yellowstone – Syndication Server

Yellowstone landscape is pretty, but can you spot the bear?

During the summer bears roamed the Yellowstone landscape, but weren’t always easy to see. Image will test your spotting skills.

*Editor’s note: A version of this post was published by ForTheWin earlier this year.

Bears in Yellowstone National Park are hibernating, but during the summer they were spread across the landscape and often visible from roads and trails.

But they weren’t always easy to see, and one Montana-based hiking guide used an image he captured from above the Lamar River to test his social-media followers’ spotting skills.

“I’ve been told my more recent ‘Find the Animal Friday’ posts have been way too easy,” Douglas Scott stated via X. “This one is a little more challenging.”

Can you spot the black bear? Photo: Douglas Scott

Scott allowed the use of his image for this post, so we’re also challenging readers: Can you spot the black bear in the images posted above? (Answer below.)

Hint: It’s a difficult quiz and there are several shadows that might be mistaken for the bear.

Scott, who runs The Outdoor Society, told me that he captured the image June 21 “on a perfectly clear day” in the park’s northern range.

“It was definitely a fun spot as my client was amazed I saw it so easily from so far away,” Scott recalled.

His X followers offered several guesses but in the hours after his post only one had pinpointed the bear’s location.

When I guessed, Scott informed me that I had found “the shadow of a tree.”

Another guess was met with the reply: “Unfortunately, you are incorrect. You most definitely found a non-animal shadow though!”

Yellowstone is remarkable in that visitors often see bears up close or in the distance, especially if they’re patient and use binoculars or spotting scopes.

They might also capture a landscape image and later realize that a critter is visible in the image.

In 2023, for example, I was watching bears on one side of a highway and turned to snap an image of a coyote in transit on the other side of the highway.

When I got back to my hotel room and began to inspect my images, I discovered that a smaller animal was visible, paying close attention to the coyote.

As for the black bear photographed by Scott, it’s much easier to spot in a zoomed-in version posted immediately below.

Zoomed-in version shows black bear’s location. Photo: Douglas Scott

Immediately below is an image with the bear pinpointed with an arrow.

Black bear location. Photo: Douglas Scott

As for Yellowstone bears, they’ll begin to emerge from hibernation as early as late March.

As Yellowstone bears sleep, park warns of another dangerous critter

Yellowstone National Park elaborates that just because bears are hibernating, visitors should keep bear spray handy.

Yellowstone National Park this week cautioned that while most bears are hibernating, winter visitors should still carry bear spray.

That’s because mountain lions, or cougars, are active year-round in the park.

“Though these big cats are extremely elusive and averse to human activity, you should always take care when recreating in the park — even in the winter,” the park explained via Instagram. “Carry bear spray and keep it handy, not inside your pack.

“If you see a cougar, ACT BIG! Yell, show your teeth, and make eye contact.”

Yellowstone cougar keeps watch from tree. Photo: NPS/Connor Meyer

Biologists estimate that as many as 42 cougars inhabit the park’s northern range, and that other cougars enter the park sporadically.

MORE OUTDOORS: Yellowstone grizzly bear makes snow angels

For comparison, the park is home to about 125 wolves, which are also active year-round.

But wolves, although they can be elusive, reside in packs and are more predictable, in terms of revealing their locations, than mountain lions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ7wIOxjgIl/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

From the park website: “Wolves are not normally a danger to humans, unless humans habituate them by providing them with food. No wolf has attacked a human in Yellowstone.”

Cougar encounters, while extremely rare, do occur.

In February 2022, Yellowstone Wolf Tracker shared distant footage showing a large cougar rising from its resting spot and exiting the frame. (Video posted above.)

The ecotour company exclaimed: “Low-quality video but a high-quality sighting!”

Cougars prey mostly on deer and elk, but also small mammals such as marmots.

According to the park’s website, bears and wolves sometimes displace cougars from their kills, and wolf packs have been known to kill adult cougars and cougar kittens.

The park adds that “very few documented confrontations between cougars and humans have occurred in Yellowstone.”

But it’s best to be prepared.

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‘Idiot’ nearly takes fatal jump in Bryce Canyon National Park

Video shows a man leaping over a lookout railing and falling backward upon landing, then sliding toward the edge of a cliff.

Editor’s Note: A version of this post was first published on Aug. 11, 2022.

