Tag: elk

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.

Badger

Badger, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a badger after it awakens from a sunbath.
A badger wakes up from its sunbath.

After lunch today I decided to go out to Point Reyes.  I’m anxious for the coyotes and bobcats to return to their winter ways of spending more time out during daylight hours and I hoped I’d see some today.    I had barely gotten inside the Seashore when I  saw a lot of badger diggings on a hillside.  They looked fresh, although it had rained last night and I wondered if the wetness of the dirt made them look fresher than they were.   I scanned all the diggings and the one that was highest up the hill had a brownish lump on the side of the digging.  It was partly obstructed by vegetation.  I grabbed my 7X binoculars and took a look.  They weren’t powerful enough to be certain, but it looked like brown fur and it wasn’t moving.  I assumed it was a badger and that it was asleep.  I grabbed my lens and tripod and  decided to move slowly up the hill to try to get close enough for a good photo.  I used a telephone pole between us as cover.

I got to about 40 to 50 yards from what I knew by then was a badger and was about to shoot a few frames when out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of movement.  It was a a coyote and it was running straight up the hill on my left.  I have no idea why or how the coyote did that.  I think it may have been sleeping somewhere to the left of the badger and me and I startled it.  I started shooting the coyote as it ran, but it topped the hill quickly.  I re-focused on the badger and, no surprise, it was no longer asleep.  It was staring straight at me.  I’m sure the coyote caught its attention first and the noise from my shutter got its attention next.  I fired off several shots and the badger went down the burrow it had dug.  It quickly popped back up to take a longer look at me.  After a few seconds it had seen enough.

Photo of a badger peeking from its burrow.
A badger takes a peek.

After a bit, I circled around the burrow hoping he’d come up again and, not seeing me where he expected me to be, he’d come out.  It was not to be and after about 30 minutes I gave up.  It was a good start though.

It turned out that that was the high point of the afternoon.  I did see another coyote later.  I also had one bobcat cross the road in front of me.  I also saw another critter for a second or two before it disappeared into a swale.  I think it was either a bobcat or coyote.  Things were pretty slow elk-wise on the Tomales Peninsula.

I then headed over to Drake’s Beach hoping to see some elk on the way or maybe something at Drake’s Beach itself.  On the way I saw a burrowing owl that my friend Jeff told me about just before the turnoff for Drake’s Beach.  There was also a big 7-point bull elk on the east side of the road to Drake’s Beach.  Drake’s Beach itself was dead.  I then headed back to Pierce Point.  It’s often pretty good for elk late in the day.  Not today.

Things seem to be getting better at Point Reyes in terms of seeing bobcats and coyotes.

Rocky Mountain Elk

Big Bull Elk, Yellowstone National Park

Dominant Bull
Dominant Bull

This is the largest bull elk I saw this fall in Yellowstone.  He and his harem were located south of Swan Lake.   There seems to be something wrong with his right eye.  He may be blind in that eye.  Bulls suffer many injuries during the rut.  This past fall I saw several bulls limping due to shoulder injuries.  One Yellowstone bull was famous for attacking  cars.   He was know by his ear tag as #6.  For more about him and his demise click here.

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that the rut seemed slow to me this past September in Yellowstone and wondered if it was due to weather that seemed warmer than usual for that time of year.  There may have been other factors.  I just found an article in the Huffington Post from last January that reported that the Yellowstone herd was down about 25% from the previous year due to several possible factors, including weather, increased hunting success due to November snow storms that pushed more elk than usual out of the park during the hunting season, and wolves.  Less accurate counting may have also been a factor.

Speaking of elk, I just finished upgrading the Rocky Mountain Elk Portfolio on my website.  You can see that portfolio here.

Elk

Elk On The Run

This is a photo of a tule elk calf running through tall grass.
Tule Elk Calf, Point Reyes National Seashore

One thing I like to see when I’m watching young animals is when they have more pent up energy than they can hold and they run around for a minute.   Sometimes they hop straight up in the air before they take off.  Ah, to be young again.

Uncategorized

A Young Bull Tule Elk Finds An Antler to Chew On.

Photo of an elk chewing on a deer antler.
Young Bull Elk with Deer Antler,  Point Reyes National Seashore

The young bull tule elk on the left is fortunate to have found a shed antler to chew on.  Shed antlers are an important source of minerals, such as calcium.  He laid down and worked on the antler for about half an hour.  The other young bull would like to have it.  Such is life.

A couple of days ago I remembered that I started this blog when I was in Yellowstone in May of last year.  I checked and found that I published the first photo on May 13, 2010.  A year ago today.

Uncategorized

Killing Black Bears and Selling Their Gall Bladders

Photo of mother black bear.
Black Bear, Yellowstone National Park

Recently I wrote that the elk are dropping their antlers in Point Reyes National Seashore and the Park Service is busy picking up the antlers before the antler traders find them and remove them (which is illegal).  I mentioned that while bad enough, at least the antler thieves don’t kill the elk for the body parts as happens with animals such as bears, tigers and elephants.  The next day I opened my local paper to learn that someone in my city, which is located not more than 30 miles from San Francisco, was arrested while poaching a black bear in the Mendocino National Forest.  More black bear parts, namely a head, five paws, a penis and gall bladder, were in his freezer at home.  According to the article, black bear gall bladders sell for $5,000 on the black market.  A bad as these killings are, the real problem is the demand by some in the Asian community for bear and tiger parts for their supposed value as aphrodisiacs.  Tigers are nearing extinction due to this demand.  I wonder if there has ever been any study to support or refute this belief.