Tetons & Yellowstone May 23-26

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YNPjeepers
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:35 pm

Tetons & Yellowstone May 23-26

Post by YNPjeepers »

Saturday we entered the park at Moran entrance and in less than a minute we had our first bear jam beside the first bridge. A lady told us it was 399's 14 year old daughter and her 2 yearlings. A little further down the road at Pilgrim Creek there was a single boar farther out in the meadow leisurely browsing and a little past Colter Bay there was a Fox with some sort of lunch in it's mouth. It zipped down the snowbank, across the road, up the snowbank and along a fallen log before disappearing into the woods. Of course we saw a lot of elk and Bison but only one bison calf so far.

The next day started on Moose-Wilson road where 2 Osprey were on a nest. A Great Blue Heron was fishing in a pond and, not at all concerned with our presence, gave us a little show. It got hold of a fish along with a lot of plant leaves. Tugging again and again it finally freed the fish from the plants, but not before dropping it and having to catch it once more. It's fascinating to watch the fish slowly slide down that long neck. No Moose today so we turned around to go back near the beginning of the road since earlier we had seen a couple of photographers watching the trees, hoping to catch sight of an owl. This time they had a few friends with them near a pullout who saw us coming and they had guilty looks on their faces. Hmmmm, something to hide? We didn't go much farther before turning around and taking one last pass on this road before continuing on up to Yellowstone. Well I'll be darned, they did have something they were hiding. A large black box emitting loud hoots. Not sure if that is considered harassing the wildlife or not. Wanted to ask a ranger but did not see one for hours. Entrances were temporarily closed for rangers. (The one time I really wanted a Ranger sighting.)

On to Yellowstone. Nothing happening all the way to Sylvan Lake and back, except construction. As we get to the overlook at Hayden Valley some folks have spotted a couple of wolves. A black and a white. The white is quickly out of sight towards their den but the black hangs around for a little while until it moves out of sight. We drive on down to a lower pullout and see it moving towards us. It comes to a bank of trees nearest the road and stays just behind them in the water. It trots back and forth and back and forth for quite some time. We come to realize that the bottom half of it's tail is awfully thin and the fur on it's hindquarters is looking sparse. Perhaps mange. But we saw a couple of wolves! We turned back to head south for a bit and not too much farther down the road people are pulling over and getting out the tripods. We look at the hillside and a white wolf is laying in the snow. As we get out of the Jeep we can hear a couple of howls. Gotta love that sound, right? After a few minutes the wolf stands and starts sniffing the snow as it walks towards a small draw. Another howl from the other side of the ridge and it slowly begins trotting up the draw. Suddenly it starts lunging up the hillside to the left. Through my binoculars something tan is moving near the top of the ridge. I look up to see tan legs under some tree limbs and an Elk head at the top of the ridge just as it stops short of cresting the ridge. I swear I saw a look of pure shock on it's face as the wolf was heading right for it. After a quick turn around they were both out of my sight. That was exciting! We drive on and soon see more cars parked on the side of the road. Traffic is stopped but we can't see anything on the other side of the previous draw that had the wolf in it. "Hey, over there on the other side of the road" I said, and it was a tan wolf trotting along side of the road. This one had no fear of traffic, people or noise. Since we couldn't move and traffic was stopped in both directions Mike got out with the camera and walked up the opposite side of the road just a bit so he could see the gap in between the two opposing lanes. The wolf had stopped in the middle of our lane in that gap and the picture taking began. At one point it looked over it's shoulder right into the camera. Wow! Mixed feelings. On one hand it's exciting to see one so close but on the other hand, very sad that it has become habituated. The wolf continues it's journey along the side of the road for awhile. We pass by it and pull into the overlook where we first spotted the black and white wolves. This one trotted right up to the log fence and turned right to walk along the outside of the fence. It kept moving while glancing up at the people standing there on the other side who had no idea what was happening. One man finally noticed and said "coyote". Mike said "that's not a coyote that's a wolf". 3 young men decided to get back into their car but the rest of them just stood watching this wolf as it circled around the edge of the pullout before moving down into the valley. We travel north around the rest of the loop. A stop to see Grand Prismatic and not far from there we just catch a glimpse of a black sow and two cubs going into the treeline. No stop at Old Faithful today. Back to Jackson Hole.

Today we are determined to find 399 and her 4 cubs since that is the main reason we came on this particular trip after Karen and Bill shared the information here for us all. (Thanks for that) We find What we are told is 2 of Blondie's 3 year old offspring off the steep side of the road but can't get a good look. Going on down the road we see literally the tail end of a bear and two dark spots stepping into the tree line. Everyone assures us it is 399 and her 4 cubs. Missed them by thaaat much. We thought we would try Colter Bay since that is the direction they were heading but no luck, so we travel north for a bit and then turn back. The next time we come to this area we find a bear on the hillside. It travels up the hill and then down to cross the road. Before we know it another one comes out of the brush and follows the same path. It's Blondie's kids. They both decide to stay on the side of the road because those grasses are so tasty they can't get enough. The larger one isn't having the best day. Apparently the day before it had an encounter with a porcupine and now has a face full of quills. The ranger said he thought they were both males but several people commented on them being one male and one female. The smaller one has a pretty face and is more anxious with the crowds. We spent several hours just watching those two then it's time to head back home. Great trip and for sure we'll be back on the 8th to check out the upper loop. Can't wait.


I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.
Henry David Thoreau

RikWriter
Posts: 488
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:36 pm

Re: Tetons & Yellowstone May 23-26

Post by RikWriter »

Not a big deal at all that it's habituated unless it leaves the park. The Canyons were very habituated and didn't ever get into any trouble except when the alpha female left the park when she was 13 or so and was shot by one of the...sterling residents of Gardiner.



karenandbill
Posts: 209
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:55 am

Re: Tetons & Yellowstone May 23-26

Post by karenandbill »

Thanks for the report. Glad to hear of your success with the wolves in Hayden. We made a trip through on the 19th and saw nothing except a few bison. However, it was the middle of the day. So we will head back again this week and spend some more time there. We were there on Sunday, May 25 hoping for a longer look at the 399 family but she didn't show, as far as we could tell.



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