded it from time to time, received a Canon Sure Shot from from children as a birthday present in 2002. Went to Africa in 2004, dusted off my Canon EOS and my zoom lens and shot 20 rolls of film. I had the rolls developed and recorded on CD's. I was amazed at the quality of the images. Since then I have progressed with my addiction. 3 new lens with image stabilization, a digital camera, adult education at the high school, 2 new printers, Photoshop CS3, and Scott Kelby's 7 Point System.

The most positive response from the those outside my family came in January 2008 when I started to share some pictures of a wolf that I took in Yellowstone National Park at Christmas of '07. It has grown from there, my son-in-law is associated with etsy.com and got me on their web site, my brother -in-law created an LLC for me, one of my prints of an elk sold for $325 at the high school art auction and my work is now in several galleries.

More to come on each of these subjects.