Black Bear, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a soaking-wet black bear after it swam across a pond.

I just got back from Yellowstone.  I used to go to Yellowstone for a month each spring, but I hadn’t been there since 2015.  A lot has changed.  Gardiner, where I stay, has been greatly changed by the fire several years ago. The park has changed due to the flood in June of 2022.  It seems to me some wildlife numbers have changed too.  I saw a lot less elk than I think I used to see.  I googled elk numbers and found an interesting article about elk numbers here.   I also saw a lot more bears than I was used to.  I didn’t google that.

Anyway, here’s one of those bears that I photographed near the Yellowstone Picnic Area.  It had just been in that pond across the road from the picnic area and was walking back toward the road.