A Word About the Animals

For me, one of the best parts of any vacation is seeing animals in their natural environment. I love checking out animals at the zoo and other places like San Diego's Wild Animal Park or Sea World, but there is nothing better (for me at least) than seeing what I call "real" animals in their "real" world. It just always thrills and excites me. This trip definitely did not disappoint in the animal department. Not long into our journey on the very first day, we got our first look at . . .

Bison (often wrongly called buffalo)

These are HUGE animals, and they can have an attitude. They appear very calm and mellow, and probably most of the time they are. But I definitely wouldn't want one to be mad at me. They can decide to attack any thing at any time for no apparent reason, and they are capable of speeds up to 35 MPH. So seeing them at a distance is probably the best idea.

As I said, they can have an attitude, and they are the self-appointed Kings and Queens of Yellowstone, and are free to wander anywhere they happen to feel like wandering. Including walking right down the center of the road - or standing across the road and double-dog daring you to try to pass. We had to stop several times and wait for one of these big guys to decide to move out of the way, and we passed by many of them as they were taking their mid-afternoon stroll along the road.





The bison were awesome, and we saw them everywhere throughout the entire park. And there were lots of other animals . . .

Besides the elk we had seen on the refuge, we also saw elk in Yellowstone.

This female ran across the road right in front of us.

These elk were enjoying a refreshing drink from the stream . . .

Sadly, according to our guide Tony, because of all the minerals and chemicals that flow into the water from the thermal features in the park, the water is contaminated and drinking the water shortens the lives of the animals. If you click on the picture above, you can see that the water isn't exactly crystal clear.

We saw other animals as well, some I could take a picture of . . .

Coyote

Trumpeter Swans

Some not, such as the fox and the female moose that we passed by too quickly to snap a picture.


In West Yellowstone, MT, there is a . . .

that we visited first thing on our second day. This place rescues grizzly bears and wolves and then studies their natural behaviors. Right now they have 7 grizzlies at the center, two of which were out on display (they only have 2 or 3 out at a time) . . .

The enclosure is quite large and the bears were far away

Love the zoom lens

I don't remember the names of these two, but I do remember their stories. The bear on the left is a 16 year old male from Canada. He was orphaned when only 6 months old and would have been unable to survive on his own. He was brought to the center where he has lived ever since. The bear on the right is a 14 year old female who ventured into a populated area to get food, and became a danger to humans. Instead of destroying her, they brought her to the center. Every bear has it's own similar story. The center has facilities to feed and care for 8 grizzlies. One of the bears died last year, so they will be able to rescue another grizzly soon, which they are very excited about since they have had to turn bears away for lack of space. It was really fun to watch these bears wrestling and playing together like puppies.

An interesting fact we learned while at the Discovery Center . . . bears do not always hibernate. If they have a steady and reliable food source, as they do here, they remain out and about for the entire year. It's only when their source of food runs out, such as during the snowy winters when they can't find something to eat, that they decide to find a cozy place to sleep until spring. Want to know more about what bears eat?

Click on this photo

The center also has two packs of beautiful gray wolves. It's very interesting to observe and learn about the social structure of the wolf pack. Each pack is headed up by an alpha male and alpha female pair, followed by a beta pair, and on down the Greek alphabet. The lower rated animals are very submissive and respectful to the alpha pair, and you can see it in the way they keep their heads lowered and the general way they move.

The Alpha Male

Mr. & Mrs. Alpha

The Pack

Alpha Male of the second pack

Some interesting things we learned about the wolves . . . The packs are kept separate because they are highly competitive and territorial, and one pack will fight another pack to protect its area. In the wild, the wolves have an expected life-span of only 3-4 years and the hierarchy of the pack is constantly changing. For example, while the pack is bringing down an elk, the alpha male might get kicked in the head and killed by the struggling elk. The beta male will then step up and take over the pack. It's a tough life in the wild and it's all about the survival of the fittest, and probably the luck of the draw as well.

I would have liked to stay at the center longer, but it was time to jump on the snowmobiles and head back into Yellowstone . . . .