YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

This morning I took a leisurely drive into the park, arriving just before sunrise, though with the clouds that were left over from a rainy night, it was difficult to say when the sun did rise.

I wanted the elk rut and got it in spades, there in Chinese Gardens.  There were at least 5 bulls but I am thinking that the number was really 7.  Some big guys, not that many cows, and a couple of small guys.  For some reason the small guys were stealing the cows and the big guys were mostly by themselves, with a few exceptions.  Huge bulls paced on top of the nearby hills, while others, that had just stolen cows, tried to fade into the landscape on hillsides and in gullies.  Unfortunately this all happened with very little light but I found it fascinating all of the same.

I am happy to report that Broken Nose had quite the large herd and was  way up on a hill.

Touchdown was being his usual self, though looking a little tired.  And the small bull on the lawn near Touchdown had two cows!  How did he do that?  Never under estimate youth.

I missed the wolves and drove aimlessly, really planning on heading back home, until I spotted a black object running across the sage.  I had hoped it would be a black wolf but was not disappointed to see it was a grizzly!  About darned time these guys came down to see us.

The bear was way out but I knew he was headed towards the Confluence and so I watched and waited.  And the bear did not disappoint.

For three hours I watched this bear, all by myself.  No crowds, not anything except for letting the fishermen know where he was.  One couple nearly got a surprise behind them but luckily I knew that they were there fishing and so was able to warn them in time.  Once she knew she was safe the woman was darned excited to have seen a bear.

In Yellowstone one never gets a bear to themselves for 5 minutes let alone 3 hours – not while in the front country, which is where I was.  But, he was all mine except for a few brief moments when another woman spotted him as well.  For a change no one was following me around – there were no other photographers in Lamar and the fishermen just wanted to keep fishing.  So, no one really paying much attention to my activities while in plain view.  I was in heaven!

The bear moved around quite a lot, going back and forth and in circles, so he was not easy to keep up with but I wanted to see how long we could stick together.  And, once you know there is a bear out there in those tall willows and grasses, he is not so hard to find.

The grizzly had a magpie and two coyotes following his movements as he went to old carcasses trying to scrounge for food.  The coyotes were right on his heel and would not leave him alone.  The bear would chase the coyotes and then the coyotes would chase the bear.

Eventually the bear made his way further out and I knew that he would be headed to the carcass.  After having him to myself for 3 hours I decided not to ruin a wonderful day by sharing my bear with a huge crowd while he was far off in a drab location.  And so I headed back towards Mammoth and the elk rut and found an 8 pointer!  More on the elk rut later.

Oh, in wolf news – the Lamar Canyons have gone again.