YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

Had planned on getting into the park before dawn to check out some nice light, and hopefully some wildlife in the southern portion of the park but was a little slow getting going once again.

Well, what a blessing that turned out to be!  The Blacktail area is only a few miles east of Mammoth and so not a very long drive, when one considers the size of Yellowstone.  I normally go through the Blacktail area in the dark but this morning the sun had already risen, even though it had not yet peeked over the mountains and through the clouds.

Cars and people lined the road, near the end of the ponds and so I quickly pulled over, out of the road, and saw a grizzly bear down by the pond.  A couple of days before I had heard talk on the NPS radio about a bison in the pond and something about trying to rescue the poor thing.  Turns out that a bison fell in and some visitors went out to try and pull it out of the pond, but, obviously that attempt failed and they were led away from the struggling animal.  The ponds are a death sentence to the animals that fall into them because they can not get back out.

I set up and watched the grizzly, about 200 yards away, thoroughly enjoying myself when another photographer came along and asked did I know that there were wolves down there.  Well, as you might know, that really got my heart pumping.

Often, the bears like to leave the carcass at daybreak so that they can spend their day in a cool forest not far from their feast.  But, this bear had multiple problems to consider before walking off and leaving the much needed protein he needs to get through the winter.  First, he had so consider us, which he did not like at all.  But, as time wore on he realized that we would not be foolish enough to take his meal.

Coyotes can be nuisances when it comes to carcasses and these two did try to pull some shenanigans but eventually thought better of that and mostly kept their distance.

The coyotes made their move, thinking that the bear was sound asleep, or food drunk.

This moment did not happen during the same sequence but it is my favorite image of the day because the look on the bear’s face is priceless.

I was surprised that the bear allowed the coyote to come on the carcass but he really did not seem to pay particular attention at that time.  As you can see, the grizzly has covered the carcass and is lying on top.

Perhaps the bear growled because the coyote did not stay long.

But, there was other competition for the bear, in the form of a wolf.  This is the Third Sister of the Prospect Peak Pack.  She is the beta female.  Her sister, 821F, and her bred with the beta male of the 8 Mile pack last February 2 and the three eventually went off and formed their own pack.  Between them there are only three pups, two grey and a black, and there is some speculation that they may have faced some danger that made them move far away from their den site to the Blacktail.

The bear did decide to leave the carcass and within minutes the Third Sister approached.

She was cautious, looking at us as well as watching for the bear.  A ranger came along and used his loud speaker which spooked the wolf from the carcass for a minute.

As the bear lumbered away the wolf removed the dirt from a portion of the carcass and dug in to eat.

The gris did not make it far before he began sniffing the air and decided that his meal was in danger.

When the ranger spooked the wolf she left for a second and instantly the coyotes tried to take over but the Third Sister was having none of that.

The wolf reclaimed her carcass but it did not take the grizzly long to think better of his decision to leave and he headed back while she had her head buried.

Here comes that pesky grizzly bear back.  What is a wolf to do.

A very disappointed wolf leaves the carcass

And so the bear returns but we all want him to leave so the wolves can come in to eat.

Remember, this is mine!

The grizzly sleeps for awhile.

After doing his stretches the grizzly decided to sleep for a long, long time.  And we watched and waited, knowing that there were zero chances that he would leave the carcass at this point but still hoping to see the wolves.

And so the wolf turns and beds in some tall weeds where we could barely see her.  The bear wakes up and goes back to eating and the wolf waits.  The sun goes down and we decide it is time to leave.  But, headed back out to see what today will bring.

 

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