Tag: bear jam

Can you spot the Yellowstone critter spying the coyote?

While stuck in a bear jam last May in Yellowstone National Park, I spotted a coyote that was being closely watched by a potential prey. Can you spot the smaller critter?

Last May in Yellowstone National Park I observed more bears in three days (14) than I observed during all prior trips later in the season.

I spent hours in “bear jams,” standing outside my vehicle while trying to spot and photograph bruins at various safe distances.

During one sighting, involving a cinnamon-colored black bear and two cubs, I looked back across the highway and spotted a coyote trotting behind the mass of cars and people.

Coyote bypassing a Yellowstone bear jam, closely watched. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

I snapped a photo before turning back to face the bears. It wasn’t until hours later, while checking my images, that I noticed another critter closely watching the coyote.

The image is posted above and a question for readers: How quickly can you spot the critter? (Answer below.)

Most photographers expressed only a passing interest in the coyote; they were laser-focused on the bears.

Cinnamon-colored black bear. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Momma bear was large and her coat lustrous. She napped briefly while her cubs scampered up a tree and hid in the branches.

Some argued that she was a grizzly because she was not black like most black bears. Others noted that she had the face and pointed ears of a black bear, and lacked the telltale grizzly bear shoulder hump.

Almost all spectators were outside their vehicles and some were in violation of the park’s 100-yard distance rule.

Momma black bear with cubs. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

As more people crept closer for better photo opportunities, the bear management team shut down the viewing session and ordered everyone to leave.

The tourists complied. But as often happens in Yellowstone, many returned within minutes after the bear management team had departed. I saw the new jam forming after turning around and driving past the sighting area, then continued east toward Tower-Roosevelt.

My good fortune continued when another momma black bear (with black fur) and two cubs emerged along the side of the road, where they foraged on grass.

Likely ground squirrel watching the coyote. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

I photographed them for several minutes before a crowd began to gather, then I continued east into Lamar Valley.

The coyote remained an afterthought until I was back in my hotel room in Gardiner. I almost disregarded the image but noticed the ground squirrel at the top of the frame,  intently watching the squirrel-eating coyote.

The squirrel is circled in red in the image posted above.

Watch: Yellowstone tourists sprint toward bears, spooking them

Footage captured this month in Yellowstone National Park shows people sprinting toward bears in a meadow, in blatant violation of park guidelines.

Tourists in Yellowstone National Park are supposed to remain at least 100 yards from bears whenever they’re out of their vehicles.

While lots of people violate this rule, few do so as blatantly as the group caught on camera this month sprinting toward three bears as though they were long-lost buddies.

The accompanying footage, captured by Will Spencer, shows several vehicles stopped on a road near the momma black bear and her two cubs.

The bears are ignoring the traffic until several occupants of one vehicle, including a man carrying an infant, begin running toward the animals.

The lead man is in a full sprint when momma bear begins to move out of  frame. As the tourists approach, the cubs become spooked and trot after mom.

The man carrying the child is also sprinting on pavement, a dangerous act on its own.

Carrie Dent, Will’s mother, told FTW Outdoors that the encounter occurred Aug. 8, not far from the park’s North Entrance.

A ranger or bear management specialist eventually arrived and ordered everyone back to their vehicles, but the men apparently were not cited.

“I haven’t checked yet but I might have dash cam video that shows the ranger coming through and turning around, but I don’t believe he personally talked to or did anything with those crazy people,” Dent said.

In Yellowstone, tourists are responsible for their own safety. But they’re sometimes cited and prosecuted if their actions are determined to represent animal harassment.

Grizzly cubs definite stars of this Yellowstone ‘bear jam’

Brand new grizzly bear cubs were the obvious stars of a recent Yellowstone “bear jam” alongside a highway in the park’s northern range.

During a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park I was fortunate to have discovered a vantage point from which to observe a budding grizzly bear family at fairly close range.

The first video highlight shows two first-year cubs play fighting and momma grizzly stepping in with an affectionate head nudge.

(The footage, best viewed in full-screen, was captured safely from atop a steep embankment. Images are cropped, making the bears appear closer than they were.)

In the second clip, the same cubs discover the precarious nature of crossing a creek while trying to keep up with mom. (Cute bellyflops, anyone?)

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These were the first of several bears I would encounter during three days of exploration in the park’s northern range. I observed this family in early morning on Day 1 and in late afternoon on Day 2.

Momma bear foraged intently while the cubs mostly played and explored.

Naturally, the bears attracted crowds of tourists who jammed the highway. People rushed from vehicles to find vantage points and gaze at the bears with binoculars, zoom lenses, viewing scopes, and cellphone cameras.

A park bear management specialist explained that momma bears sometimes guide cubs close to roads to keep them safe from aggressive male bears. Male bears, known to kill cubs in the hope of mating with momma bears, tend to steer clear of park highways.

Grizzly cubs on a “time out” as mom inspects something nearby. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

The cubs of the year (COYs) were tiny, born during mom’s hibernation, likely in late January or early February.

Momma bear did not appear concerned about threats from the forest or the highway. Her cubs would run off for brief periods, but always scampered back to the safety zone that she represented.

At one point, as momma bear inspected something in the bushes, the pesky cubs were placed in what resembled a “time out” on a smooth rock.

Grizzly cubs nurse between play periods. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

In a touching moment during the first sighting, in smoky morning light, momma bear called the cubs into her embrace to nurse.

More than an hour into the second sighting, with dusk settling and the bear jam having reached absurd proportions, I decided to leave. (Bear management specialists were just beginning to “shut down” the viewing party.)

As I drove west, navigating around poorly parked vehicles, I looked down the embankment and saw the bears walking into cover. It was as if they had also experienced enough for one day.

–Images courtesy of ©Pete Thomas