Yellowstone/Grand Teton Parks May/June 2020

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Deb1741
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Yellowstone/Grand Teton Parks May/June 2020

Post by Deb1741 »

My grandson and I have made quite a few trips to Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks so far this year. I thought that you might enjoy seeing some of the wildlife that he and I have seen.

Braeden did a solo trip down to Grand Teton Park on May 18th to see the park's most famous grizzly bear 399 that had come out with 4 newborn cubs a couple days prior. His Facebook album that included lots of pics of 399 and her 4 coys, along with other popular grizzly bears can be found on the following link. The album is set to public so you can view it even if you're not on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/BraedenRoes ... e_internal

We just got back from a 4 day trip to Yellowstone Park that included a very long day trip down to Grand Teton Park in hopes of seeing 399 and her coys again. We won the "bear lottery" when we rounded a corner and they were right next to the road. The following is one video that I got of the family. They have grown so much since Braeden saw them in May.

https://www.facebook.com/deb.roesler/vi ... =3&theater

More videos/still pics can be found on the following Facebook album. Braeden got a lot of fantastic photos but is still in the process of going through them to post on his site.
https://www.facebook.com/deb.roesler/me ... 075&type=3


The only other grizzly that I know of that has had 4 cubs is a grizzly in Yellowstone Park nicknamed "Quad-mom. I wasn't able to see them when all 4 were alive but was able to see her with two of them. So seeing 399 with her 4 coys was pretty darn special.

From a 5/24 Billings Gazette article:
The data supports proclamations that bear 399’s quad-cub litter is a rarity, no less for a nearly quarter-century-old bruin. From 2004 to 2018, just three litters of four youngsters were detected in total by Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team researchers on observation flights, according to the research group’s annual reports. Chuck Schwartz, a former study team leader, found that just 2% of all litters in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem consisted of four cubs, according to a 2006 study. (The proportion of one-cub litters was 26%, two-cub litters 51% and three cub litters 21%.)



We had awesome wildlife sightings during our recent 4 day trip. :arrow: :arrow:
Wildlife count- 15 Grizzly bears including 399 and her 4 coys, 6 black bears, 13 wolves, 4 moose, 1 fox, 2 coyotes, 1 badger, 32 mountain goats in 3 different areas, 3 bighorn sheep, 5 pronghorn babies including one that was being chased by a wolf (it got away), 4 male Western Tanagers (we have only seen one in all of our trips to the park and it was a ways away), 4 bald eagles, 4 herons, 12 Harlequins including one at Warm Creek Picnic Area in the northeast corner of the park, and of course, lots of bison, elk, deer, and pronghorn.

The following video is long but so worth watching. We were watching 5 wolves from the Junction Butte wolf pack working the sagebrush in Lamar Valley across the Lamar River. Suddenly one started chasing a baby pronghorn. The baby ran towards the river then veered west and ran in the open flat. I was watching through the scope and Braeden was videoing it with my camera. You can't see the baby pronghorn in this video but the black wolf was "locked in" on it the entire time. All pronghorns seen in the video are adults. We estimated they ran for about 2 miles in just this video. The wolf didn't catch the baby pronghorn but I really wonder how the mom found it after it had ran that far. It was amazing how fast the black wolf ran and how much stamina he had.

https://www.facebook.com/deb.roesler/vi ... 11/?type=3

I have Facebook photo albums dedicated to the mountain goats that we saw on the trip, along with one dedicated to a famous Yellowstone grizzly bear nicknamed "Raspberry" and one that is titled "Yellowstone Miscellaneous June 16-19, 2020" that are set to public so you should be able to view them once you're on my Facebook page if you're interested in doing so.

Deb
"There is no snooze button on a cat that wants breakfast" ~ unknown
"Today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way" ~ Dr. Suess
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Re: Yellowstone/Grand Teton Parks May/June 2020

Post by indiana hiker »

Deb, What great pictures and videos! I have been to Yellowstone at least a half dozen times and have NEVER seen bears. Can I take you or your grandson as a tour guide next time?! Thanks for sharing and it is great that you helped your grandson develop such love for the outdoors.
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Re: Yellowstone/Grand Teton Parks May/June 2020

Post by JayAndersen »

Thanks for sharing Deb. Great looks at some wildlife there.

I passed through Yellowstone on 6/18 on my way to the Tetons and it was bear jam after bear jam. The section from Petrified Tree to Tower junction is still prime black bear habitat. Got lucky with wolves and a fox in the Lamar Valley too.
Watched 399 and her cubs for a few hours on 6/19 and had some time watching 610 on 6/20.
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Re: Yellowstone/Grand Teton Parks May/June 2020

Post by Deb1741 »

indiana hiker wrote:Deb, What great pictures and videos! I have been to Yellowstone at least a half dozen times and have NEVER seen bears. Can I take you or your grandson as a tour guide next time?! Thanks for sharing and it is great that you helped your grandson develop such love for the outdoors.
Well, if you're ever in the park the same time as we are, you can tag along with us. For some reason, we've been blessed by the "bear gods" and almost always have great sightings.

I'm so proud of my grandson and his love for for nature. He's come a long ways since he first "stole" my dslr camera from me when he was 11 years old.

JayAndersen wrote:Thanks for sharing Deb. Great looks at some wildlife there.

I passed through Yellowstone on 6/18 on my way to the Tetons and it was bear jam after bear jam. The section from Petrified Tree to Tower junction is still prime black bear habitat. Got lucky with wolves and a fox in the Lamar Valley too.
Watched 399 and her cubs for a few hours on 6/19 and had some time watching 610 on 6/20.
We must have passed each other on the road as the 18th was when we did our day trip down to the Tetons from our lodging outside the northeast entrance. It was a long day ending up being 17.5 hours door to door. Though we did make a detour out past Fishing Bridge on the way back which resulted in us being able to see the grizzly bear nicknamed "Raspberry" and her new cub for the first time along with the alpha male of the Wapiti Lake wolf pack walking along the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley.

I wish I would have seen 610 while we were there and/or her two three year old cubs she kicked out last summer while we were in the Tetons, but that's ok......seeing 399 and her 4 cubs was like winning the lottery to me.

Deb
"There is no snooze button on a cat that wants breakfast" ~ unknown
"Today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way" ~ Dr. Suess
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