“Touron” is a word created by combining tourist and moron, and is defined as someone who does something stupid while on vacation. In Yellowstone National Park, for instance, tourons are constantly getting too close to bison, some with disastrous results.

Well, stupidity isn’t solely reserved for Yellowstone, as one touron in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah proved.

TouronsOfYellowstone’s Instagram page posted video of a tourist leaping over a lookout railing and falling backwards upon landing, and sliding to the edge of a cliff. Had he kept sliding a couple more feet or so, he’d have met his demise.

“I don’t normally post two non-Yellowstone tourons in a row, but this guy is a real IDIOT and I couldn’t help myself,” the post reads. “First Bryce Canyon post I’ve ever done, I think.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cg_HazAl-IF/

“Considering that this occurred at one of the park’s most popular viewpoints and dislodged rocks onto the heavily trafficked Navajo Loop below, we are extremely thankful that no serious injuries occurred,” park spokesman Peter Densmore said in a statement, according to KSL.com.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Can you spot the leopard? Photographer barely spotted it in time.

Densmore stated that dangerous behavior “puts everyone at unnecessary risk…Signs, barriers and regulations are in place for the safety of all of our visitors and the protection of this special place.”

Densmore also called the behavior “relatively uncommon” at Bryce Canyon National Park, and said the majority of visitors “recreate responsibly.”

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Weary Yellowstone bear shown ‘tucking self in’ for hibernation

Footage shows a very sleepy black bear gathering extra bedding material before resuming its long winter nap.

The Yellowstone Safari Company on Saturday shared heartwarming footage showing a sleepy black bear gathering material just outside its den before resuming its long winter nap.

“Have you ever seen a bear tuck themself in for their winter hibernation?” guide Grant T. Johnson asked via Instagram. (Footage posted below.)

Johnson explained that his group was “very lucky” to have encountered the bear Friday as it emerged to seek extra insulation material in the form of twigs and other debris.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDE-_BCp3Yn/

The guide explained: “Bears aren’t true hibernators, in the most technical sense of the term, but rather enter a state of torpor, or extreme inactivity, in the winter. Still, it’s unusual to see them emerge from their dens at all once they tuck in during autumn.

“Sleep well, little buddy, and we’ll see you in the spring.”

According to Yellowstone National Park, most bears have entered their dens by mid-November, “although some males remain active through December before hibernating.”

Bears in the Greater Yellowstone area typically begin to emerge from their dens in early February, and most bears have left their dens by early May.

Male bears tend to abandon their dens much earlier than female bears with cubs.

Can you spot Yellowstone grizzly bear family on the move?

In Yellowstone National Park, a distant view of grizzly bears can be as satisfying as an up-close roadside view – if you can spot them.

–Editor’s note: A version of this post was first published in June 2024, after the author’s annual spring trip to Yellowstone National Park.

In Yellowstone National Park, a distant view of grizzly bears can be as satisfying as an up-close roadside view because it requires a keen eye and the animals are in more of a natural setting.

Can you spot the momma grizzly bear and her three cubs in the image I captured in late May, from a hillside opposite the Lamar Valley? (Answer at the bottom of the post.)

Can you spot the grizzly bear and three cubs? Photo: ©Pete Thomas

The bears had been grazing on both sides of the highway and creating sporadic traffic jams, or “bear jams,” whenever they were been visible.

MORE OUTDOORS: Mystery animal near Yellowstone likely one of area’s rarest creatures

Momma bear was with first-year cubs, or cubs of the year, born during the winter hibernation period. The curious little ones did not stray far from mom while I watched from a distance of 100-plus yards.

Same grizzly bears in different image. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

During this sighting the bears ascended a hillside opposite the valley after being run off by a bison herd in a meadow surrounded by sagebrush.

(Momma bear was so preoccupied with foraging, with her head down, that she did not seem to notice how closely she was leading her cubs to several bison and their newborn calves.)

The bears were too far for me to capture a detailed image with my 400-millimeter lens, but I’ve attached a cropped version of a different image from the same sighting that shows the bears in more detail.

The bears in the top images used for the quiz are circled below.

Grizzly bear family circled in red. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

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Mystery animal near Yellowstone likely one of area’s rarest critters

Dash-cam footage shows the animal – likely a wolverine – bounding across a snowy road just outside Yellowstone National Park.

A Montana photographer on Tuesday shared blurry dash-cam footage showing a low-profiled animal bounding across a snow-covered road just outside Yellowstone National Park.

