This is a somewhat truncated final report, since today was generally a laid back, slow day for us... and I'm dead tired.
We checked out the carcass at Sheepeater today, in hopes of sighting the black yearling wolf. No luck, but we did run into Dave and I could swear I had a Dave Stiles sighting as well... my imagination?
We saw two black bears in the morning, one from the Petrified Tree lot heading toward Lost Lake, and the other just past the Yellowstone Picnic Area. At Slough Creek we met Kevin and Laurie, who told us we had just missed a grizzly back in Little America. More importantly, they learned that Dunraven Pass was opening up, so we quickly turned toward Tower.
Our final day was highlighted by a great grizzly encounter. |
Indeed it was open, and we went up and over, with an attack grouse being our only wildlife sighting on the drive. Nothing at the Canyon carcass, and Hayden was fairly quiet as well. We had breakfast in south Hayden, then returned to Dunraven, which was empty again aside from Dave and some Dutchies driving by. Then off to Cooke City and Gardiner (not exactly a quick trip) for some final business before we could devote the afternoon to a final round of wildlife sightings. On the way to Gardiner, we stopped for some very shaky, very newborn pronghorn twins. Mom was still licking them clean when we arrived.
She was spooked when some tourists appeared on the ridge above and left one of the babies lying alone in the grass. I can only assume she eventually came back to reclaim it, since it was gone later in the afternoon and Maniuk didn't show me any photos with coyotes carrying baby antelope heads in their jaws (though I hear coyotes claimed at least one elk calf today).
In the afternoon, we saw a cinnamon bear just before Floating Island Lake (too small to be Big Red or Ol' Blue Eyes, presumably one of the '04 twins from the Elk Creek area). We made it all the way to Dunraven before stopping, where there was a huge bear jam. A grizz with a cub were above the road, and a huge crowd of photographers was present.
The rangers had a hard time keeping everything in check, and parking was sparse, so it took us a while to get situated. By the time we settled in, we were surrounded by several familiar faces. Dave, Helene, Rene, Maniuk, Brett, Kevin, Laurie, Ria, Kevin N., Kevin (liv4mtns) and Jaime all made appearances at one point or another. Heck, even Loren (godfather) drove by.
We spent a good three hours with the grizz, which spent a lot of time digging around on the hillside while the rangers scurried about below, yelling at the top of their lungs every time a passing car stopped and someone hopped out (this happened a lot). Eventually, the sow worked her way down toward the road and leapt off the embankment onto the pavement.
The one year old cub followed. The problem was that mom, after wandering about the road and realizing she was surrounded by tourists, went back and hopped back up into the snow. The snow bank was far too high for the cub to jump onto, and it soon grew very anxious when mom tried to leave a couple times. She came back though, and knelt down in what almost appeared to be an attempt to grab the cub... but more likely provided comfort instead.
Finally, the sow realized she had to come back onto the road. Once they were back on the pavement, all hell broke loose and they ran toward the crowd of onlookers opposite of us. The rangers ordered everyone back in their cars, though apparently one group failed to close the back door of their van and the mother grizz almost leapt inside (according to the rangers).
After that debacle, the rangers ordered everyone (us included) into their cars and away from the scene. Hopefully the fallout from this doesn't affect future bear-watching opportunities in the coming weeks.
Jenn and I headed for Gardiner and began to pack at that point. A long while later, Rene and Helene came a knockin' and we barely reached the Mine in time for a farewell steak dinner. A big hug to our Dutch friends and good night. Speaking of which, I'm about due for some sleep. An early wake-up call and a 12 hour drive await us tomorrow.
Thanks to all of you whom we met on the trip (again or for the first time) and made it very enjoyable. Best of luck to those who just arrived in the park. I have a feeling there will be some great viewing in the next couple weeks.
The End!
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