YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

Early this morning as I rounded the Confluence in Lamar Valley, a feeling of dread came over me.  Some times I know too much of what is going on, but don’t know enough, and so am waiting to hear or see the end of the story.  When that happens then I can share with you.

But, this morning I felt tension in the air and soon discovered that it came from an unexpected source – An attack on a coyote den.

People lined the the road and stood up on a hill, watching as 911 and the black female raided a den and killed coyote pups.  Luckily for me, Kathy decided not to watch and so she was down on the road and warned me about what was going on.  One coyote den raid is enough for a lifetime and I still haven’t forgiven Spitfire for her raid last year.

And, Mr. Disaster and the black female are not my favorite wolves because they are loose canons and way too close to the Lamar den.

I drove on to check on the pronghorns and could not find the injured girl or her youngster and so am hoping that the little one was strong enough to move on.

And then I went back to Lamar, knowing that I needed the rest of the story.  Turned out that 5 Junction Buttes had also entered the valley, way up high and folks were worried about another coyote den getting hit.  I think that they were headed elsewhere  because no one could find them again.

I went up on the hill where everyone was watching bears and other animals.  The wolves had done their deed and moved on into the hills.  And then Kathy and Laurie told me that there was a happy ending to the coyote story when two coyote pups came running out of the den and to their parents.  I was so happy to learn that two survived.

A while later I noticed a pronghorn running around and stopped to watch, which is when I noticed a coyote with a big hunk of something in her mouth.  Of course, my first thought was that it was a pronghorn baby but when she put the chunk on the ground it came alive.  It was a tiny pup and so happy to be there with mom.

The pup stood and nursed as mom watched and waited for the others to quit chasing a pronghorn.  The fawn did escape, as I saw it come out of the sage and run to other cover.  And, while mom was waiting for the others, a yearling, her man and the other surviving pup, the magpies were driving her nuts and so she was trying to run them off.

Eventually the others gave up on the pronghorns and came to join mom.  Dad had the other pup in his mouth and many thought it was pronghorn because it looked so dark, due to being covered with dirt.  The family headed off to find a new home where, hopefully, they will be safe.

The bear action continues to dominate the scene and keep the rangers busy.  There were two grizzlies as Slough Creek campground today, a couple of two-year olds up high – one of them blond and just gorgeous – and I heard that grizzlies were crossing the road everywhere.  If that isn’t enough the black bears are chasing each other around in the name of love.

Spent an intense time at the Yellowstone picnic area watching a cinnamon and a black, along with a ton of people.  The bears were very well behaved, considering that they were blocked at every turn.

The traffic was so bad that I never made it any further than Roosevelt before turning around.  Those flickers are still in the next but barely.

And, I took a nice hike up to Trout Lake.  Did not see any otters but one was seen there today.  So fingers crossed for pups.

And, now at Slough with not great internet service so will post and sign off for tonight.

The coyote images were taken from quite a distance so not the best but I kind of like them for their happy ending.