Trent Sizemore, based in West Yellowstone, theorized via Facebook that the critter was a wolverine:

“It was dark in color, had a noticeable tail, was the size of a small wolf, but much lower to the ground. It loped across the road more like a wolverine than a wolf.”

(Click here to view footage if video player doesn’t appear below.)

https://www.facebook.com/sizemorefineart/videos/457324234047166

That would represent one of the rarest animal sightings to occur in or near Yellowstone National Park.

The stocky carnivores are solitary and extremely elusive, and only a handful are believed to reside in a greater Yellowstone region that includes vast swaths of Montana and Wyoming.

A verified wolverine sighting was documented inside the park in March 2022, also in the snow, by the tour group Yellowstone Insight. (Click here to view images from that encounter.)

In January 2021, the park shared month-old trail-cam footage showing a wolverine loping across the snow.

The park stated: “Park biologists were excited to find one of Yellowstone’s rarest mammals triggered a remote trail camera outside the Mammoth Hot Springs area!”

That was the first wolverine footage captured by a trail camera inside the park.

Generic wolverine image courtesy of Wikipedia

West Yellowstone is just outside the park’s West Entrance. Sizemore told the Cowboy State Daily that he was driving his wife to work at 7:30 a.m. when the animal crossed in front of their vehicle.

“My first thought was it was either a coyote or a black wolf,” Sizemore said. “But it was loping across the road, too low to the ground to be a wolf, and I realized it might be a wolverine.”

Sizemore shared the footage with Cat Wood, a biologist who studied wolverines in Alaska. She told the Cowboy State Daily that the animal is likely a wolverine.

“It’s called a loping gallop,” Wood said of a gait that is “very specific to wolverines.”

If, in fact, it was a wolverine, it would represent a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. But Sizemore, of course, would love to get a another look at the animal in more favorable conditions.

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Bison fight showcases ‘strength and resilience’ of iconic critters

On National Bison Day comes a video reminder, courtesy of Yellowstone National Park, of the awesome power of these legendary beasts.

The U.S. Department of the Interior on Saturday informed social-media followers that National Bison Day is a time to “celebrate this majestic symbol of strength and resilience.”

With that in mind, below is an extraordinary clip that showcases the strength of one adult male bison – and resilience of another – as it clears its rival from a highway by knocking him briefly airborne. (Keep in mind that adult male bison can weigh 2,000 pounds.)

https://www.facebook.com/YellowstoneNPS/videos/335962277579050

The footage, captured during mating season through a vehicle window, was shared by Yellowstone National Park in 2020, along with the warning: “Remember to always keep your distance — 25 yards from bison and elk; 100 yards from all other wildlife.”

(Click here if video player does not appear above.)

While commemorating National Bison Day, the U.S. Department of the Interior boasted that, in a collaborative effort with tribes and states, the agency manages 11,000 bison in 19 herds across 12 states. (Yellowstone is home to nearly 5,000 bison.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DB3ucq2xXJk/

The department continued: “This magnificent animal joins the ranks of the bald eagle as the official symbol of our country — and much like the eagle, it’s a symbol of our American identity and one of the greatest conservation success stories of all time.”

The department concluded with its own humorous warning to tourists, alluding to the unpredictability of massive animals that are not always as docile as they appear to be: “And as a reminder: Don’t pet the fluffy cow.”

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Can you spot the Yellowstone elk in striking ‘moonset’ image?

Photo shared by Yellowstone National Park features a lone elk that may or may not be easy for viewers to locate.

Yellowstone National Park, five years ago this month, shared a striking image captured at sunrise, showing the moon setting behind a barren slope, informing Facebook followers that they’d earn “bonus points” if they could spot the elk.

Can you spot the elk in the accompanying image? (Answer below.)

The image was captured in late October, when as many as 20,000 elk inhabit the park, before the winter migration.

Can you spot the elk in this autumn sunrise image? Photo: Yellowstone National Park

The time frame coincides with the end of the rut, or mating season, which occurs primarily in the park’s northern range.

For some who posted in the comments section, locating the elk appeared to have been easy, while at least one person claimed success only after increasing the image size.

“Found the elk, but do you give bonus points if I had to blow it up to find it?” the follower joked.

The image was captured at Mammoth Hot Springs in the northwestern portion of the park.

