Saturday, May 30, 2015

Not much wildlife this morning but an eventful one.

Found the wolf watchers just after 6:00 this morning and was about 10 minutes late for the only wolf they saw. I hung around until about 11:00 talking to people, helping a ranger find a deer carcass in Soda Butte Creek and watching bighorn sheep several miles away.

At one point Rick gave a talk about wolves 925M and 926F and how he was killed and she found a new mate and helpers.

Around 11:00 decided to head back to camp for lunch. Just past the Lamar River bridge were a group of people with cameras, so I stopped to see what it was. Birds. Specifically, a woodpecker building a nest: 

While I was taking that photo, there was a loud scraping noise behind me. I though it was a car bottoming out as it pulled off the road to park. But then someone said “He hit that car!”. I looked around and about 50 feet away parked across the road was a car with its side all scraped up. Just a bit further was a car stopped off the road and partway up the hillside. Several people ran over and opened the drivers door where the man was shaking violently. He apparently had a seizure and lost control of his car. One of the women there said she was a nurse and was tending to him while the driver of a Yellowstone Association bus that was parked called in for help. About 10 minutes later an ranger came and about 10 minutes later and ambulance. That's when I left, not wanting to be in anyone's way.

After lunch, I went back to the Lamar Valley, but I was delayed by another bear jam. The same black bear and 3 yearling cubs were right along the road.

Just after getting into the valley, I stopped at Dorothy's turnout 

Map 

where there were several cars and trucks. There I saw Tom and his wife (whose name I keep forgetting). They are a couple from Maryland who had been coming to Yellowstone for years, but I hadn't seen in several years. The last time I saw them, they had to leave quickly as she was having some kind of medical emergency. Both of them have had cancer, so everyone was very concerned. So, I was happy to hear that she completely recovered and all is OK.

They had found a coyote den on the floor of the valley and were keeping watch. The mother was sleeping nearby while the father was off hunting. They have 8(!) pups. Whenever the pups come out, it's just a riot. Think 8 puppies all tumbling and tussling and exploring all at once. I'll try to get pictures this week. I stayed there until nearly 6:00 pm, showing people the sights and talking with Tom and his wife.