Album Wildlife

I didn't know bears ate grass. That explains all the strange crap piles I saw in the La Sals on Saturday. On the return hike after summiting Mt. Waas, about a quarter-mile from the trailhead I ran into a mama and her cub (I'm guessing a yearling?). My bro-in-law and I just stood there, probably less than 100 yards away, and observed for a bit. When the mama eventually noticed us it was a pretty intense moment--she just stared at us, unmoving. Then each bear darted off in opposite directions with the trail in the middle, so we still couldn't get past without coming between them. The mama finally stopped, turned around, and ran back toward where the cub had disappeared into the trees, allowing us to high-tail it back to the Jeep.

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Those are perfect examples of how hard it can be to ID a grizzly vs a black bear. Especially in the heat of the moment, if I saw that sow in Yellowstone I'd be totally confused. From the side on that top picture, you can see the long face like a black bear, but it almost makes me think there's a small shoulder hump. And from the head on picture, you can see the tall ears like a black bear, but the face looks more concave at that angle. And, of course, the color...
 
Some digested grass in Salt Creek a month ago.
- DAA
Nice, almost likes like grass filled horse manure.... Master-level tracking technique would have given extra credence to a magnified scat dissection image and, better yet, the tracker's taste, touch and smell impressions. Just sayin... :cool:
 
I did dissect, inspect closely and smell. Did not document the process though and of course I'm getting old and lazy so I skipped the tasting protocol altogether :D.

- DAA
 
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Found momma sitting on her children all night in the gutter of the library parking lot. When I arrived at sunrise they were all heating up.

Here she is calmly protecting the family after a long, dark night.9CFEECB7-D2FC-4F4D-80D1-187A743ADAAC.png

One peanut decided he had enough under there.killdeerFamily 2.png

Then all of them decided they wanted out.
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I'm hungry. Time to practice hunting...
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Great work Rye. I love the owls. Presumably they were captured on Antelope Island ???
 

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