The moon is setting behind Sepulcher Mountain (9,642 feet) between Electric Peak (10,969 feet) and Mammoth Hot Springs, a famous elk gathering spot.

If you haven’t already located the elk, the answer is provided in the image posted below.

Lone elk shown below mountain ridge at sunrise. Photo: Yellowstone National Park

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Yellowstone coyote clearly visible, but can you spot the other critter?

Coyote in Yellowstone National Park is being closely watched by another mammal. Can you spot the critter in the image?

Editor’s note: This is a version of a post first published by For The Win Outdoors in 2023.

A bit of advice for anyone visiting Yellowstone National Park: While searching for wildlife, always take a moment to glance behind you.

It could be rewarding even if you’re already observing large animals.

The accompanying images show a coyote that I photographed in May 2023 while standing near a road with other tourists watching a cinnamon black bear and two cubs.

The bears were down a forested slope, perhaps 80 yards from the road. The coyote was behind us, on the opposite side of the road, passing virtually unnoticed about 40 yards away.

Yellowstone coyote being watched by mystery critter. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

I didn’t realize until that evening that a smaller critter was also in the image, watching the coyote. Can you spot and ID the critter? (Answer below.)

While coyotes aren’t high on many tourists’ spotting lists, I found it interesting that this coyote was on the move so close to people who were looking in the opposite direction.

ALSO: Tiger, cobra square off in rarely witnessed encounter; video

On the same trip, also in Yellowstone’s northern range, I was with perhaps 30 tourists watching another black bear descending a slope toward the road.

Cinnamon-colored black bear in Yellowstone National Park. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

People jockeyed for spots from which to observe or photograph the bruin.

Directly behind us, high atop a rocky peak, mountain goats maneuvered in and out of sight.

Yellowstone black bear and cubs during close roadside encounter. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

On a different day, I was surprised at close range, while outside my vehicle, by a momma bear and two cubs. Momma bear gave me the stink eye until I slowly backed away, when she and her cubs resumed grazing.

Yellowstone coyote being watched closely by a ground squirrel. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

My sightings log for three days: 14 individual bears, the coyote and ground squirrel (see photo above), the mountain goats, and dozens of pronghorn and bison.

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Grizzly bear den with a view? Cool facts about bruins’ winter homes

One den discovered two years ago housed a 600-pound grizzly bear and featured a sweeping view of the Idaho forest.

Two years ago the Idaho Department of Fish and Game joked about what grizzly bears consider while choosing den sites for the winter:

“The view of course!”

The remark on Facebook was in reference to a spacious den biologists discovered while searching for a 600-pound grizzly bear’s dropped research collar.

The collar’s signal led them to a high-altitude den site that featured a stunning view of the forest and a distant river or lake.

The accompanying images show the view and IDFG Officer Chris Johnson “enjoying the ample head room inside the bear’s den.”

Officer Chris Johnson at entrance to bear den. Photo: IDFG

(The bear was not present when the collar was retrieved.)

With another hibernation season close at hand, bears will soon stake out potential den sites or reclaim existing sites.

Den utilized by a 600-pound bear. Photo: IDFG

A sampling of facts about bear dens, courtesy of the National Park Service, referring mainly to bears within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which includes Yellowstone National Park:

–Den sites are typically located on north-facing slopes at elevations between 6,500 and 10,000 feet. “This is desirable in greater Yellowstone because prevailing southwest winds accumulate snow on the northerly slopes and insulate dens from sub-zero temperatures.”

–Grizzly bears typically excavate dens in 3-7 days, “moving up to a ton of material.” Chamber floors are covered with spruce boughs and forest debris, ensuring air pockets that help trap body heat. Chambers can measure seven feet in diameter.

–Den site openings are typically just large enough for bears to squeeze through. Small openings become snow-covered more quickly and help keep dens insulated.

–Bears typically enter dens for hibernation by mid-November, but male bears can be encountered outside dens well into December. Bears begin to emerge from their dens in February, but female bears with cubs often remain in or near their dens until late May.

–Bears experience a slower metabolism, and lower respiration and heart rates during hibernation. Their breathing, for example, can slow from 6-10 breaths per minute before hibernation to only one breath every 45 seconds during hibernation.

As for the den featured in the images, it was visited by grizzly bear biologist Jeremy Nicholson and IDFG Officers Johnson and Joe Heald. It’s not clear if the den site has been reused.