This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
Today is the third anniversary of the removal of the Bald Eagle from the Endangered Species List. This is one of the greatest success stories under the Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way.
A black bear sow and her spring cub take a rest near Calcite Springs. I saw them several times in mid May between Calcite Springs and Tower Falls. I wonder if the sow is a descendant of that well-known and much-loved bear known as “Rosie”?
I had heard reports of a sow grizzly with four spring cubs in the Hoodoos area of Yellowstone. I went there this morning hoping to see and photograph them. Four cubs is very rare.
I was fortunate. There they were. Unfortunately, they were about 200 yards away and partly blocked by branches. So, I waited. And waited. It was below freezing and very windy. The wind was really pushing my big lens around, even with me steadying it. Getting a sharp image was going to be a challenge.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour, they moved into a relatively clear area. I was hoping for a good composition. Mom and cub 1, the runt of the litter on her back, and cub 2 were cooperative; but cubs 3 and 4 were not. This is one reason why photographing people is easier.
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.
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
