Tag: bison calf

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Any Day in Yellowstone …

Photo of two black bear cubs.
“Put Yer Dukes Up.”

Any day in Yellowstone is a good day.  That is especially true in the spring.  In the six days I’ve been here I’ve seen numerous bears and several wolves.  Black bears are so numerous that I’ve stopped keeping track of sighting them.  I photographed the spring cubs above the first day.  I haven’t seen nearly as many grizzlies, but I’ve seen two sows with one cub each and a few other adults.  They tend to be much farther away than black bears.

It’s a little early for babies, other than bison calves and bear cubs, but a newborn elk calf was in hiding just inside the Roosevelt gate this afternoon.  I’ve been looking for them and bighorn lambs and pronghorn fawns.  News of the elk calf will get me looking for babies more intently.  The elk calves and pronghorn fawns stay hidden most of the time for the first week or so, but the bighorn lambs can keep up with their mothers the day of birth as well as the bison calves.  Deer fawns arrive about a month later.

I’ve had my eyes peeled for badgers, but haven’t seen any yet.  I was telling a guy that two days ago and he told me he photographed three of them earlier that day.  Needless to say,  I’m looking harder now.  I got really close to a sandhill crane today.  I’ve also been photographing a lot of marmots.    Like I said, any day is good in Yellowstone.

Bison

Bison Calf, near Slough Creek

Photo of a bison calf.
Bison Calf near Slough Creek

In the spring of 2009 and in the spring of 2010 I spent a lot of time observing baby animals in Yellowstone.  They are all cute.  But I grew especially fond of bison calves or, as they are also known, “red dogs.”  They’re very photogenic.  Find a bison herd in the spring or summer and stop and observe for a while.  The interactions among the cows, yearlings and calves is very interesting.  Plus, it doesn’t take long before one of the calves decides to run around for the sheer joy of it.  To see an earlier post of a red dog running click here.

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Northern Harrier Asks: “Are you finished?” Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a male northern harrier.
What are YOU looking at?

This male northern harrier looks like he’s getting fed up with something — maybe me.  Birds seem to look that way sometimes.  It reminds me of the mad duck image I posted here.   Maybe it’s more like:  “Oh no, not you again.”  It’s funny, herbivores often look like they are smiling.  See my post on the bison calf below.  Also, the cow elk here.  Carnivores seem to have more of a poker face, but even with them I’ve seen what looked like a smile.  I’m thinking of this one wolf that seemed to be smiling.  See this link.  Of course, I should mention the always-smiling porpoises and dolphins.  And then there are the chimpanzees who not only smile, but laugh.  Maybe I need to spend more time doing landscape photography.

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Happy Red Dog

A very young bison calf enjoys a run.
Bison Calf, Yellowstone National Park

This bison calf looks like it is smiling as it runs off some pent-up energy.  Bison are the first of the ungulates to give birth in Yellowstone.  Bison management in Yellowstone is difficult and controversial.  Some of them migrate north out of the park in winter looking for forage. That puts ts them in the crosshairs of the State of Montana which feels the brucellosis some of them carry will infect livestock.  The most common management solution is to shoot them.

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Curious Bison Calf

Close up portrait photo of a bison calf.
Bison Calf, Yellowstone National Park

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of photographing at Yellowstone.  With each new trip I find new interests.  For example, I’ve never been very interested in photographing bison, but my last two visits have been in the Spring and that has meant baby bison.  I have found bison calves to be about as photogenic a subject as there is.   This little guy became very curious about me and kept moving closer for a better look.  How can you not like a face like this?  Spending time with the herds and watching these little “red dogs” run around and interact with other calves and their mothers has also given me a new interest in the adults.