Dance of Light Photography

Returning to Yellowstone

zxcvbnm1WP — Thu, 11 May 2023 15:49:00 +0000

After 2022 flooding closed off access to the northern tier of Yellowstone we look forward to getting back into the Lamar Valley to watch wildlife.

September 4, 2021 A Bison Funeral

zxcvbnm1WP — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 22:47:42 +0000

Some people think of Bison like domestic cattle. It is just not so. Bison move from pasture to pasture many times a day to allow the grass to regrow. They guard their young by forming picket lines when threatened by Bears or Wolves. They protect the carcasses of their dead comrades from being eaten by Bears and Wolves. They also perform funerals for their own that die. This video is an example of a bull Bison who in battle with another bull, during the rut, was killed instantly when his opponents horn landed in his skull killing him instantly.

A day later the herd comes to the site of his death and pays their respect.

August 13, 2021 The Wolf Puppies learn to swim

zxcvbnm1WP — Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:28:14 +0000

Our wolf puppies are afraid to cross the creek. Rick McIntyre (Author of The Rise of Wolf 8) says that wolf puppies just don’t know they float and intuitively know how to dog paddle. Mothers and babysitters sometimes use toys, like a stick to get the puppies fixated on the toy, they then get them to chase them into the water after the stick.
Note how the babysitter adult encourages the little black pup up the bank on the far shore.

As always we film from a very long ways away. We would never do anything to disturb the wolves. Especially this swimming lesson.

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August 8, 2021 Yellowstone Junction Wolf Pack puppies field trip

zxcvbnm1WP — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 01:06:30 +0000

Wolf pups are born in April and after a few weeks they are big enough to start to venture out of the Den. They begin to explore their world under the watchful eyes of their mother or a volunteer babysitter. The one year olds love to be babysitters and play with the puppies. As June approaches they go on longer field trips again with guardians to watch over them. Eventually the puppies are moved to a rendezvous site where they can be feed more easily by the pack. As September approaches they are big enough to run with the pack.

This video was filmed from 1.5 miles away.

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August 1, 2021 Dances with Buffalo

zxcvbnm1WP — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 21:18:21 +0000

Wolves often test bison to see if one might be weak or injured. The wolf in the first clip, perhaps a two-year-old, from the Junction Butte pack, paws the ground and does a “play bow” appearing to taunt the bison to chase it, effectively luring it away from several young pups and a female pack-mate, probably a yearling, who has an injured left foot. Wolves know how close a bison can be to them before it becomes a danger. Once this bull crossed into the danger radius, the older wolf took action. A big bull like this doesn’t have anything to fear from a single wolf but sometimes a bison will appear to be annoyed by a wolf’s presence and will give chase. It’s amazing how fast a big bull can run but the wolf is also fast and much more agile in avoiding being caught.

In the second clip, a big bull bison appears to startle some of the wolves who, initially, seem unaware of its presence suddenly coming up the trail behind them.

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July 29, 2021 Junction Butte Wolf Puppies Playtime

zxcvbnm1WP — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 16:33:19 +0000

Rick McIntyre, author of The Rise of Wolf 8, notes that he has identified over 16 games wolves play. Maybe puppies play a little less structured games but they love to play. Also many adults and one year olds love to play with the puppies.

These videos were recorded from over 1.5 miles away from the wolves. We would never get near the puppies which might interfere with an adult coming to feed the puppies.

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July 15, 2021 Wolf Puppies

zxcvbnm1WP — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 20:41:12 +0000

Another season in Yellowstone. We are certainly grateful. Smoke in the air early from fires out west.
It is such a pleasure to be able to watch the Junction Butte Puppies!

Wolves in Yellowstone are usually pregnant by late January or early February. The pups are born in April after the mother has chosen her den. Like many myths about wolves the alphas are not the only ones to mate. The Junction Butte Pack had three mothers this year but two lost their litters to disease. The gray female 907F (the number of her collar) had 7-8 puppies. The puppies cannot regulate their own temperature at birth so the mother must stay with them and keep them warm. The mother and puppies are dependent on other members of the pack to bring them food or they risk starvation.

After the pups get too big for the den they are moved out, in May sometime, to a babysitting area near the den site. The mother has the aid of babysitters that stay with the puppies and keep an eye on them. Many times the yearlings love to be babysitters and stay with and play with the pups.

In this video a babysitter, possibly the uncollared black alpha female, watches over and plays with the puppies early one morning at dawn.

This video was filmed a mile and half away from the puppies.

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March 10, 2021

zxcvbnm1WP — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 18:58:10 +0000

A new year in Yellowstone National Park. Here is a look back from 2019 with a Sow Grizzly nursing her two cubs.

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2020 Junction Butte Puppies

zxcvbnm1WP — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 15:48:11 +0000

When an adult brings food back to the puppies, located in that year’s “day care center,” the puppies will spot the adult and come running to be the first to get food. The adults tend to make the puppies follow them a bit to let the little pups catch up so they all have a chance at food. All the 18 pups born this spring by three mothers survived this summer. Many times wolf pups will starve to death because the summer can be the toughest time of the year for wolves. The prey are strongest in the summer and wolves generally only succeed in a kill one in five tries.

September 4, 2020 Bison herd on the move

zxcvbnm1WP — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 03:45:55 +0000

A large herd of bison heads down the road in early September during a snow storm, traveling from Round Prairie toward Soda Butte in Yellowstone National Park.