It was a day of horns beginning with one of the bighorn rams that like to hang out around Soda Butte. There are normally three of these big guys hanging out together. This week we only saw one but, that’s all you need to make a photograph…
The day was overcast and fairly warm, the wolf watchers were out in force and we were able to see the Agate Pack off in the distance. Not bothering to put our glass on them we simply watched for a few minutes until they moved off into trees before moving on.
A trip to the north entrance of the park yielded a small group of pronghorn. The male stopped to check us out before moving on. I just love the way they blend into their environment. Notice his coloring compared to the surroundings…
After a quick lunch in Gardiner we headed back up the canyon in search of the bighorns that regularly hang out in the area and were not disappointed as we found three males vying for a females attention. While it’s not mating season, the ranger explained to us last week that this female likely did not take last fall and was most likely in heat again. I found this very interesting and will have to research it further when I get home. Meanwhile, we enjoyed the action for several hours while the dominant male kept the other two rams at bay.
It was quite exciting to see what is normally fall rut behavior playing out hundreds of feet above us…
They mostly stood on what to us is very precarious cliffs staring each other down but, every once in awhile, one of the rams would dart in trying to get to the ewe while the big guy chased them off giving us quite a show…
We spent the remaining afternoon enjoying the show, marveling at the way they could stand one such small footholds. They certainly are creatures of the cliffs…
It was a perfect ending to week number to in Yellowstone. Stay tuned…I’m in Yellowstone for one more week and can hardly wait to share the wildness and beauty with my next group!
Images, captured with Nikon D3S, AF-S 600mm, TC-14E II, D3X, AF-S 70-200mm, TC-17E II on Lexar digital Media.