Yellowstone June 1st, 2015

Success at last! We have been privileged to be in the right place at the right time. A wolf was feeding on a fresh bison calf kill. It was about five hundred yards away, across the Lamar River, but our binoculars allowed us to see the blood on the face of the wolf.

We woke up and got a little earlier start, about eight am. It was our last day in Yellowstone and so we had to decide where to go.  Starting off we first traveled over the Dunraven Pass. Stopping to glass the mountain meadows we saw elk and bison, but not as many as the day before.

The black bear near Tower Falls was nowhere to be seen and so we turned west towards Mammoth and its hot springs. Another wildlife watcher told us he had saw bears along that road and so we both scanned the valleys and trees as Renita drove.

Stopping at the petrified wood site we read that there used to be three petrified logs but two had disappeared to souvenir hunters. Still it was a nice petrified redwood trunk and who knows how many more are buried on the hillside.

Driving further we passed a nice meadow but the pull off was crowded with people waiting for bears or wolves to appear. There wasn’t any room for our rig and simply pulling off the road is not allowed and is a ticket able offense.

Reaching Mammoth and the park Headquarters we took some time to study the exhibits in the small museum. Returning to the truck we talked about our options. Should we continue on the loop road or should we retrace our steps, driving back to Tower Junction and then head back down the Lamar River Valley?

It was only a couple of miles back towards the junction when a coyote crossed the road before pausing to give us a photo opportunity. Several elk were feeding in a stand of big sagebrush, so named because the sagebrush is so tall that the elk can actually be hidden in the sage stand.

Crossing the damaged Lamar bride, we passed the site where the sow and cubs had put on yesterday’s show and drove past a possible bear jam but there was no place to park. Renita slowed but neither one of us could see what the people were pointing at.

We drove past Soda Creek and a large group of watchers and again there were no parking spaces. Besides the people were all visiting and so whatever they were looking for wasn’t there or at least was hidden from view.

Driving up to the Pebble Creek Trailhead we saw a group with their spotting scope out and they kindly let us look at the Mountain Goats on the distant cliffs. Now I had purchased a Celestron c90 telescope for just such an opportunity but when I got it out the tripod had broken. I was still able to hold it in my arms and get a good view of the goats but it wasn’t something I could share.

I felt stupid as I knew better then to rely on a cheap tripod, after all a scope is only as good as its base. It’s something I knew from thirty plus years of using telescopes during my stint as an astronomy teacher.

A lady at Pebble Creek asked if we had seen the wolf feeding on a bison kill and so we quickly loaded our gear and returned back up the Lamar. A large group of vehicles were still parked in the same spot and luckily a car pulled out ahead of us letting us into a nice level gravel space.

One of the wolf watchers told us that the bison calf had been killed by three grizzlies and that he actually had caught the kill with his cameras. Renita quickly spotted the kill, dah look for a large number of ravens, and there on top of it stood a wolf.

We watched for quite a while as the wolf tore, ripped, and then swallowed large chunks of meat and gristle. Finally reaching its limit it walked off before regurgitating some of its meal which it then tried to force down again. It wandered further off and laid down while the ravens feasted. A golden eagle fed a bit and then a coyote took its turn on the feast. The ravens continued to bide their time and returned to the kill as soon as the others left.

Many of the people were waiting for the bears to return and reclaim their kill, but we decided we needed to return back to our camp. It was getting late and it had been a great day, and to see a wolf actually feeding on a kill, well it’s the first time we have ever seen that happen.

The next day we would leave for Star Valley. Our check list was almost complete. With the wolf added we had seen grizzly and black bears, bison, elk, mountain goats, coyotes, a golden eagle, blacktail deer, and antelope, ( I know I am leaving out much more). The trip was a success and we already are planning on a return next year! Clear skies