This morning was a mad rush out to Lamar to find out what 926 was doing. She was hunting for food. I watched her try to stalk two elk, without luck. It was obvious that it is about time for her to have pups so time is running out. But, she knows that and knows what to do. Did not see her again for the rest of the day but then I decided to go looking elsewhere.
Some Junctions were at Slough, I did not see them.
Bill had sub-adult grizzlies in Lamar.
Wolf project had signals on 712 at High Bridge but could not see him and the signals eventually faded. They also had signals on 909 (8 Mile alpha female) and no others, in the same area as 712. She was not seen either. I am wondering if this means that she did not den, or if she lost her pups. She could have had them already and they could be old enough to be left with another pack member.
So, back to the east I went.
There was a fox at Floating Island, which made for a 3 dog day because there was a coyote wandering around Lamar.
This male fox was hunting in tall sage, making it difficult to see him. So, when I heard that there were 4 black bears up Tower, off I went.
I also found the Williamson’s Sapsucker at Floating Island. Was mighty proud of myself for recognizing his chatter right away.
On to the black bears!
Yes, there was another male fox hunting near Rosie and every time he came around she sent the cubs climbing.
What great fun it was to have a fox and four bears to photograph. A bison came along later but we see a lot of those.
And, so I alternated between the fox and watching Rosie and the cubs. It was so much fun to watch them in a relaxed manner, without big crowds and lots of noise. What a treat. The light was tough and so shots aren’t so great. Plus, I was standing back and trying my best to obey the rules.
After leaving the bears I did go out to see if 926 would show her face again but she did not, and so I left towards home. But, not without a brief nap along the way.
Judy was back out watching Beryl and Chubs today, here is her report:
I was at the Beryl Springs bear at 7:30 this morning. She and her cub were high up above the talus in a level area I think she created. We watched them sleep, play, nurse, repeat for almost 3 hours. They finally came down and disappeared into the trees. We spread out to watch for them and watch for them and then we watched for them. They didn’t come down until 1:30 or 2:00 and when they did they were way up towards Beryl Springs. The race was on to catch up to them, find a spot through the trees, set up, take a few photos (or film clips). We repeated that a bunch of times in both directions along the road for about 2 hours. They never came to the water and there were a number of times I just watched them because I couldn’t get a shot. She finally disappeared for a long enough time that I quit waiting. I went to look for the Obsidian Cliff sow and coy but it was raining pretty good by then so I just came home.
Judy
Fantastic photos Deby!!
Hopefully I’ll get as lucky with Rosie and her cubs in a few weeks when I’m there! Had fun photographing them last year and it would be awesome to capture them again. Great pics!! Thanks for sharing!
Those are great photos of Rosie and her cubs, Deby. They all look as though they made it through the winter just fine. I’m so glad she still has all three of them. Thanks for the update and the photos. Maybe you didn’t see 926 again because she had success in her hunting. I really hope so.
Thank you, Judy, for the updates on Chubbs and Mom. Great photos you posted of them earlier. I’m sure you must be glad to be back in the park.
Omg! I would call that an AMAZING day! You are definitely blessed (And talented).