YNP - Wildlife

An American Bison (Buffalo) moves through the tall grass of Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley.

Besides great scenery I also enjoy National Parks for the opportunity to see wildlife. Zoos are fine, but seeing the beast of the field actually on the field doing what they've done for thousands of years is pretty cool in my book. Below are my best efforts to capture the wildlife I saw in YNP and the surrounding area. Click on the image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by.

Near the original entrance at Gardiner, Montana we saw a small herd of Bighorn Sheep almost immediately. This old boy was kicking up the dust in this photo. He ended up laying down on this spot... so maybe he was just kicking the rocks out of his bed?!?

After stopping to photograph a colorful valley, I was able to capture this coyote as he popped out of some nearby trees with his supper. He crossed the highway and quickly was lost in the lodge pole pine forest on the slopes beyond.

A Redtail Hawk perched on a dead pine tree.

Mother moose and calf in Grand Teton's national park, near the village of Moose. Funny how that works.

A small elk herd near the West entrance (Madison Valley). It was fun to watch the old bull move amongst his harem. All were unwilling for the 15 minutes we watched and he bugled a few times because of it. Very cool to witness in person.

Aspen in the foreground, Bison in distance. Taken in the Lamar Valley of YNP. The day was hazy due to the nearby Antelope forest fire.

A lone coyote hunting in the Lamar Valley bottom.

I'm not sure what kind of rodent this guy is, but someone had left sunflower seeds at a scenic lookout on the Beartooth Mountain highway (on the way out of YNP's Northeast entrance) and he didn't mind getting his photo taken.

A lone buffalo in Hayden Valley of YNP.

My first bear in the wild. This was taken east of Tower Falls in YNP. I saw two black bears but no Grizzleys.

2nd Black Bear a few miles further up the road in the hillside forest.

Buffalo and Aspen in the Lamar Valley of YNP.

This buffalo was ahead of the herd and walked right up to my vehicle... well he would have if I didn't jump in and move out of the way before he got there. Made for some interesting photos though.