A Wild Ride: Wilderness Expedition

Well, we've started our first week of class.  It's been a great start so far - a little bit of class, natural history, risk management, process of programming, and of course, getting outside and HIKING!  I can talk about what we've done the past three days, however, I think Day Four's Day should be discussed first! :) By far, the one of the best days of my life!

So this morning, we went on a 7:00AM MST tour with TSS' Wildlife Expeditions tours.  So besides the Graduate Program, environmental education programming, their K-12 Journey's School, and the Conservation Research & Teacher Learning Center, Teton Science School also offers Wildlife Expeditions.  Wildlife Expeditions are these phenomenal tours where naturalist guides will take you out and locate and observe some of the outstanding and special wildlife around the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

So our three guides, Kevin, Jared, and Paul met us at the Kelly Campus and took us to go scope out some big mammals in these awesome observation vans.  These vans have huge windows great for viewing animals from inside when danger lurks, and have these awesome roof viewing holes where you can observe from inside the van but getting a higher view of the land.

Good Morning!  From the Grand Tetons!

The morning was a little on the crisp side, roughly 50 degrees F, and they had us wake up mad early to grab some breakfast and be in the vans by 7am.  The sunrise was yet again, beyond beautiful and there was a low fog at the base of the Teton Range which looked like the mountains were floating in the clouds!  So pretty!

So we set off down Ditch Creek Road, and of course, you cannot go five minutes without seeing BISON (Bison bison)!  I really love these animals, even though they are highly dangerous if you get in their space, they are pretty remarkable creatures.  The are part of the Bovidae family and our largest land mammal in North America.  Out guide Kevin explained that there are more than 3,900+ bison located in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  

Found in grasslands and right now, found amongst the sagebrush, they primarily graze on grasses and sedges.  Their massive hump on their back helps support the strong muscles; not to mention they are pretty athletic (who would have thought) - they can also jump 6 ft.  Kevin showed us a back vertebrae of a bison.  This bone was crazy!  It was long - roughly 1-2 feet in length.  Can you imagine that?  Their vertebrae is clearly distinctive to them and I believe it helps create a strong back for when they plow through snow and carry themselves all across the grasslands of Wyoming.

We learned that this month into the next few is beginning their breeding season, which in turn means, Bison are going into Rut.  The males get pretty energetic and want to show off for their ladies, which in turn means we have to be pretty careful and cautious when we are around them. 

OH: SIDE NOTE: So yesterday morning, after breakfast before class, a HUGE STAMPEDE of bison came running through the entire Teton Science School Kelly Campus.  It was crazy!!!! I was in my cabin and all of a sudden, I heard and FELT rumbling!  I go outside and there is jump a few hundred brown, HUGE, bison just running down our hill and stampeded through campus.  They ran through the forest, down the hill, past my cabin, through campus, around the dining lodge, and around the main lodge, and then second rounding it towards Ditch Creek Road.  It was crazy!  I wish I got a video of it to explain the craziness (and danger) they cause coming through campus.  Luckily no one was hurt, but it was something to remember and talk about!

Oh, Hello, Bison!  Do you see me?

We asked Kevin about what it means when you just see a lone bison in the field.  Kevin explained that a long bison, especially this time of year, usually means it's a male that is on the older side of age.  They are mostly scrounging around and looking for food - mostly in prep for the winter season.  They are probably too old to continue to breed and are just focused on prepping for the colder months.

They are pretty beautiful, aren't they?!

We also saw some Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus), the black-tailed counterpart to my friends back east, the White-Tailed Deer.  These are really cool and very different from the white-tails.  Mule Deer reside in areas from desert to forested habitats, but especially in mountain regions, and can be found in huge herds or by the handful or lonesome.

Distinguishing traits different from the White-Tail are that they have a black tip on their tail, larger ears, about 2/3 the length of their head and have a darker patch of fur on their forehead.  Another key trait is that the male antlers are incredibly different from the White-Tails.  The white-tail has one main antler beam from which the tines will branch off and rise vertically.  The Mule Deer have two main forks and branch into smaller forks (bifurcation). 

Two Male Mule Deer in the Sage Brush

As we drove along Antelope Flats Road, we also saw some Pronghorn (Antilocapra americanus).  These creatures are beyond interesting!!!  These animals are part of their own family, Antilocapridae.  They are the fastest mammal in North America, because at one point in time, North America used to have a North American Cheetah that would hunt on the pronghorn.  Since the Ice Age, the N. American Cheetahs have long been extinct.  However, these guys are still kicking around!  This is because they do well in extreme weather conditions, except deep snow.  

