Springtime is baby season in the wilderness. During this time of year, wildflowers blossom and the animals are birthing.
At Yellowstone, this means the diverse animal population is multiplying.
The ‘babies’ start appearing in mid-March as the bears come out of hibernation, with a cub or two or three tagging along. Bears actually give birth during hibernation, a feat many other moms might like to try to emulate.
Eagles are starting to nest, and you would be lucky to spot one.
Ospreys have returned, each female laying between one and four eggs. The other raptors are making nests and laying eggs, but are much more difficult to find. Ospreys and eagles nest high, in places that are often visible from public areas. Songbirds are more difficult to find. Canada geese are numerous, and nest in the grasses; they can be seen when the little goslings are parading behind their parents to the river, where they learn to feed. If you spot them when they are quite young, their color is quite amazing; as they mature, their colors mute and they take on the look of adults.
Bison give birth to one calf; at Yellowstone these are dubbed “red dogs.” (The story goes that an irate visitor asked a park ranger why they were doing nothing about the ‘red dogs’ that were harassing the bison.) These guys are pretty good size right at birth, and can even swim across rivers just a few hours later. Before long they play, run, jump and spar with their bison buddy, learning all kinds of behavior they will need to survive. They hang with mom the whole first year and linger through the second year; after that, the males will go off on their own.
Elk tend to start their birthing a little later, the elk calf is fawn-like, spotted, gangly and cute. The mom elk is a typical protective mom, moving them away from the public areas fairly soon. Through natural instinct, they have found a safer place to bring forth the young with less interference from predators. In the natural order, elk calves help cure hungry bears.
Pronghorn young have no scent for the first couple days after birth. By the time they are 3 days old, they can outrun any predator.
Little mountain goats are fun to watch on the sides of cliffs. Of course, they bring out the parental instincts of observers as they bound along on the side of hills where no human could hope to maintain footing. Yet they hop and jump and run and play.
Watch for bears in meadows near the roads. Although the cubs look cuddly, be sure to watch from a great distance. Mama bear will amble along, stopping to dig up some food while the cubs play and occasionally ‘periscope’ or get up on their hind legs to see where she is. If they stray from their comfort zone, you will see them running toward her.
The litters of wolves and coyotes can be seen starting in late May. The wolf pups emerge from the den and can start eating meat when they are about 4 to 5 weeks old. Coyote pups emerge from their dens when they are between 3 and 4 weeks old.
The key is to keep your eyes open, watch for movement, and remember that even though some of these animals are not obvious, they are out there. Have fun and enjoy nature in all its splendor!
Subscribe to receive updates on this series