YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

Another beautiful day in Yellowstone!

First off, I saw the last three of the Mollies leaving “K” Meadow south of Lamar Valley.  Rick said that all 12 pack members were seen and that he thinks they had a carcass from a few days ago and had come back to it because there was no food down south.

The travel of the Mollies is bothersome, particularly since it is about time for 779 to den and have pups – like any day now.  Food isn’t that great for the animals in Lamar Valley but I think it is better than in Pelican Valley, down south where the elk leave during the winter and won’t be returning for another couple of weeks.

So, the answer to yesterday’s mystery wolves was the Mollies.  My positive thoughts about Lamar pups returning didn’t pan out – yet.

We looked and looked for 926 because Rick had good signals but could not find her.  She was probably watching us look for her.  And, Rick was surprised that he still had signals on the Mollies for quite some time because we all figured that they would head south quickly.  The signals eventually dropped off but who knows if that means anything.

BTW, did you know that they are having free week!  Good until 4/26/2015 – get in the park free.  And, it shows – the road was beginning to look like a busy highway at rush hour.

Particularly when the Junctions appeared later.  I am not sure what all happened but it sounds like some of them crossed.  I could not understand the traffic on the radio and so was just meandering that way.  Suddenly Rick began calling for any units close and about that time I saw what first looked like a black bear running.  Because no one else answered Rick on the second call, I did.  And, stupidly, since I did not have a clue of what was happening, said that I just saw a bear.  And, then a second later said that no, it was a wolf.

Rick told me that was 890 and that he was trying to cross. I got parked and waited – tried to take some photos as he wasn’t terribly far away but the heat waves were bad – and watched for him to cross.  Almost made it when some folks monitoring radio traffic pulled up and blocked him.  Alway frustrating because we want the wolf to get across the road safely, not in a panic that could lead to injury or death.  But, he did make it across – a little sneaky that one.

Seemed like the Junctions bedded up on the hill, below Specimen.  970 was not with them and we are speculating that she is in the den.  No signals on her either.  PUPS!

I went back to Lamar.  Oh, Scarface is still hanging out up high.  Seems people don’t care how far away he is, just that they get to see the old guy.

Nothing in Lamar.  Sheep still hanging around and people are having fun with them.  A moose was out at the Confluence, as was an otter.

So, left to take a hike but did not make it far before pulling over for a very long nap.  And, back to look for 926 but still nothing.

That was when I heard about the otters on the Madison!  Away I went.  Otters fill me with joy and one can never have too much of that.

There was a bear, grizzly, in a meadow near Softerra and plenty of bison causing very long road jams.  Miles and miles of people honking horns.

Got to Madison and could not find the otters.  So, was going to settle for Pika but they all went and hid.  So, was just going to leave but noticed a head and a tail in the river as I was driving by.  Sure enough – otters!  The adults were off on a Saturday night date, or headed that way.  I watched them for quite a while and then came the kids and they were having a grand time.  Eventually people found me and the little cuties and so the four pups were watching the people.

Yep, a very slow day in the park turned out just fine!  And, because the construction is closed down for the weekend, the drive home was a breeze with no traffic after 8 p.m.

Now, for Judy’s report of the day – she had way too much fun!

From Judy:

Again we didn’t see much but we got closer to seeing Scarface.   He was on the plateau above the Lamar Canyon on the south side but by the time we got there he had gone into the trees. It was nice just knowing he was nearby. We saw a black bear 3 different times sleeping under a tree visible from the bridge that crosses the Yellowstone River going into the Lamar.  I was standing on the bridge talking to a very nice ranger when I saw a group of female bison coming from the Roosevelt area.  They stood around but it was pretty obvious they wanted to cross the bridge. They usually stand around and think about it for a while, like they are trying to get their nerve up, but this time they didn’t hesitate very long.  They began coming across the bridge.  They weren’t in an all out run but they weren’t just walking either.  My husband, bless his heart, saw what was happening and came swooping along in our pickup and picked me up leaving everyone else hoping the bison wouldn’t stomp on them.  It all ended well. The humans kind of glued themselves to the bridge railings and the bison ran past them as far away as they could get.  We have watched a lot of bison crossing that bridge this time of year as they move back into the Lamar Valley. In fact I have never seen a bison come through that area and go down and swim the Yellowstone River.  Those guys aren’t stupid.  They know what bridges are for and they use them.

We saw a golden eagle across from Hitching Post eating a ground squirrel.  There aren’t many ground squirrels out of hibernation yet but I have seen and heard a few. The 2 moose we saw the other day along Soda Butte Creek near Round Prairie were visible for a while. We saw a coyote mousing next to the Tower Ranger Station. But he left because some people got too close to him.

We stopped at the Self Guided Trail where Deby got those beautiful mountain bluebird photos.  We saw the bluebirds but they didn’t react to our truck like they did her car.  They could see their reflection in the sides of her car and mirrors but I guess they didn’t notice ours.  My husband wants to go to Walmart and buy a bunch of mirrors and hang them all around our truck and see what happens.  I’ll keep you posted on that.  Walmart is 85 miles away so it won’t happen tomorrow.