Category Archives: Wildlife
Who is Grizzly Bear #610?
A video compilation of Grizzly Bear #610 in the final spring with her first set of grizzly bear cubs.
Grizzly Bear #610 of Grand Teton National Park began her life in the shadow of her already beloved mother, #399. Between 2006 and 2008, she was merely referred to as, "one of the cubs." Having achieved enormous adoration from Jackson Hole, Wyoming and well beyond, the inevitable time came for #399 to ween off her cubs and let them go live on their own.
The male of the group, #587, was last seen living well in the Gros Ventre Mountains, east of Jackson Hole. #615 and #610 were the two females working together to aid in their survival that following summer and fall. #615 however was shot that fall by a hunter, leaving #610 on her own. That following spring, #610 was seen frequenting many of the same areas her mother … Continue reading
How I Shot It – Mountain Lion With Kittens
Mountain lion kittens sit cautiously next to their mother in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
This isn’t so much a post about the technical aspects of how I got this shot so much as it is a reminder to listen to your intuition. A lot of people confuse intuition with overthinking a certain situation. Intuition does not come with weighing the pros and the cons, nor does it come with analyzing options. It is usually referred to as a gut instinct that often requires you to change your plans to fully experience the true outcome of what it is it’s calling you to.
Such was the case when I got this photo of a mountain lion mother with her two, nearly grown, kittens. (On a side note, it’s been suggested multiple times that these are three kittens. In the tracks I had found that morning, as well as the next … Continue reading
12 Favorite Photos from 2012
As always, clicking on an image will bring you to a higher quality version.
January
Hoar frost clings to trees along the Snake River on a chilly January morning in Grand Teton National Park.
Despite a lack of wildlife to be found around the area, I was still able to make great opportunities as they arose. The winter had turned into an unusually warm one for Jackson Hole and while normally it’s too cold to even snow, rain was becoming common throughout January. Yet winter still persisted off and on. On one such morning, I woke up to -17F and made an opportunity to make the most of it. One of my favorite series of shots came from a bridge crossing the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. Small pieces of ice were carried down the water from farther upstream as an earlier fog coated the trees that lined … Continue reading
Why America Needs More Predators
A black wolf roams near Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
There has always been a voice in the United States that has never liked predator species. In the past, this voice was so strong and powerful that they virtually eliminated all but the most elusive predators from the lower 48, excluding black bears. Once many other predators were gone by the 1930′s, black bears’ numbers began to steadily grow thanks to being spared the wrath of hatred. In addition, in the absence of large predators, even animals like coyotes, whom had only called the mountain regions of the west home, began to explore other regions of the continent. They can now can be found in just about every state across the country, just as their relative, the wolf, once had been.
In 1995, wolves became the subject of enormous controversy, and rather than subsiding once a healthier ecosystem … Continue reading
Grizzly Bear Controversy from the Grand Teton National Park Elk Hunt
Grizzly Bear #399 emerges from behind a spruce tree in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
The annual Grand Teton National Park Elk Reduction Hunt has been the subject of controversy for a number of years now, but following the death of a male grizzly along the Snake River, tensions began to escalate between a growing movement of people opposing the hunt, and the park itself.
The hunt has become something of a joke to those who oppose it. They certainly have credence given that many "hunters" can be seen parked along the roadsides south of Blacktail Butte as they sit in their cars with the heater on waiting for elk to wander by, then fire at will as soon as a small herd passes through. Along these lines, I tend to agree with the opposition to the hunt. This behavior is in no way representative of actual hunting. In this … Continue reading
Protecting Our Natural Treasures
A black wolf wanders the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Wolves are a controversial subject no matter which way you look at it. I can’t even mention "wolf" on my Facebook page without seeing comments erupting into the comment feed about how much they’re destroying the planet, causing global warming, and will be the future cause of the Sun going supernova. The subject reached an escalated tension once wolves were removed from the Endangered Species List, which then opened them up to legal (and illegal) hunting.
Perhaps wolves should not be on the Endangered Species List though, nor even grizzly bears. Instead, such animals would be much more suited to be on a Revered Species List, ensuring protection of them in the same manner that a national park protects the peaks and surrounding areas of the Teton Mountains and the Yosemite Valley. An accurate understanding of wildlife was … Continue reading
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