Yellowstone Wildlife Watching

The abundance of wildlife in Yellowstone is truly amazing. Watching bison or elk moving slowly though the grasslands is great food for the soul, especially if your life normally consists of the 7.50 to Victoria or being stuck in crawling traffic. You can spot many of the animals that live in Yellowstone just by keeping your eyes open. Dawn and dusk are good times to see the shyer creatures, especially wolves and binoculars are very useful.

There’s a moose loose

If there is an animal you particularly want to see your best bet is to go to one of the Visitor Centers and ask the Rangers for advice. Please make sure you keep a safe distance away from all wildlife – people are often injured by animals such as bison or elk, they are wild animals and will attack people if they feel threatened.

For general advice on wildlife viewing go to:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/viewanim.htm

The Rangers offer various talks, lectures and guided strolls and hikes and joining one of these programmes is a great way to learn about the wildlife in the Park and where and how best to spot it. You can get the schedule at any Visitor Center or you can check online at:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/rangerprog.htm

If you would like to go on a guided tour or safari style trip, the Park Service has licensed several companies to operate in the Park. We have never used any of them so I don’t have a particular recommendation but for a full list go to:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/photobus.htm

If you just want to set off by yourself, particularly good spots to head for are as follows:

Hayden Valley

Bison Hayden Valley

Hayden Valley is off the Northeast quadrant of the Grand Loop Road between Canyon Village and Fishing Village. This is a top spot for bison, especially if you are visiting Yellowstone during the rut, which normally begins sometime during late July and early August. If you are visiting with children, be warned, it can lead to the inevitable ‘what’s that bison doing to the other bison?’ question, much to the amusement of those of us not having to answer questions of a bison rut related nature.

Hayden Valley is also a great place to spot all manner of birds including bald eagles so make sure you have your binoculars at the ready. You may well also see elk, moose and possibly even grizzly bears. Grizzlies tend to hang out here earlier in the summer when there are newborn calves around but a Ranger will be able to tell you if there have been any recent sightings.

Lamar Valley

Bison in Lamar Valley

You can access the Lamar Valley from the North East Entrance Road not far from Tower Roosevelt, shortly after the turning for the Slough Creek campground. This is your best bet if you want to see a wolf. You are most likely to be lucky at dawn or dusk and you will not be alone in waiting for the wolf pack to appear.

This is a beautiful place and worth a trip anyway. It is also a good place for spotting bison, elk and occasionally moose.