Yellowstone National Park is filled with many interesting experiences. I’ve shared with you the unique and interesting geothermal locations as well as the natural beauty of this part of the country. There is one more element to visiting Yellowstone, and that’s the animals. Yellowstone is the place to see some of the major wildlife in the United States including elk and bison.
Set in the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone is home to some of the large animals that are well known throughout the US. However, there are a lot of smaller animals that don’t get as much attention. There are also the birds in the sky and the fish in its rivers and lakes. As I mentioned last week, fly fishing is a popular activity within Yellowstone as well as in the surrounding areas. However, this post is about the larger animals that roam around Yellowstone.
Bison were probably the most prolific animals we encountered in the park. This large animal is a symbol of the west as they were a major source of food for the Native Americans in the region as well as American settlers who traveled through on their way to the west coast. Yellowstone’s bison are the most pure not having been interbred with any cattle.
Large herds exist in various places around the park, but occasionally we would encounter a lone bison. These loners were usually males. We happened to encounter one our first day at the park. We were exploring the Black Warrior Lake when we noticed a bison coming down from the nearby hill. People all around quickly got out their cameras and began to follow it at a distance. Both my wife and I took a video. Guess whose was better. Your right. Hers. Enjoy it. You can see the steam blowing over from the nearby Black Warrior Lake
Bison are so common that at times they present a challenge. Twice we were delayed on the road by them. The first time a few were crossing the road so it was a short delay. The second time two bison decided to stand in the road for about 15 minutes and not move. Traffic was backed up for a long ways. Each one stood in a lane so traffic was stopped in both directions. This creates the question, “How do you get a bison to move?” I still don’t know the answer to that question. They finally decided to move on their own.
Besides bison, the other large animal we saw frequently was elk. In fact we got caught up with them pretty quickly after entering the park the first day. We were driving along and saw a number of cars stopped on the side of the road so we stopped to investigate. On the other side of the river were two elk with large racks along with a smaller one with no rack, perhaps the son of one of them. I missed the smaller one at first. Initially they were resting, but eventually they got up and started grazing. A funny part was a fisherman who continued to fish in the river. He kept moving away. though.
A short drive further down the road and we encountered a small group of female elk resting right next to the road. They were so close I was having trouble taking photos because I had a telephoto lens on from the previous elk encounter.
A few days later we had some other opportunities to see elk. We were driving along and again saw a few cars stopped along the road. We rubbernecked trying to see what they were looking at but didn’t see anything. However, I caught a glimpse of a head on the opposite side of the road just a few feet farther on. I stopped and walked back to check it out. Sure enough there was an elk sticking its head up. After clicking off some photos, I walked back to my car but noticed several other cars stopping behind me. It felt good to be the one to initially spot the elk.
Later that day we encountered a few elk grazing right by the road as the sun was setting. They were moving around and crossed the road. My wife insists she saw one look both ways before crossing. They were grazing in an area near Yellowstone Lake where there had been a forest fire some years ago. I finally got a decent video here.
Another animal we encountered in the region was the mountain goat. We didn’t actually see them in Yellowstone but out in the mountains near Cody, Wyoming. Apparently they are not native to the area but have adapted well to this environment. I almost missed them as they blend in well with this environment. Fortunately my wife saw them and pointed them out to me. There were four all together, but two are a bit hard to see.
Another creature stalking around Yellowstone is the animal photographer. From time to time we would come across a large group of photographers lined up along the side of the road. Usually they seemed to be near a river and looking over to the other side of it. They had cameras with huge lenses sitting on tripods. We were told they were usually looking to photograph bears or wolves. People would always stop, and traffic would be a mess there. Most of the time they were just waiting and hoping at locations where these animals would frequent. As we drove by, we didn’t see anything although it was always tempting to stop.
My one disappointment was I never saw a moose. That’s one animal I was hoping to see, but it didn’t happen. I was also hoping to see a longhorn sheep on this trip, but sadly that didn’t happen either.
While I would be happy to see a bear or a wolf from a great distance, I really would not want to come across one unexpectedly. One of the common signs we would see around Yellowstone was a warning about bears. Bear spray was supposed to be your protector, but you had to know how and when to use it. All the warnings made hiking in the park a little concerning so we stuck to the major areas and didn’t venture too far afield. We also never bought any bear spray.
Yellowstone has so much to offer, and with the changing seasons it’s a place one could visit again and again. I would love the opportunity to go back, but for now I am just happy that I was finally able to visit this remarkable park.
Do you have any beastly experiences from Yellowstone? Be sure to share them in the comment section below.
Credit: Silvette Lee took the video “Lone Bison in Yellowstone” and the photo “Stopping Traffic.”
Bison and elk are so big!! The picture of bison stopping traffic looks like the cars are barely inches away from them.
Yes, they are big. They also aren’t tame. Signs constantly remind people to keep their distance.