Spring time in the Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley. I saw a lot of wolves, bison and big horn sheep this trip. While I got a lot of those photos, the image of the bison in the snow while they wandered through the valley seemed so real western. I wanted the mountains and the snow in the background.
This is only one photo of many that were the epitome of western art. If I could paint, I would be working on a photo of a bison in the snow.
Bear 101.
Not as in how to deal with bears 101, but this is bear 101. She is the 101st grizzly tagged in Yellowstone and lived quite nicely amongst the tourists, rangers and other wildlife in Yellowstone for 20 years. Until someone made a large mistake and 101 learned about garbage, pet food and other foods unhealthy for bears. She also made a mistake and taught her cubs how to forage in the town, which is usually a death sentence for a grizzly.
Instead, she is housed at the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. Her cubs are in a good home and both are no longer in danger of being killed for being a danger to humans. 101 had a hard time adjusting to captivity, but the center is very good at taking care of their animals. Since bears naturally forage and hunt for their food, the daily feeding at the center consists of kids working with park workers to hide food throughout the enclosure. This requires the bears to turn over logs, hunt through brush and move rocks to find food. She is magnificent and beautiful and very dangerous.