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.

Another Great Day in Yellowstone National Park

As you can see by the first photograph, there was snow in the mountains in Yellowstone. It was also cold. The lower elevations showed just a trace of snow but the upper elevations had plenty of snow. We were hopeful we would spot some bears before we left but they must have been testing their winter habitat or were there til spring.

Before we even entered the park outside of Gardiner we spotted the first male elk. He and one we found in Mammoth Hot Springs appeared to be either enjoying the sun, were tired from perhaps breeding activity, were resting for more vigorous activity, or were just plain lazy. This one was obvious asleep and it was early in the morning.

We traveled east to Cooke City where the town had already prepared for the snow and winter. A number of the shops were closed but there was not enough snow to attract the snow mobilers. We returned thru Mammoth to see this guy had joined the girls in the city. He like the first one was in a very relaxed position. Could it be that these 2 guys lost the battle for breeding rights and are waiting for next year.

Oh yes, the big horn sheep were in the hills between Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs. This gentleman was sporting quite a herd of ladies. He could have claimed, "king of the hill", based on his position in the landscape.Did we see any bison? You know you can count on that. I wanted to comment on the bison, but not this one. As we were heading west past the Tower Falls junction we happened upon a herd of bison on the road. What made this spectacular was the fact that we had our 2 great danes on their second trip with us to Yellowstone and they were enthralled with the bison. These 2 young danes were out of control and I didn't dare open the window to the car or step outside. Although it would have been a great photograph to see how the herd had traffic backed up on both sides but safety was our first concern, so you'll just have to imagine the image.Were there any canines? On a previous trip through the park this year we had the opportunity to see 5 of the young wolves that are now resident in the Lamar Valley. We are always hopeful that we'll see them again. However the first sighting of canines was this young coyote that drifted across the road in front of us.and then it happened on our return from Cooke City. In the Lamar Valley there were a number of cars and people with spotting scopes looking to the south. I was hopeful that it might be a bear so I stopped and asked what they were looking at. They said, it was the Lamar wolves on a carcass. I looked through their scopes and could barely see the wolves as they were so far away. Similar to what I have done in the past, I said to my wife, "let's go, we're not going to get close enough to take a good photograph". These people have been here for several hours and the wolves are not near as close as they were earlier in the year.

We had hardly started down the road when guess what walked out on the road in front of us. We followed it until I could get out of the car and start taking pictures. Yes, it was the closest that I had been to a Lamar wolf since I found Casanova, #302, in a very similar situation almost 4 years ago. This is my favorite image of those that I captured.

When I got home and started reviewing the images from our trip, I realized that this wolf had been with the others feasting on the carcass when we passed through that area 2 hours before. It must have gotten it's fill and perhaps was heading back to the hillside to feed the younger wolves.

I hope we don't have to wait another 4 years to get this close to another wolf.

Yellowstone, January 2011

Marty and I needed a break, so off to Chico Hot Springs and 2 days in Yellowstone. Chico was wonderful as usual and Yellowstone was wintery, snowy, and no wolves close enough for a photograph as we drove from the Northwest entrance to Cooke City and back. The yield of photographs that made it to the blog was about 3%. What you are about to see does represent each of the species that we saw.

We saw coyotes from the minute we entered the park until we left. Not an abundance but they were there. If we had experienced more sun and less snow we would most likely have seen more. We followed this one across a large area in the Lamar Valley when it decided to take a rest.

Every where you looked there were bison. If you need a photograph of a bison, let me know, name the pose, and we'll have it on it's way to you. This was our favorite. Unlike many we saw who were exhausted from digging thru the snow for something to eat, this one seemed to know where it was going - it had been digging in the snow evidenced by the snow on it's body.

This fox did find the sun on the top of a large rock and was enjoying the sun and perhaps a rest from having to travel through very deep snow.

This bighorn ram was with several of his buddies near the Soda Butte. He raised his head out of the snow long enough for me to take this photograph, then back to work.

The elk population in Yellowstone is at it's lowest for a number of years. The wolves that were re-introduced have been the major factor in causing this decline in the numbers. When we first saw this gentleman he was eating twigs, not a hearty meal. When we returned he was resting. Not sure if it was because of the chore digesting the twigs or the effort it took to get his belly full. He was one of the few elk we saw. Nice rack.

I've saved this photograph for last. After seeing the impact of the winter on Yellowstone, the last place you would have expected to see ducks swimming in the river was here. I got some pictures while sitting in the car, I didn't seem to be bothering them. We saw at least 15 of them while we were stopped. Then I decided to get out of the car for some close ups. They voted not to stay, however, I did get this one on the move before they were all gone.

We'll probably return in the next 6 to 8 weeks. By that time we may get to see a few of the bears who have had enough hibernation.

