Wildlife viewing in Yellowstone

August 6, 2:15 PMYellowstone National Park ExaminerAndrew Stanton

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Photo courtesy Xanterra

The following is a press release by Xanterra, the official park concessioner for Yellowstone. The park has many wonderful spots to view wildlife, notably the Lamar Valley among others. I'll see you at the park!

It’s really not all happening at the zoo. Although most Americans may see their first wild animals in a cage, the best way to observe wildlife – paws down – is in their natural habitat. And national parks are prime places to see wildlife naturally. From a safe distance, of course. 

Although watching wildlife is thrilling, it can also be dangerous. Visitors to any park should familiarize themselves with Park Service rules, such as keeping a safe distance from animals and never feeding or approaching them.

Staff with concessioner Xanterra Parks & Resorts, operator of lodges, restaurants, gift shops and activities at many national and state parks, can point visitors in the right direction for wildlife-watching tips and programs. Here are just a few examples of the wild things park visitors can see in Yellowstone:

There’s something truly humbling about watching a lumbering bison slowly searching for food during Yellowstone’s unforgiving winter. And something abundantly heart-warming about watching playful, reddish-colored bison calves amble around their mothers in the spring. 

For these huge animals – long a symbol of the spirit of the American West – survival is the top priority year-round. During the warm months, bison revel in the abundance of the park – nearly anything green is fair game.  A bison’s priority during the fair weather is to fatten up as much as possible to prepare for the winter, when food is buried under snow. Some 4,000 bison reside in the park today. Even in summer, visitors may see groups of frost-covered bison in the early-morning mist found throughout the Upper Geyser Basin, home to Old Faithful geyser. 

The moose population in Yellowstone has been declining for the last 40 years, and the Park Service speculates the change is due to several factors, including loss of old growth forests surrounding the park and the burning of winter habitat in 1988. Today, fewer than 500 moose make their home in Yellowstone. Weighing up to a ton and standing up to seven feet at the shoulder, moose are solitary creatures until the autumn mating season, when both cows and bulls are quite vocal as they search for a mate. Moose can be spotted in marshy areas of meadows, lake shores and along rivers.

The largest wild fowl in North America, trumpeter swans get their name from their trumpet-like call. There are two trumpeter swan flocks in Yellowstone. The resident population numbers between 28 and 55 swans and the winter population varies from 75 to 119 swans. The elegant birds can fly up to 80 miles per hour, but they are grounded for up to two months every year – typically in the summer – when they molt all their feathers and are rendered flightless.      

Elk are the most abundant large mammals found in Yellowstone with their numbers ranging from 15,000-20,000 in summer and 8,000-20,000 in winter. The herd on the northern range in Yellowstone is one of the two largest in the country.  Elk can often be found grazing around the Mammoth Hot Spring Hotel, and it is not uncommon to awaken to the sight of a herd lounging under the hotel windows any time of the year. 

Extremely difficult to spot in the park, the cougar – also known as the mountain lion – is one of the largest members of the cat family in North America, behind only the jaguar. Some 15-17 cougars live in Yellowstone, but they also follow the elk herds and move to lower elevations in winter. 

Since they were reintroduced in the park in 1995 and 1996, wolves have become the most discussed and controversial animal in Yellowstone. With approximately 175 wolves residing in the park, they are spotted on a daily basis year-round, particularly in the Lamar Valley. Elk are wolves’ primary source of food, but wolves have also been known to kill adult bison and moose. The best time to see wolves any season of the year is at dawn or dusk. 

Yellowstone National Park is also home to a wide variety of other mammals such as fox, coyote, bighorn sheep and otter.