YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

For the past several weeks I have been coveting the previous display of wildflowers in Yellowstone, spending hour upon hour sitting near the most beautiful flowers and hoping for a wild animal to come through.  There is a beautiful photo of a wild animal and then there is a wild animal in wildflowers and they are two completely different things.

On the best of days it is only semi-difficult to find a wild animal that can make a nice photo but to find one in the early morning or late afternoon light, in some wildflowers, takes patience and perseverance.

I blame the wildflowers for not having taken a break from the park yet because they should never be wasted or taken for granted.

But, now the flowers are fading, except on Washburn where they have just peaked along the road and just getting started higher up.  I will be taking a hike soon!  And, so I have taken a couple of days away from the park to see other sights and remember why Yellowstone is so important to me.  More about that later.

So, the bison rut is on – having begun early and with a vengeance this year.  We have a lot of healthy bison in the Northern Range and I expect that roads will be crammed with snorting bulls, oblivious cows and visitors with their cameras hanging out the window.  And a few who hang their children out to pet the bison.  Not advisable!

Except that things seemed to slow down some after somewhere between 6 and 8 bison were hit and killed on the roads in Canyon, Hayden, Tower, Little America, Lamar and Pebble Creek.  All in one week!  I have a feeling that Scarface has set up residence on a park gut pile and is getting fat and sassy.  As far as I have been able to find out, all that were killed were bulls and I know more than one was very large and healthy.  The bull in Hayden fed up to 16 grizzly bears and from 6 to 7 wolves over a period of 10 days.  That is a big guy.

Well, I had heard, speaking of wildflowers, that the purple display in the sage in Little America, Slough Creek and Lamar Valley, where large patches of lupine were blooming, was something not seen in many years.  I was desperate to capture an animal in that sage and so for two weeks I looked and looked.  Waited and waited.  Into the park each morning before sunrise, hoping to find wildlife in the sage with the early light.  But, the bison vacated Little America, which was the most accessible, for awhile and there was nothing wandering out there.  I did not give up!  The bison eventually returned and then I needed them in the right patch in the right light.  Almost had it one night until a guide decided to ridicule me for being too close to the bison.  No one in the right mind gets too close to the bison this time of year!  He described 25 yards as being equivalent to the length of 8 tractor trailers – just to let you know how far off he was.  Well, I lost the dream shot that I had spent a lot of time working on but did not give up.

And I managed a few shots of the bison with purple in the background.

When the rut starts the red dogs magically turn brown and so we have a lot of little brown dogs running around.  And, several new calves that have been born recently, so our red dog population is still dotting the landscape.  There were a couple youngsters that were thinking of causing trouble and coming over to check me out – luckily their mom’s were able to control them better than “Trouble’s” mom.

The rut is fun to watch from a distance.  The bulls attach themselves to a cow and groan and spit for days until their lady friend is ready.  They vow undying love but once the deed is done, they are on to the next one.  And, the bulls guard their ladies jealously, challenging anything that threatens to take them away.

The other day, while out photographing rut activity, I noticed one bull checking me out.  I kept a good eye on him because he seemed to be viewing me as a challenger.  And, then I noticed that his gal was not happy with the man who chose her and was trying to get away. She eyed me and decided to come see if I would protect her.  No way, I was back pedaling quickly.  Sure did love her spunk though!

But, in the end the big guys always win.

He has to win so we have some of these running around next spring.

The rut continues well into August so bring your driving patience and common sense. The distance limit from bison is 25 yards but the move quickly and can not be predicted to watch your back.

While the rut is going on, there are still other animals to see – other babies looking pretty cute.