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Category Archives: yellowstone

Yellowstone and Beyond

We recently returned from a two week road trip with dogs and friends. We went to Yellowstone and then on to Grand Tetons. We started at a Forest Service campground north of the park where we could see the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces and Willow could do some running around. For most of this trip, she was confined to a leash, along with her half sister – Junie. Weather was quite nice, sunny most days, except the day it snowed! We saw coyotes numerous time but almost no wolves. I got a very brief look at one before it moved into the woods, probably joining its pack. Only three grizzlies were seen and no black bears. Bison were everywhere. We visited Old Faithful and drove over the Beartooth Highway the day before it closed. It was a fun trip and there are more photos coming.

Preparing for Winter

There was one overlook in Yellowstone that was often full of cars. The first time I stopped to see what was attracting people, someone told me there was a black bear in a hole across the way. It was easy to see the hole and sometimes, if the light was just right, I could see bear fur but it took several visits before I got a good look at the bear. And then, on our last day, she was outside the den! People referred to the bear as a her/she so I went along with that. She slowly moved across the ground, scraping dry vegetation that she would collect and drag and then she backed up into the hole, as if she was making a nest for cubs that might arrive in the winter. I’d love to be there next spring when she emerges and maybe get a glimpse of those cubs!

Yellowstone Wildlife

Yellowstone is famous for its wildlife. We drove around and glassed hillsides and watched for animal traffic jams. Some people hire guides (and there seems to be no shortage of guide services) so we watched for their signs too. We saw wolves several times but mostly had distant views through scopes or binoculars. Same with the mountain goats. Bison, on the other hand, were common and often close, too close for comfort. Somehow I missed getting any photos of elk although we did see a lot of them. We only saw two moose and then in the deep dark forest on a gray day. Coyotes were relatively common but generally not in camera range.

Wolves in Yellowstone

Of all the wildlife in Yellowstone, the wolves attract the most attention. There are people that live near the park who go out every single day to watch for wolves with spotting scopes, binoculars and cameras in hand. Most of the those people are incredibly friendly and ready to help tourists like us to find wolves and see them through the spotting scopes. They know wolves by name or number and they know the packs and which ones we might expect to see. Additionally, the National Park Service and Yellowstone Forever have a Wolf Project that started the week we were there and will continue through the month of March. These researchers were also happy to share any info they had about the wolves and other wildlife. We learned a lot while we were there. We also got a healthy dose of patience waiting to see the famous Lamar pack. These animals’ ancestry can be traced back to the original re-introduction in 1995 and 1996.

We were thrilled to see wolves hunting, eating, resting, playing and moving across the landscape. Overall we saw four different packs and three wolves from a not yet identified pack. Most of the sightings were through a spotting scope on distant hillsides. The Lamar pack had a carcass across a meadow, estimated at 300-400 yards away from the roadside where we waited to see them for hours. At last, near dusk when many of the wolf-watchers had left, they emerged to eat for a while before melting back into the woods.

The carcass was down in a draw, out of sight in front of the evergreen trees
This is a digiscoped image – the photo was made with a cell phone looking through a scope.

Yellowstone Coyotes

There were lots of opportunities to watch coyotes in Yellowstone. I’ve read that their population decreased after the wolves returned so maybe we were just in the right spots to see them. They often scavenge on remains of wolf kills. There was a dead, probably winter-killed bison near the road and each time we drove by it, there were two or maybe three coyotes nearby.

I like coyotes and admire their tenacity and adaptability. And I enjoy hearing them howl. They live here but since it always seems to be open season on coyotes, they are very furtive and don’t let themselves be seen very often. Who can blame them?

This coyote had been chewing on a bison skull out in the open.
The snow was packed down by bison.
These two were very near the road, watching over a bison carcass.
These two were watching over the carcass too.