Meet and Greet

Nothing like a grizzly in the back yard to bring the neighborhood together!

We had just passed through a terrific bear jam on our way home from Cody and then heard on the park radio that the bear was headed up into employee housing. Sure was! So, like happy rangers who get paid in sunsets and grizzly sightings, those of us who were home headed out back with cameras, binoculars, and smiles. It turned into a lovely visit! With Mr. Bear Management as our next door neighbor, I learned a few things...

This bear is about two years old. It's been having a tough time lately. Mom kicked him out, so he's on his own now, which is sort of tough. The females are in estrus, so the males won't have a thing to do with this kid--he can't find a friend anywhere. He's a little young and lacking in confidence. That same day he had been chased by bison and elk. He's getting tired of eating salad all the time, but he's also a bit timid to take down a calf elk. I guess it's sink or swim for this guy. I'm sure his belly will help him figure it all out. He was just enjoying the meadow, munching here and there. Sometimes he would plop down, roll over, and just play while on his back. The ranger said they had been observing another two year old earlier in the day who had fed on a calf elk. Afterward, he just lazed on his back playing with sticks and swatting at butterflies. They are like little kids sometimes.

Another thing K taught me (he learned all this in training) is that the bears used to eat a lot of cutthroat trout from the lake and river. However, they are becoming scarce due to lake trout which seem to be upsetting the balance with cutthroats, trumpeter swans, and bears. No one knows how the lake trout got there, but they are non-native and the whole deal is a bit of a mess. The bears don't like the big lake trout, so they have changed some of their feeding over to elk. They still eat a lot of other stuff, but they don't eat the fish like they used to. Sigh, the cutthroats need to be saved...