After the bear encounter, we returned two days later and found out the road had been closed, (due to bear activity). After a day of laundry, we decided to head over to the National Elk Refuge, just outside Jackson.
It was the earliest we have ever been there and the Bighorn Sheep still had on their winter coats, (later in May they will be shedding and will look mangy. As the Bighorn Rams descended the steep mountainside, two of the rams decided to butt heads.
Two more cars with photographers showed up and started to point out things we were missing. There were five coyotes, an elk that had been killed the night before by wolves, and lots of ravens. Renita had heard howling the night before,
We never saw the wolves, they had already left, and the coyotes moved in ate their full and were followed by a flock of ravens.
Soon after the ravens began feeding, three bald eagles decided it was their turn, and they claimed the carcass for the rest of the day.
One fed while the other two watched and waited for their turn.
One of the other photographers pointed out a coyote on the hillside.
It stood up and snuck down the mountain, spotting three resting bighorns. The wind shifted and the sheep detected the danger.
The larger sheep stood up, facing the coyote, which promptly decided the bighorns horns were too dangerous and wandered away. Finding a lone bighorn on a rock face the coyote moved towards it until the sheep ran down the hill and joined a large group of other rams.
Things finally settled down and so we took a short walk, our first exercise since we left the Texas Coastal Bend. It had been a great day, and we headed into Jackson for a bit of grocery shopping. Clear skies
No comments:
Post a Comment