Category: Grizzly Bear

Black Bear, Grizzly Bear, Pronghorn

Yellowstone’s Bears Have Disappeared

Well, not really.  It’s just that they’re not grazing on grass as much any more and thus not as easy to see.  Elk (and pronghorn and bighorn) are giving birth and the word is out.  Grass was OK when meat wasn’t readily available, but now that meat is available the bears don’t have to settle for grass.  They need the protein to survive.  As I was driving from Mammoth to Gardiner yesterday there was a traffic jam mid-way due to a black bear kill of an elk calf.  This can be unsettling when you experience it, but that’s nature and let’s not forget most of us eat meat and it’s not much different, except we rely mostly on others to do our bidding.

Photo of pronghorn doe nursing fawn.
Mom and Baby

I don’t have any photos of elk calves yet, but I saw this female pronghorn and her twins close to the Roosevelt Arch the past couple of days.  I’ve gotten attached to them from photographing them.  I hope they survive the next four days or so until then can keep up with mom.

Grizzly Bear

A Grizzly Hunts for Food, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a grizzly bear.
A Grizzly Feeds Near Soda Butte Creek

This young grizzly is the same individual I photographed yesterday.  It was looking for food by overturning rocks and turning over clumps of dirt.  While what it was finding will keep this bear going, it would really benefit by finding some meat.  It’s eyes don’t look sad anymore.  It’s looking at me.  Hmmm.

It has been raining and snowing for the past few days.  Today it snowed lightly almost all day in the park and caused me some focusing problems.  The snow stuck to vegetation, but melted quickly when it hit dirt and asphalt.  The forecast is for more of the same.

Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a grizzly bear.
Spring Grizzlies Are Hungry Grizzlies.

This is the only grizzly so far that has been close enough to photograph on this trip to Yellowstone.  It’s a young bear and when I look at its eyes it seems sad.

Those aren’t insects flying around the bear.  It’s snow.  We’ve had rain, hail and snow the past couple of days.  That’s not unusual this time of year.

There’s no time to cull photos.  This is the first one I saw that looked OK.