Lucky day in Yellowstone

2 wolves approaching elk carcass

A truly remarkable day.  We headed out in light snow to ski from the Canyon Visitor Center to Yellowstone Falls, an easy 3 mile ski trip in soft snow, deep, but with a skier track for us to follow.  The Falls are 308 feet high, with 62,000 gallons per second tumbling over them in the summer and about 5,000 gallons per minute in the winter.  It’s a beautiful sight with a large ice fall behind the roaring falls and Yellowstone Canyon deep below.

Yellowstone Canyon below Yellowstone Falls

Our second ski run was to the top of the Falls, which is pretty spectacular as well as you peer over the snow wall into the deep canyon below.  The Yellowstone River runs smoothly above until it hits the precipice that forms the Falls.  We looked for otters that inhabit the river above the Falls, but didn’t see any today, though we did find an otter playing under the snow banks farther up the river.  It was an elusive creature, but fun to watch briefly.

Yellowstone Falls in winter

Yellowstone Falls from above

We heard that there might be wolves around an elk carcass in the Hayden Valley, not too far from Yellowstone Canyon, so decided to check out those reports after we finished skiing.  And, we were well-rewarded.  There were 2 wolves feeding at the carcass, pretty far away, but still visible as they fought with ravens who also wanted to enjoy the carcass and then chased away 2 hungry coyotes.  The coyotes are no match for the wolves as they are much smaller and also a good meal for the wolf pack.  I was pretty excited to get any wolf shot with my camera, but I focused on a rock near the carcass and, happily, found that the wolves showed up in my photos.

Wolf and ravens in stand-off

It’s rare that you get to see an ermine in Yellowstone in the winter since they are small and white with just a black tip on their tails.  But, today, one ran right in front of our snow coach so we got a glimpse of this beautiful little creature, though he was way too fast for our cameras. 

Next came the otter and then 2 bald eagles, sitting high in the tops of dead trees.  They are very large birds who prey on smaller water birds in the winter and fish in the summer.  In the winter, the fish are loggy and slow-moving, so the eagles can’t see them very well as motion is what catches their eye.  But, ducks and geese are good alternatives and there are plenty of both.

Bald Eagle on Madison River

In the geyser basins, there are always plenty of bison, at least 100 today.  As we drove along the snowy road, we came upon one alarmingly thin bison bull.  We saw that his hind leg was broken, poor thing, so he couldn’t move very fast and obviously couldn’t get enough to eat.  The bison plant their legs and move the snow off the grass that is often 3 or 4 feet below the surface of the snow with powerful swings of their huge heads.  This poor bull couldn’t plant his feet because of his injured leg, so certainly wasn’t getting enough food.  His life span will be short.  Very sad to see and so much a part of the wild life in the Park.