Berries, Flowers, and Mountain Lion Scat

Kind of an unusual picture to open a blog post with, but this is the first time we think we have found mountain lion scat. It was on a path that we usually walk when we are looking for bears. What makes us think that its mountain lion scat is that its segmented, with individual lumps and has tails on the segments. Its also too large for a coyote and it does contain lots of hair, (elk). I am going to send the picture to a friend who is an expert on scat, (we have lots of friends with unusual collections).

The main purpose of the trip to Grand Teton National Park was to see the condition of the berry crop, hoping to see a bear, and to just enjoy the day in our favorite place. The berry crop this year is great and the bears should be gorging on them, or will soon be.

We did spot a flock of Cedar waxwings feeding on the berries. Another plus of the day was to enjoy the flowers, most of which I don’t know but Renita did snap a quick picture of a small Indian paintbrush

and a group of Wyoming Fireweed in bloom. The flowers are near the top of the fireweed, which means fall is arriving.

We also drove to the Oxbow where we enjoyed watching an American white pelican

as it flew over and also caught a picture of a bald eagle, both of which were looking for fish.

I once got to canoe the Oxbow when I was on a field trip with an Ecology class led by Paul Lussow. We never did see any bears, but we did hear that they have started to feed, preparing for their winter hibernation. Our hope to make one more trip to the park before we head north for a week with our daughter in Montana. Clear skies