We also learned that Pronghorns break the rules between mammals that have antlers and horns.  Even though the Pronghorns have horns, which mean they would not fall off during their lives, in reality, both the males and females grow these horns and will shed them off annually after breeding season.  Crazy!

We then parked off the side of the road and walked up a hill to gaze at Blacktail Butte where the three guides had spotted some Black Bear (Ursus americanus) before picking us up.  So we went back to see if we could see them through some binoculars and scopes.  Sure enough, we spotted one trekking up the butte along an edge.  Kevin talked that this time of year is not only breeding season for many animals, but it's also a time where animals are getting ready for the cold, winter months.  He explained that the Black Bears are getting into hyperphagy (fast eating mode).  This means that the bears will ear up to 28,000 calories per day to develop enough fat to get them through the winter.  That's a lot of calories!  Black Bears are also a pretty omnivorous creature, however, they can have a diet that is solely consisting of berries or insects!  Imagine, 28,000 calories of bugs and larvae....Ew. haha!

We then headed into the Gros Ventre Campground in Kelly and we encountered two beautiful creatures.  I literally cried tears of happiness when I saw these two boys!  Just look at those racks!  Haha.

Two Bull Moose just lounging in the Gros Ventre Campgroud!

This totally made my day!  I mean, the first time I saw a moose (Alces alces shirasi), I was driving, and was not able to see the two bulls on the side of the road.  And today, to stand about 50+ feet away from these animals, I was literally in Heaven!  Waking up at 7am to see these two was incredibly worth it!  The morning is a prime and excellent time to catch moose.  Moose enjoy shady, cool ecosystems, and for them to be even found in this dry, and hot at times region is really impressive!  Kevin told us that this area is the southern-most part that the moose will reside in.

Getting a Close-Up through the Scope!

The two bulls were lying in and around a favorite food source of theirs: Bitterbrush, that is commonly found among the sage.  They are mostly 'growzers' that will move out into the sagebrush to eat the Bitterbrush, depending on the snow-depth and temperature of their food source habitat.

I just learned a new little fun fact about the moose this morning.  Their beard plays a significant part in their day-to-day needs.  Both males and females have them (males tend to be much bigger), but these beards are called 'dew-laps.'  These serve as a bib when they drink or eat vegetation from lakes and waterways.  Instead of the excess water dripping everywhere and all down their chest and legs, the dew-laps serve as a bib and create a one-point of dripping for excess water to drip off them and away from their body!  How crazy is that?!

Seeing the moose was just a wonderful sight and moment.  Then as we look to the south of us, we could see a double rainbow!

Ahhh, Double Rainbow!  What does it mean?!

So not only were we freaking out about the moose, but it brought more question of this double rainbow!  From that funny YouTube video of the Double Rainbow, the phrase, 'What does it Mean?' came to mind...and well, instead of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, we saw a pot of three grizzly bear at the base of it!  How lucky were we?!?

As we look back onto Blacktail Butte, through a scope, we could see three little, well not so little, Grizzly Bear Cubs!  Then we saw her, the infamous momma who has been making news around Jackson Hole the past few days.  Grizzly Bear #399 and her three triplet cubs!  She has been seen multiple times the past week and is famous because she was the one grizzly that has brought grizzlies into the area AND has had multiple set of triplets throughout the years!  She has never posed a threat to the community, just very tolerant to humans, and very comfortable being in the Jackson Hole area and within the National Elk Refuge.

Then we also saw 2 additional Grizzly Bears in the surround area of #399 and an additional Black Bear!  So many bears!  Do not worry, we were VERY FAR AWAY!

Infamous Grizzly Bear #399 and her Three Triplet Cubs on Blacktail Butte.

Today was a pretty magical day.  Seeing the moose and a grizzly bear (from afar) really set the day's bar very high!  Not to mention the views of the mountains and the sky was incredibly gorgeous!

Looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday and then to spend most of the weekend working on two assignments due before our Backcountry Backpacking Trip to the Teton Crest Trail on Tuesday!  Boom!

Until then,
TheChristyBel

Double Rainbow!  Photo Credit goes to Tootsie, fellow TSS Graduate Student.