Hangin' Out

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, moose, wolf, red fox, black bear, bighorn sheep

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, pheasant, magpie, raven, Canada geese, mountain bluebird, grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, American avocet, sandhill crane, red-tailed hawk

 

[Click on any photo to enlarge.]

We’ve become quite accustomed to elk hanging out in the campground, but one morning we had the pleasure of about a dozen bison including a couple of calves enjoying the morning shade.  They hung around most of the morning,
       and though we were working, Russ watched the office for a few minutes while I ran to get our camera and get some shots.  Eventually they started moseying through the campground, grazing
        as they went, checking out the campsites, and making themselves quite at home.  We always tell people….remember, the park belongs to the animals, and we are merely the visitors.

 

    As for the elk, they love to hang out in the campground mainly because there aren't many predators.  Now that it's calving season, the cows feel fairly safe bringing their calves here and stashing them among the sage or next to someone’s tent or a rock or even the restroom.  And though most of the time you might not see where the calf is stashed,
mama knows where it is and will charge at anyone whom she feels is getting too close.  After all, to her we could be a predator of sorts. But this time of year it’s so fun to see the young calves with their spotted coats hanging out, learning the ways of life, and hopefully staying safe.  Sometimes we even get lucky enough to see two little ones playing together and chasing each other, under their moms’ watchful eyes of course.

It's not only the animals who enjoying hanging out.  Of course we humans enjoy do too. Sometimes, like these folks, it can be standing on a hill early on a spring evening after a gentle rain under a beautiful rainbowed sky or maybe simply sitting on the bank of the river as it roars by.  However you choose to hang, just enjoy.




 

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Bison: male (bull) weighs up to 2,000 lbs., female (cow) up to 1,000 lbs., calves can run with the herd 2 - 3 hours after birth.
• Elk: male (bull) weighs about 700 lbs., female (cow) about 500 lbs., and calf about 30 lbs. at birth.
• Osprey: Eggs hatch in 4 - 5 weeks and the young can fly when 7 - 8 weeks old.
• In the air an osprey will position a fish they are carrying so its head is pointed forward to reduce air resistance.