Pronghorn

Where to See Pronghorns in Yellowstone National Park

Photo of pronghorn.
A pronghorn buck walks along a ridge in the Slough Creek Area.

Yellowstone has 200 to 300 pronghorns.  They only exist in the Park in its northern range.  They spend winters in the Gardiner Basin and some, but not all, migrate from there to spend summers at higher elevations in the Park as far as the Lamar Valley.

One way to see them is to drive the Old Yellowstone Trail in the Gardiner Basin.  Start at the Park’s Roosevelt Arch and drive north around the west side of the Gardiner school and then continue on the gravel road until you get to the boat launch just before the bridge that crosses the Yellowstone River.  At that point you can either turn around and head back the way you came or you can cross the bridge, get on Highway 89,  and drive at highway speed back to Gardiner.  Pronghorn are here year round.  Note to photographers:  For most of this route the land looks to be in bad shape vegetation-wise, but gets better at the north end.  By the way, when you get back to the Roosevelt Arch look for pronghorn in that half mile or so between the Arch and the entrance booth.

The other option is to head for the Lamar Valley and look for them any place between Mammoth and the Lamar Valley that has open terrain.  I usually take a detour and drive the road to the Slough Creek Campground because I often see a few pronghorn there.  By the time you get to the confluence where Soda Butte Creek joins the Lamar River you will have covered about all the pronghorn habitat that can be seen from a vehicle.   The area from Mammoth to the Lamar Valley is summer range only.

Pronghorn

Another Wounded Pronghorn at Yellowstone?

Photo of a pronghorn buck with a possible wound.
Pronghorn Buck; Slough Creek, Yellowstone National Park

Here’s a pronghorn buck that I also saw and photographed last May.  It was in the Slough Creek area.  It’s also missing a chunk of hair at the top of the shoulders.  It also seems to be missing some flesh, but it’s hard to be certain because of the angle of view.  The doe in the previous posts provided a good view of her wound because she was  walking downhill.  The only point of posting this image is that it is the second pronghorn I saw in May that seems to have a wound in about the same place.  I find that interesting.  Was it a golden eagle?  I don’t know, but it’s possible.

Pronghorn

Cause of Pronghorn’s Wound; Yellowstone National Park

Photo of pronghorn doe that seems to have suffered some serious injury to her neck.
What happened to this pronghorn?

Only one person took a guess on what had happened to this pronghorn.  She guessed a bear.  A good guess.   I thought I’d get a few more people to venture a guess.  Maybe some were afraid to guess wrong.  That presumes I would be providing the answer to what happened though.  The fact of the matter is that I don’t know for sure what happened to her.  I do have my own guess though.  I think a golden eagle attacked this pronghorn.  Why?

First of all, golden eagles have been observed by credible sources (published reports by biologists) attacking and killing pronghorn adults and fawns.   The attach begins by the eagle chasing one or more pronghorns and landing on the back of one and riding it while digging its talons into the pronghorn’s back.  Most of the damage is caused by the talons, although their beaks can also inflict injury.  If you’d like to read some of these reports you can click here, here and here.

Second, someone took several photos of a golden eagle eating an adult pronghorn while riding on its back.  Based on the photos, I assume (and hope) it died shortly thereafter.  The pictures have appeared in various places on the internet.  One place to see the photos is here.  I should warn you that the photos are somewhat gruesome.  I was hesitant to link to the photos, but decided on balance to do so with the warning.  The wound to the pronghorn in the photos is in the same place as in my photo and that’s why I guess the wound is from a golden eagle.  Anything is possible though.  It could be from another animal or a vehicle or a barbed wire fence (or whatever).

She was feeding when I saw her so the attack was over by then.  I hope she survived.

Landscape

Fountain Sculpture; Tiburon, California

Photo of fountain sculpture in Tiburon.
Sails or Fins?

I lived in Tiburon for a while in the mid-1970s.   It’s a beautiful location on the north shore of San Francisco Bay.  Thanks to the hilly terrain, many residents have a view of the San Francisco Bay.  I occasionally go there to return to my Marin “roots.”  It hasn’t changed much, which I like.

One thing that wasn’t there in the 1970s is this sculpture.  It’s called “Coming About.”  I’ve read that it represents five sailboats.  When I first saw it I thought of shark fins.  That also seemed fitting given that Tiburon is Spanish for “shark.”     Some think the sails remind them of birds’ wings.  That would also be fitting given the number of seagulls that hang out at several waterside restaurants.  The sails slowly rotate.   The Guaymas and Servino restaurants provide a backdrop to the scene.

Landscape

Corinthian Island at Twilight

Photo of the west side of Corinthian Island.
Corinthian Island at Twilight

Corinthian Island is one of two inhabited islands on the Tiburon Peninsula.  It straddles a jurisdictional line separating Tiburon and Belvedere, California.

This photo was taken during twilight which is that time between sunset, when reds dominate, and dusk when there is no light (or color) to be seen, except to the extent the moon (or artificial light) is a factor.  During twilight, blues become dominant.  Twilight is sometimes referred to by photographers and painters as the blue hour or “l’heure bleue.”  The length of twilight is determined by the latitude of the observer.  Around the San Francisco Bay Area I think of it as lasting roughly half an hour. Twilight is also that time between dawn and sunrise.  It is a great time to photograph.  It’s also a great time to see wildlife.  Some animals are most active during the twilight hours.  They are referred to as “crepuscular.”

Next time you plan to photograph at sunrise or sunset don’t forget twilight time.  For two good programs to tell you when twilight is for your area, click here and here.

Other Mammal

Uinta Ground Squirrel, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a Uinta ground squirrel.
On the Lookout

The Uinta ground squirrel is commonly seen in the sagebrush areas of Yellowstone.  It’s also seen in disturbed or heavily grazed grasslands and  developed areas.  The Soda Butte Creek Picnic Area has a lot of them.  While prohibited, I’m sure some people feed them there.  They not only eat grasses, forbs and mushrooms, but also insects and carrion (including road-killed members of their own species).

While not very high on visitors’ lists of “must see” animals, they are important to the Yellowstone ecosystem because they are an important prey species for smaller predators such as hawks, weasels, foxes, badgers and coyotes.  At about 12 inches in length and half a pound, they are a more substantial meal than a 2-ounce vole.

Photo of a red fox carrying a ground squirrel.
Headin’ Home

This red fox carried this ground squirrel parallel to the road for about a 1/4 mile before it headed away from the road.  It created its own little “bear jam.”  I assume it was heading back to a den with hungry kits.