Grand Wildlife

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2011 trip so far: yellow-bellied marmot, mule deer, bison, moose, pronghorn antelope, elk, coyote, beaver, black bear, grizzly
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2011 trip so far: mountain bluebird, golden eagle, Indigo bunting, Lazuli bunting, Say’s Phoebe, yellow-rumped warbler, Western Tanager, bald eagle, blue heron, American white pelican, trumpeter swan, osprey
[Click on any picture to enlarge…then arrow back to the blog]
The majestic beauty of the mountains is what draws thousands of visitors each year to Grand Teton National Park (www.nps.gov/grte), but for us the wildlife is an even bigger draw. Near Gros Ventre (pronounced "grow vahnt") Campground at the south end of the park where we stayed for a couple of days, we spotted our first moose of the trip grazing along the Gros Ventre River.

During one of our days at Gros Ventre we took a drive, and while looking for wildlife, we happened upon an area in the Bridger-Teton National Forest with a fantastic view of the Gros Ventre Slide (gray area seen in the distance). Back in June 1925 one of the largest fast-moving landslides occurred with about 50 million cubic yards of rock, mud, and debris slid down the north face of Sheep Mountain. It was a mile wide, and in just 3 minutes the slide swept down the mountainside, across the river, up the other slope about 300 feet, and then back down blocking the Gros Ventre River creating a natural dam 200 feet high and 120 feet wide and forming the Lower Slide Lake. (Photo at right is some of the debris that remains across from the slide.) The nearby town of Kelly was spared this time though only 6 miles downstream, but then almost 2 years later a portion of the landslide failed, and the resultant flooding wiped out the town killing 6 people. Kelly was rebuilt and today is a delightful small town.

We moved to Colter Bay Campground more centrally located within the park, and the next night we had the thrill of seeing this mama grizzly and her 3 cubs wandering through the sage not very far from the road. We were required to stay in our car as she made her way across the Willow Flats towards the road where they crossed to get to the trees on the other side. What an incredible sight!










The next night we spotted another grizzly with 2 cubs in a valley not far from the campground, and soon after met a gentleman named Grover Ratliff who has been coming to Grand Teton National park for many years and seems to know a lot about the wildlife. He told us that the bear we had seen the night before was #399 and is the mother of the one we had seen this night, #610. In fact 1 of the 3 cubs with “mom” is actually the offspring of #610 but for some reason was adopted by #399 and has been hanging with her. (We were even able to pick up these stickers pictured at right just outside the park!) We thoroughly enjoyed meeting Grover, listening to his stories, and looking at some of the incredible photos he’s taken of the area. You too can enjoy some of the beauty he has captured at his website http://www.mywyhomingpics.com/.


Over the next week we saw lots of animals (including one of the largest moose we’d ever seen), and at one of our favorite places, Oxbow Bend, lots of birds. We’ll simply share some of the photos with you, but keep in mind there are plenty more we couldn’t get because sometimes the wildlife is just too fast or the lighting is too low. Sometimes we just enjoy the moment watching and forget to take a photo. And most of the time the photos never do the experience justice anyway.

(These folks a way too close!)