Welcome to part two of my Springtime in Yellowstone photo/blog post. In this installment, I have included Fox Kits, Badger Cubs, a beautiful little 3-day-old moose, and more.
In part one, I gushed about the immense beauty, incredible ecosystem, and diversity of wildlife found in Yellowstone. I won’t bore you with any more of that but I will say that Yellowstone is a natural wonder that one needs to experience and explore.
Thank you for your interest and please enjoy…
Foxes
Those who read my Fox Tail story know of my affinity for the Fox. It took three days to find a Fox in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. In Yellowstone, they are a much more frequent sighting.
We made a couple of trips and spent a fair amount of time waiting at this Fox den for the Kits to emerge. Wildlife photography takes patience with long waits (sometimes hours) followed by moments of exhilarated excitement that make it all worth it. When these Kits came out the wait was forgotten.
We ran into this beautiful Vixen on the way up the Beartooth Highway. She was sitting in the middle of the road with a gopher in her mouth. As we pulled over and stopped, she dropped her gopher and ran toward us. This could only be a learned behavior from being fed by people. As grateful as I was to get these pictures, I have a feeling things will not end well for this wonderful little Fox.
Badgers
As with the foxes it took multiple trips and a lot of time to capture these Badger images. We would see the mother Badger emerge from her den, running into the woods to return a short time later with a ground squirrel or something in her jaws to feed her young. Just as we were ready to give up and leave the momma Badger appeared and with a little coaxing, brought her cub out into the light.
Moose
Moose sightings were proving to be elusive. Thanks to Max’s(*) many years of guiding in the park and the numerous contacts he has developed over that time we received a tip that a mother and newborn were sited outside the northeast corner of the park in the Cook City area. What an amazing experience this was. The calf was just a few days old and still very wobbly on her long legs. The calf would occasionally call to its mother with a sweet little cry that sounded like a weak little “bleeet”. It was a heart-melting, awe-inducing moment
* Max Waugh Photography. Our guide for this trip.
Gallery
For part 3, I believe I have saved the best for last.
Thanks again – br
@BRImages23 all rights reserved.
Bill….the Beautiful Vixen is indeed beautiful…such an old soul! Her kits are also…. I love their big bushy tails…I especially love the pic of the three kit…the one on he left with it’s tail sticking straight out…what a hoot!!! The money shot…The Vien bringing home the bacon…as it were. I love her face. I love the tan around her eyes…she is so expressive. It’s sad to think what might happen to her as she waits on the road for handouts.
The momma badger and her cub…..incredible! They are shy animals to begin with…but to expose her cub seems unnatural. I encountered a badger in the Chewuch River (in the Methow Valley) I was camped on the west side of the river several miles north of Lake Perrigin, with a few fishing buddies. It was dark. I had to pee. I moved away from the fire…and it was instantly soooo dark! I was close to the riverbank when I heard thrashing around in the water. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, so I could see the river with clarity. It was spawning season. A badger had caught a Chinook Salmon…it was not at all interested in me…but I backed away because I could see it’s claws…they looked to be about 2” long. We camped for three days there. I never saw the badger again, but we did find mutilated salmon carcasses along the bank, indicating he had a great feast!
The baby moose is adorable…such a sweet little face. I am thrilled you got to hear it “bleeet”…it sounds like a very magical moment. Seeing it stand behind it’s mother is a striking contrast! Really…some great shots!
Your ending shots are stunning…especially the waterfall and rainbow!!! Oh….and that Bear paw!!!!!!
Thanks for sharing this trip with us!!
Thanks again Suezy – I’m so glad you enjoyed it.