Saturday, June 30, 2012

Mega-fauna of Yellowstone

Yellowstone is more than just a collection of geothermal features, it is America's premier wildlife habitat.  Step away from the developed areas and you step into a different time and place, a place where the animals reign.
Bison are so plentiful in the park that after a while you are tempted to say, "just another bison".
There were plenty of elk, too, but only a few males presented themselves for a close up.  I would have liked some shots of the cows and calves but they didn't cooperate.
For years I have wanted to get a shot of pronghorn but they have always stayed out of reach from my lens.
The mature males were still elusive, here one was hiding behind some sage with only the back of his head and horns peeking out.
This black bear mom and cub was also hiding behind the vegetation.  I would have liked to have seen a grizzly (from a distance) but none appeared.
We did spot a wolf, though, trotting through a herd of bison.  It was quite a ways from the road, almost out of range for my lens.  It appears to have a radio collar.
We had hoped to see moose but were out of luck.  We didn't see sheep, either though if we had hiked up Mt. Wasburn we might have.  I'm not complaining, there is an amazing variety of wildlife in Yellowstone and I am pleased with what we did see.  I guess we'll just need to return.

16 comments:

Sylvia K said...

The wild life was one of the things I enjoyed the most about our trips to Yellowstone! Your photos today have brought some lovely memories! Thank you!

Sylvia

Cecilia Artista said...

Yellowstone must be a fantastic place to visit!
Great pitures - thank´s!

Cecilia Artista said...

Yellowstone must be a fantastic place to visit!
Great pitures - thank´s!

Barb said...

It looks like you had great weather to photograph Martha, and saw lots of wildlife! Love the elk and wolf pics!

Gaelyn said...

Seems you have a good eye to spot the hiding wildlife. The true bison look so different than our canyon beefalo. I've never seen a wolf in the wild and haven't been to Yellowstone since before the release. Must be time except for the cold and snowy weather in November after my season is over.

Linda Reeder said...

You did have some great wildlife sightings.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Great shots- Yellowstone is one of my favorite places!

eileeninmd said...

Great series on Yellowstone critters. It is one of my favorite parks to visit. Happy Sunday!

Tammie Lee said...

you really got to see a lot of wonderful wildlife! even a bear and cub.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful critters. Late visit from Camera Critters.

Gila Monster and Bees have a blessed Sunday.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful critters. Late visit from Camera Critters.

Gila Monster and Bees have a blessed Sunday.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Wow, I've never seen wolves at Yellowstone but I have seen pronghorn antelope. I've seen sheep from a long distance, a few black bears, and no grizzlies.

Yellowstone is indeed a treat.

Katney said...

Return, yes, there are so many places that I want to return to. But so many others I want to see that we have not been to. I think we are lucky, Martha, to have been to as many wonderful places as we have, and the ability to share. And if we don't get to the Galapagos, or back to Alaska, or to Yellowstone in winter, or...or...or..., well, we have wonders to look back on.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

You got some GREAT shots! We used to see gazillions of pronghorns when we drove through Wyoming every year and I never could get a picture. (It was like what you said about the bison...after a while the pronghorns were about as exciting as cows, but I always did want a picture.) Going back to Yellowstone is always a good idea ;>)

Janie said...

Great wildlife shots. You were really lucky to get a wolf photo!

Anonymous said...

The bison are beautiful animals. We saw some elk close up at Fern Canyon recently. Gorgeous!