yellowstone
a nature paradise

Mammals, birds
and flowers

click on a photo to start Lightbox, that lets you see the series of photos one after the other in a bigger size, plus legend.
 

More big herbivores

Elk

Besides the bison, several other big vegetarians populate Yellowstone. Probably the most numerous of these are the Elk or Wapiti. We saw several small groups of elk, always composed of female and juvenile animals. The largest group was keeping its siesta on the village green of Mammoth. Park Rangers were keeping curious passers-by at bay, because mothers with children can always get tricky when facing people that get too nosey. Nevertheless, we could take a few nice family pics.
a young elk, losing its winter hide elk with identification collar this seems a pretty comfy coat a young elk family siesta on Mammoth's village green this one already has a summer coat cosily resting in the shade the young one is restless... elk at the roadside near Togwotee Mr Elk, showing off near the Lower falls
We only saw one male, giving a solo performance at Uncle Tom's Point near the Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River. Here also, a Ranger assured that tourists kept a safe distance from the imposing animal that was quietly ruminating next to the quite busy parking that gives access to the falls.
Later on, we saw another elk bull on the Grand Teton flats. (Cervus canadensis)
go back to day 2 / go back up     

Pronghorn

One of the fastest mammals around is the Pronghorn (Gaffelbok). With our limited knowledge, we suppose we saw several females of the Pronghorn in Lamar Valley. (Antilocapra americana)
a young pronghron Pronghorns browsing around

Bighorn sheep

Early on our second day in the Park, we encountered a couple of Bighorn sheep. At that moment, we already started to suspect that the Park service pays some of the trusted specimens of several iconic species to be present near tourist spots, be it not too conspicuously. This couple of bighorns would certainly fall into this category... Innocently looking for tasty herbs at some ten meters from where we were looking at the landscape near Tower falls. (Ovis canadensis)
Bighorn sheep Bighorn ram Bighorn ewe
go back to day 2 / go back up