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Predators and Prey, Yellowstone National Park

Cow elk standing in water at Twin Lakes.
Cow Elk, Yellowstone National Park

I’ve been to Yellowstone many times, but this is the best trip of all.  There has been so much going on.  The problem with that is that it has caused me to fall behind in writing about all of it.

A few days ago there was a cow elk at Twin Lakes that had been chased by a single wolf.  She escaped by running into the water and going far enough into the water that the wolf had to swim, which greatly reduced its ability to kill .  He did manage to bite her in the right flank before that though.  Here she is licking her wound in shallower water.  As it became dark she walked into the woods where I assumed the wolf was waiting.  I don’t know why she did that.

The next morning I returned to Twin Lakes and found that the wolf had made the kill.  Here he stands not far from the carcass.  Note the radio tracking collar.

A gray wolf stands near the elk he killed at Twin Lakes.
Gray Wolf, Yellowstone National Park
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Life Is Not Perfect and that Includes Yellowstone

THis cinnamon-colored black bear has something wrong with its left elbow. He can't straighten it.
Cinnamon Black Bear, Yellowstone National Park

Yesterday was a good day for bear sightings.   I saw seven black bears and one grizzly.  One of them I know I saw and photographed before because he has a something wrong with his left front leg.  It seems the elbow is locked.  Sometimes he puts it and his whole foreleg on the ground when he walks and other times he puts just his paw on the ground.  Either way he is unbalanced with that locked elbow.  When he goes downhill he just raises his left foreleg and sort of “hops” downhill.

This is the second animal I’ve seen in the last week with a significant problem.  The other was a cow bison with calf.  The cow never put her left hind leg on the ground.  If a grizzly goes after her calf she won’t be able to move well enough to try to fend the grizzly off.

Life can be tough.  I hope they both make it.

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Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

Well, the title is a stretch, but I did see and photograph this grizzly bear.  I started the day by going all the way to the east entrance and then driving 10 miles down Eagle Creek searching for grizzlies.  No luck.  At the end of the day I saw this grizzly at Swan Lake Flat.

I also photographed bighorns in Gardner Canyon, mule deer between Mammoth and Gardiner and bison in the Madison River drainage.  All in all, a good day.

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Yellowstone, America’s Best Wildlife Park

I’m in Yellowstone.   One of the things I like about it is you never know what you’ll see next.  It reminds me of that line in Forrest Gump when he quotes his mom:  “Life was like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.”  I don’t know of a better place to photograph wild mammals in the United States than here.

One of my favorite animals to photograph (and simply observe) here is the bighorn sheep.  This ram was using this big rock to scratch himself.  He started with his right side; then he did his left side, as you can see here; and finished by with his hindquarters.  If you look closely you can see the hair he left behind on the rock.

For a larger version of this photo you can check my website under “new Images” and/or “Bighorn Sheep.”    www.jimcoda.com

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Welcome to my Blog

I’ve been thinking of doing a blog about nature photography for a while and today is the day to get it operational.  I plan to use it to write about photo trips and anything else related to nature photography.  I’ll be posting my first blog with content in the near future.  I hope you find it worth following.