Tag: bears

Pronghorn

Pronghorn Doe and Fawn, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of pronghorn mom and her young fawn.
New Life in Yellowstone

It’s that time.  If you like to photograph wildlife you should be in Yellowstone or on your way.  Bison calves are running all over the place.  Elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep are giving birth or will be soon.  The bears are also out and about, some with cubs.  It is the time to see and photograph baby animals.

This pronghorn fawn was born last May.  The doe kept it and its sibling between the Roosevelt Arch and the north entrance station for the first week after birth.   That’s when I left the park.  The area is bounded by three roads and a high steel fence.   It was crowded and noisy and wouldn’t seem to be a place for a wild animal to want to have babies.    It’s also about the last place around Yellowstone that I would want to be stationed for a week hoping to photograph some predators.  I don’t know if it was just happenstance or that mother pronghorn knew this was a good place to have her babies while they got stronger and were able to run fast enough to escape from a predator.

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.

Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane near Blacktail Pond, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a sandhill crane.
A Sandhill Crane Near Blacktail Ponds

When people think of the wildlife in Yellowstone they think of wolves, bears, especially grizzlies, and elk.  But there are lots of other critters.  You can probably think of many others, but you may not put the sandhill crane on your list.  Yet there are quite a few to be seen there.  This crane was with a couple of others near Blacktail Pond.  One other large bird I’m used to seeing here is the trumpeter swan.  However, I haven’t seen any this trip and don’t recall if I saw any in my other recent trips.

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Bobcats Are Special

A bobcat looks for its next meal.
Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

I enjoy seeing and photographing all wildlife, but some species are more special than others to me.  Bobcats are one of those species, along with wolves, bears and eagles.  I’ll never get tired of photographing them.

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Tule Elk’s New Antlers; A Work In Progress

Tule Elk shows new antlers growing.
Tule Elk, Point Reyes National Seashore

This bull has shed his antlers and has the beginnings of new ones.  Recently, I posted some photos of two bull elk fighting at Tomales Point and said that some bulls were already shedding their antlers.  That was based on having seen several bulls in the Limantour herd that had shed one or both antlers, including the subject elk.  However, last Saturday I was at the Tomales Point Elk Reserve and noticed that none of the bulls that I saw had shed any antlers.   That surprised me.  For some reason the Limantour herd seems to be shedding antlers earlier than the larger Tomales Point herd.

At this time of year the Park Service has to be on the lookout for people who collect antlers to sell.  That is against the law.  Yet, people do it knowing it is illegal.  There must be enough money in it for some people to break the law.  It could be worse.  I mean they aren’t killing the elk for the antlers.  Countless animals are killed illegally every day for one  or more body parts that are marketable.  This happens to many species. The ones that come to mind for me now are sharks, bears, tigers and elephants, but there are many more.

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The Bison of Yellowstone

In my last post about baby bison I said that seeing and photographing them gave me a new appreciation of the adults.  But for that I might not have stopped to watch and photograph this cow bison as she grazed on the succulent grasses in this pond.  I wonder what the starlings are saying?

A Cow Bson Feeds on Succulent Grasses in a Small Pond
Cow Bison, Yellowstone National Park

Bison sometimes get into trouble when they enter the waters of Yellowstone.  Not far from this tiny pond is Blacktail Pond.  At the time I took this photo (May 2010) there were two bison carcasses in Blacktail.  I’m not sure how they got in there, but once they got in they were in trouble.  Blacktail is much deeper than this little pond and it has very steep banks.  Because of its body shape, I think a bison would have a tougher time getting out of Blacktail Pond than any other species of Yellowstone.  Their deaths, however, provided needed protein for several predators this spring.  I saw grizzlies, wolves, bald eagles, ravens and at least one coyote feed on those carcasses.