Autumn Ram

Fall colors provide the perfect backdrop to a magnificent Rocky Mountain Bighorn ram in Yellowstone National Park. Thanks so much for your views and comments!

Into the Fray!

We were all enjoying the elk show in front of us at Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park when a loud bugle caused me to turn around and see what was causing the ruckus. A bull elk had come over the ridge behind us, proceeded by his harem. He continued to call and moved them across the road and into the meadow where the other bulls we jostling and jousting for superiority. All in all, quite entertaining!

My wife saw her first. We had just turned around at the Two Oceans Lake trailhead and were headed back down the muddy road with the same name. Earlier we had been a part of a bear jam that witnessed Bear 610 and her two cubs up among the aspen trees (they never really came out for a clear photo op) and decided to move on. This young sow was rooting around looking for tasty morsels and actually got quite close to our jeep. She never seemed bothered or upset by us or the other vehicles that began to gather around. The gentleman in front of us gave us his opinion (he appeared to be knowledgeable about the bears and said he did wildlife photo workshops in the area) that the only reason that 610 tolerated this one's presence so close to her current set of cubs was that she was one of her cubs from 2011. I explained to him that I had been in the park in 2011 and was able to capture 399 with her three cubs. He then said that 399 lost one of her cubs right after my previous visit and 610 "adopted" that one and cared for her. Could this be one of the cubs that I saw four years ago and now was all grown up and ready to carry on the traditions of 399 and 610? No one really knows for sure, but I like to think that this is one of those cute little cubs I saw. In any event she is a beautiful young grizzly and I love the way her fur looks in the morning rain.

Whaddya mean......chubby?!?

I'm a big fan of prairie dogs. Besides their cuteness (obvious here), they provide an important food source for many different species of wildlife. This one has been getting for winter (also obvious here) by gorging on the abundant nearby grasses and other goodies.

Troublesome Trio

My favorite photo of our 2020 Black Hills trip. This trio of chipmunks was scurrying about on a deadfall late one evening. Out of a sequence of about twenty images, this was the only one where all three ere completely in the frame. Lucky for me they all had their heads up in this one shot.

Best Buds