Bob was able to take a Wildlife Course for Yellowstone Park and here are a few of the fun facts he learned:
1. Osprey build nests around water at the highest pinnacle they can find. (Pretty much like Florida :) They are great fishers and provide regurgitated food for the young until they are ready to leave the nest, which is several months. The young enjoy the free food source so much that even after mom and dad are gone they will continue to come back to the nest hoping for a handout.
2. Moose live in Yellowstone, however, they are way too elusive for us to see. That being said, they normally hang around ponds and small lakes in higher elevations to feast off the vegetation living in the water. Their long legs allow them to easily navigate deep snowfalls making it difficult for wolves to hunt. While there are moose in Yellowstone, this is not one of their primary habitat areas. Bob was guaranteed in his course to see a moose and here it is. By the way, the plural of moose is not meese :) If you don't see the moose in this picture, let me know!! (Hint: look at the highest tree).
3. Sheepeater Cliffs is an area where sheep eat. Ok, it's not. It's where the Sheepeater Indians principally resided. And yes, they did eat sheep and use their skins and bones for their commerce. They were one of the few tribes that did not become dependent upon the horse after they were introduced but stayed true to their culture. One of their prized possessions to trade and use was a small bow made from big horn sheep that was capable of a 50 pound torque and was an excellent hunting weapon. These particular cliffs are made from basalt volcanic rock.
4. Sunrise...Sunset. We look at 4 mountains from the cabins looking south from east to west: Mount Everts, Bunsen Peak (which we've climbed twice), Sepulcher Mountain and Electric Peak.
The bison and elk travel around the tops in herds or alone until the weather turns cold and then they migrate to the lower plains. We saw snow on several surrounding mountain tops last week!
We've been told there are 3 seasons rather than 4 in Yellowstone. July, August and Winter!
Not bad, Bob, not bad!
5. Waterfalls are plentiful around the park due to the abundance of water that bubbles up from the ground. Here is one near Sheepeater Cliffs. The native fish is Cutthroat Trout which is important to the Ecosystem of Yellowstone, particularly the bears.
6. Pronghorns are not sheep and they are not goats. They are most closely related to antelope and are simply called Pronghorns. They have 4 stomachs as do Elk and Bison but they are the only animal capable of digesting sage which is abundant in the area. Therefore, they are usually seen grazing in the lower meadows. The males from birth have a distinctive black streak described commonly as Elvis sideburns! The streak on this one below is hard to see but look below his jaws close to his neck.
Male Pronghorn
7. Elk. Let's see, we have about a thousand pictures of Elk so it's difficult to choose what to show. There is a herd of about 18 females and young hanging around the cabins that we see at some point each day. Prior to the wolves being reintroduced into Yellowstone, in 1995 and 1996, the elk had swelled to over 20,000+ in the park and had to be thinned by sharp shooters every year. When the wolves came in, the herds were naturally thinned and are down now to around 8,000.
This is a mama with twins. Most calve one per season.
8. Bull Elk. There are 4 males in Mammoth currently herding a number of females and young from grassy area to grassy area. They have been putting on quite a show. The largest male has been attacking all vehicles in it's path allowing for quite a human following and great entertainment. Here is the largest of the males.
We watched this guy start trotting toward a Ranger's truck. The Ranger jumped in and backed it up out of harm's way. Very comical!
9. And now here are the sheep. There are some steep cliffs close to the northern gate immediately south of Gardiner, MT.
We have seen these Big Horn Sheep several times, up high and even along the road side. How they walk and jump along these cliffs is amazing.
This guy climbed up to a peak and posed for us. You can imagine the cars that are piled up on the sides of the roads every time this flock makes an appearance.
10. The Yellowstone Rangers. They wear brown uniforms and have official ranger cars. We watched a Ranger with lights on 'escort' a grizzly bear from our spotting scope in the cabin up the mountain range last night. The people with orange vests on are volunteers. :)
Remember if you just want to view the pictures just click on one and they will pop up in a row!