The birth of a new season

Our most current trip to Yellowstone National Park started on June 7th. We arrived via the Beartooth Highway and were overcome by the amount of snow that still existed at the top of the mountains. We traveled thru the Lamar Valley and arrived at our destination, Chico Hot Springs for dinner and a dip in the hot springs. We returned to Yellowstone on the 8th and had just passed through the northwest entrance, on our way to Mammoth Hot Springs, when we noticed a single car parked along the side of the road looking into the rocky slope. The image that you see, is what they were watching.
A herd of Big Horn sheep and their 2010 crop of babies were strolling along the rocky ledges. The young ones were having fun, jumping ahead while the mothers tried to lead them along the cliffs. I soon discovered 3 of them had found a nice big rock as a platform. I immediately took this photograph as it was only seconds later that they had jumped off the ledge and were running around the slopes. They are very sure footed to maintain their position on the side of the rocky mountains.
On to Mammoth. We were out of coffee and we needed to take a pit stop before we ventured south toward Lake Yellowstone. I missed the turn and as I attempted to correct my error I noticed a lot of people with cameras on the street ahead. Not wanting to miss anything exciting, I drove on to find that a female elk had just given birth to a fawn. Immediately, I parked the car grabbed my camera and starting taking pictures. We observed most of the things that happen during the birthing process and I took close to 75 photographs recording the various events. The next three were our favorites. This is the young calf, moments after it's birth, attempting to get up as it's mother licked it to give it strength and encouragement. I labeled this, "I love you Mom"
Soon after there was another new arrival at the scene, of course there were more people as the word spread of the fawn's arrival, but this arrival was not a twin, it was a magpie. They do have a symbiotic relationship with elk and we soon observed the real reason for it's being there was to help get rid of the afterbirth. Hopefully, this would prevent wolves and bears from getting the scent and perhaps attacking mom and the new fawn. I'm not sure if the mother was inviting the magpie, introducing it to the fawn, or hoping with would leave.
The next order of business was for the calf to get enough strength to stand up and get some nourishment. The calf was quite awkward and it took some time for it to maintain it's balance long enough that it could get near mother's milk and have it's first meal. This is usually the first critical step in the life of the newborn, and this youngster passed the test as seen in this picture.
Before the day was over, we saw something new on something old. Each year the bull elk lose their antlers in the late winter, early spring and soon the growth of the new antlers begins. This guy is very proud of his new growth and is looking forward to sparring with his fellow bull elk to then earn the right to sire some calves for the 2011 season.
It was a great trip, Yellowstone abounds with other new life and another year of tourists.

Cervius Canadensis

Most of your are wondering what is the significance of these 2 words. It represents the species of moose, elk, and deer. When Marty and I visited Yellowstone National Park las week we saw lots of elk, some deer, and no moose. As we entered the park at Mammoth Hot Springs, Marty suggested we travel to the top of the "hot springs" to see if there might be some elk. After traveling as far as we could, (the road south was closed for the winter), we turned the car around and look what we saw.
These ladies were very content, sitting on the top of the hill, but there was one that looked quite attractive, as if she were posing for me. I did not wait, focused my camera and took several pictures, this is the one I saved.
We then headed east toward Cooke City to see if the boys were around their normal hang out which is usually about 5 to 7 miles from Mammoth Hot Springs. No one was there, in fact we didn't see anything of interest or near enough to the road until we were almost ready to turn around. It was a Big Horn sheep, you'll see him on the next post. We started our return and we did see a bull elk, but he wasn't posing and we went on to Chico for a great dinner.

The next day, we headed toward the "hot spot" again for the boys, and we found them. Not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4. Three of them were lined up as if they knew we were coming to take their photograph.

The 4th one was near by, still grazing on what was available. He was also doing all kinds of antics, face in the snow, scratching his head with his hind hoof, butting the ground with his rack, and then he stood still for this photograph.

He eventually must have either got tired or was full and decided to rest. I focused on his antlers as I felt he had just a beautiful rack. Looked like a trophy to me. I am not good enough at comparing pictures and antlers but I am suspicious that this may have been the bull elk that I photographed over 2 years ago.

Day one was the girls, day two was the boys, and after we left the park, Marty wanted to drive to Jardine, mostly a ghost town about 5 miles outside of Gardiner high in the mountains. We were almost back to town, when on the top of the horizon we saw this deer. It posed until I could get this photograph.
Come back again soon as we will see more wildlife from our trip to Yellowstone.

. . . and of course there were elk

The trophy elk was proud that he still had his antlers for this picture. He will soon be shedding them and growing new and most likely bigger ones for next season. There are at least 3 large bull's in the area where this guy was and when we return in May and the summer we will report on the new growth.

The lone female was one of 6 that must have been grazing in the area where the grizzly bear (see March 20th blog) eventually camped out for the day. As we were watching the grizzly roam through the wooded area we suddenly heard and then saw 6 young elk come running in the opposite direction of the bear. They certainly heard or smelled him and decided today was not the day to graze where they had been.

The group of ladies that you see through the trees were headed to an open area about a mile further east when I took this picture. This picture captured only a few of them as there must have been at least 50 or more in this herd.

Of course elk were prevalent around Mammoth Hot Springs and other areas along the road to Cooke City.

TRY DOUBLE CLICKING ON THE PICTURES