Off Days

Black bear cub - cinnamon color

*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, mountain goat



Cliff swallows

*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, cliff swallow

[Click on any photo to enlarge.]

Cow elk sparring

On our days off there are the usual chores…laundry, groceries, etc., but obviously we still find time to enjoy the park.  Sometimes it’s just up the hill to see if there are any elk, sometimes it’s a little further to see if there are any bears, but mostly we head out to Lamar Valley to see what we can see.  Once again this post will be



Bear cub scratching its back

short on words but will share lots of pictures including an elk calf only 6 hours old, sparring elk cows, a mule deer and fawn that looked like it was only a few hours old itself, and a first for us…a pair of bear cubs climbing and playing in     a tree!  As for the mountain goats, there were way up on Barronette Peak so look like 3 white dots and not included in this photo montage.

Black bear & her 2 cinnamon cubs

Elk cow & her 6 hour old calf

Mountain bluebird



Bear cubs playing & climbing

Mule deer & her fawn

Pronghorn at Gardiner River

Bison in Lamar Valley

Bull elk

Bull moose

Elk cow & calf at Swan Lake Flats

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Up to 2/3 of each year’s elk calves may be killed by predators, i.e. bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars, golden eagles
• Mule deer: Buck (male) weighs 150-200 lbs., doe (female) weighs 100-175 lbs., fawn (young) are weaned in about 60-75 days
• Pronghorn young (fawn) can walk within 30 minutes of birth and can outrun a human in a couple of days
• Cliff swallows nest in large colonies on buildings, cliffs, and under bridges in gourd-shaped mud nests.