Month: November 2016

I’m afraid none of the photographs I took after seeing the grizzly bears and the white wolf will top those earlier shots. Indeed, the grizzly and fox may well have been the highlight of my photographic career. Somehow, though, I managed to continue snapping the shutter on my many cameras throughout the rest of our vacation.

Heck, I enjoyed the antics of this raven that joined onlookers watching the wolf eat the last of her catch. I think it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to a Raven, and that was a thrill in its own right.

Later, as we were driving towards The Grand Tetons, Leslie told me to pull over and see what the large white bird was floating down the river. It was a beautiful Swan,

which looked as beautiful as it did before I spotted the white wolf.

This Bull Elk standing in the open beside the road

seemed magnificent even as it disappeared into the woods.

Thank goodness beauty takes many forms.

If I hadn’t met a wolf researcher on my way out of Yellowstone, I would probably think yesterday’s shots of the Grizzly were my best wildlife shots. When I saw the researcher with a spotting scope, I walked over and asked what he was looking for. When he said that he was watching for a wolf pack, I mentioned that I had taken shots of a white and gray wolf a few miles from Old Faithful the day before.

When he saw the shots I had taken, he got excited and said researchers had been looking for this wolf for months but had been unable to find her. He asked if I would send him a shot of her and of the gray wolf accompanying her. He said I was extremely lucky to see the wolf, much less get photos of her. After that, I was convinced that these must have been my best wildlife shots.

I only got a few shots of the grey wolf because it left while the white wolf continued to eat.

The wolf spent a long time gulping bits of meat

before walking up the hill carrying a large bone.

After finishing her meal, she made one more attempt to prove to the gathering of tourists that she was a healthy wolf,

and after a brief pause continued up the hill licking her chops.

As she disappeared from sight, she howled, apparently calling to the her companion who had wandered off while she finished her meal. It was a reminder that this was wilderness, even surrounded by 50 people as desperate as I was to escape “civilization.”

Never underestimate the power of karma. I decided to pull over and let the driver behind me pass. I’d only planned to pause slightly, but when I pulled to the edge of the road Leslie told me to stop and back up.

She had spotted a Grizzly.

Unfortunately, I missed seeing it stand up on its hind legs to peer at us, but I was delighted to photograph it walking away.

It even paused slightly to look at me as I walked up the road. It was just near enough that my 560mm lens nearly filled up the viewfinder and not so close that I worried about not being able to get back to the car if it started heading my way.

No need to worry, though, as it disappeared into its ancient forest after a quick glance.

We got even closer to a grizzly on our way out the next day. It was so close that I kept two or three people between me it.

By the time we arrived there must have been ten or so people out of their cars trying to get a shot. Some even seemed determined to follow it into the woods.

I wasn’t one of those.

I wanted to photograph the animals, not harass them and I still enjoying being alive.