Last summer we saw many amazing places and lots of wildlife. Some were expected and others were a complete surprise. The first surprise was spotting a young bighorn sheep in Zion National Park. In Rocky Mountain NP we saw elk. Driving in Wyoming I had to stop the car to get pictures of a herd of antelope.
In Yellowstone we were hiking on a trail and had to walk by that big bison. Being that close did make me a little nervous. After all, he was definitely a wild animal. Further north in Glacier NP is where we saw the adorable young mountain goat sticking close to mom. On the same hike to Hidden Lake we saw the furry little marmot. Legend has that they will eat anything they can sink their teeth into.
It wasn’t until we got to Canada’s Glacier Waterton NP when we finally saw bear. It’s hard to tell from the photo whether this is a brown bear or a grizzly. A brown bear’s nose is fairly straight and a grizzly bear has a more rounded nose. It’s hard to tell from the photo which it is and I stuck to using my telephoto lens instead of getting closer. And finally we saw caribou near Jasper Alberta. They are huge!
I am always happy when I can photograph animals in the wild and feel fortunate when I spot them. When asked why I’m an environmentalist who wants to save habitats, these photos are my answer. One of my favorite presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, recognized that states cannot be trusted to save the land and protect it from commercial exploitation. I abhor what’s going on in the West with a few people who feel the federal government has no right to protect land for future generations.
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