Close Encounters of the Bear Kind

As part of our Yellowstone excursion, we went to the Slough Creek Campground to walk along a river on the Buffalo Fork Trail. The campsite was closed due to a fire nearby the previous year so we knew our chances of seeing wildlife were much higher. We parked a little down the road and walked into the empty camp site.

Me getting ready for the hike.

When we were almost there, we saw two bison in the middle of the dirt road. You should never approach a wild animal (this should be obvious but people have been hurt by bison in Yellowstone). We decided to take the lower road to make sure we were nowhere near the bison. We went through the site and began our trek along the river.

Bison on the left. This was as close as we dared to get.

The walk was peaceful and beautiful. On the walk up to the campsite, there were signs warning of bears and to be "Bear Aware." We came across a sign of our own: a tree that had been scratched by a bear. We of course, never left the building where we were staying without bear spray. We had two cans with us on the hike as well.

I'd never heard of bear spray before I joined Guardians. I guess it's an extremely potent pepper spray and it's an excellent last resort if you come close to a bear. It can save your life (and subsequently the bear's life as well because if it mauls you, it will be hunted down).

We hiked for a while and decided to head back so we could arrive at the wolf watching point at dusk, when the pups were most likely to emerge. The walk back was uneventful and beautiful. We made it back to the campsite and the bison had completely blocked both ways back to the road. We decided to give them a wide berth and trek through the sage brush.

Being from Kansas, I hadn't seen or touched sagebrush. I was used to walking through fields that require long pants because your legs get scratched. Sagebrush was much easier to walk through and of course, smelled like sage. It was about two or three feet high and I was able to understand how wildlife thrive in it (some of the animals we work to protect rely on sagebrush).

One of my colleagues and I were walking faster and got ahead of the other 4 in our group. As we walked, we heard the group behind us trying to quietly get our attention. We turned around and saw them waving and pointing ahead of us.

We turned back and saw a brown bear appear out of the sagebrush. We froze because it was about 100 feet away. Unsure of whether or not it was a juvenile grizzly, which meant momma would be close behind, we retreated a bit. We found a giant metal box, about four feet high, that campers use to lock up their food from bears, and climbed on top to get a better view.

My expert colleagues determined it was a cinnamon black bear, which is a black bear that happens to be brown. Go figure. We were all relieved that there wasn't a momma bear nearby and quietly and giddily watched as the bear lumbered along.

The bison were still in the road and the bear was ambling straight toward one. Neither the bison nor the bear knew the other was nearby. The bear emerged from the sagebrush, right next to the bison, startling both. In fact, they both jumped when they noticed each other. They stared for a moment and then the bear continued on its walk.

I had an amazing view through my binoculars and was too mesmerized to attempt taking pictures. I took a few once the bear cleared the sagebrush and walked passed the bison. At that point, the bear was walking on the grass on a hill and much more visible.

The bison blocking our road.

The bear on a hill, after its meeting with the bison.

Our close encounter was truly amazing. It's been a year since we saw it, and I'm still amazed when I think about it. To see a wild animal in its natural habitat is like nothing else. Even though the bear didn't do anything "interesting" I considered the entire experience fascinating. It made me wish there were more protected areas for bears like this one to roam freely and meander as they're meant to. It reinforced why I chose this career path and why I will spend my career fighting for native species' rights to exist and thrive in their natural habitat.

After the bear was far out of sight, we headed back to the car (carefully avoiding the bison). We found bear prints further down the road and it made our encounter even more real to see how truly large these creatures are. We couldn't go see the prints from the bear we saw though, because that bison was quite content with not moving.

A little hard to see, but there's a bear print there.

We saw a lot of wildlife from the car that day and the wolf pups through extremely powerful scopes. As the sun was setting, there were bison all over the side of the road and crossing the road. They were so close, I could have reached out of my window and touched them. However, that "close" encounter with the bear was the best part of the day.

Yellowstone Travels

Every year, all of the staff at work get together for a retreat. It's a great opportunity to get face-to-face time with everyone, since we're spread across the west, and work on important organization-wide issues. This year, we went to the BBar Ranch in Montana. It was just north of Yellowstone, which I'd never visited.

We stayed in cabins on the property that were adorable. We were greeted with fresh flowers in the common room and I often took the opportunity to sit on the couch and unwind between sessions or before dinner.

Each cabin was named after an animal and had lanterns to match. I was assigned to the hummingbird cabin. One of my favorite childhood memories is visiting my grandparents at Beaver Lake, Arkansas in the summer. They had hummingbird feeders outside of the windows and my sister and I would watch, mesmerized. Any time I see a hummingbird, I think of those vacations and my grandma.

The leadership team had already been at the ranch for a few days and when we arrived, they told us about bear tracks they'd found just outside of the gates. It was amazing to be so close to where animals could freely roam. We of course, had bear spray with us any time we went outside of the gates of the ranch. Spoiler: we didn't see any bears up close at the ranch.

After dropping off our bags and saying hi to everyone, a few of us grabbed some bear spray and went off to see the tracks. There's a few shots below of the tracks and the group checking out the amazing views from the road.

Bear spray with a view.

Tracks

Comparing the track to a human hand.

We walked up and down the road outside of the ranch in the evenings and during breaks. It was a bit chilly but absolutely beautiful. There was a recent wolf kill in one of the fields, which we visited one evening. We got there the second day after the kill and there was almost nothing left. It was amazing to see how completely nature uses everything after a death.

Yellowstone

One of the afternoons of the staff retreat was reserved for adventuring. Most of us chose to go to Yellowstone and I had a tough decision between hiking or animal watching. Hiking promised great views and possibly an animal sighting or two. Animal watching would mean most of the day in the car going to different areas for the chance to glimpse rare sight, like a wolf. I decided on the animal watching because our Wildlife Director was going to be in the car and I knew I'd be able to learn from her.

There are way too many photos to share, so I've uploaded them to Flickr album here.

A quick synopsis of our adventure was driving around and spotting animals, then we went for a walk along a river, and finally ended at sunset watching wolves and wolf pups far, far in the distance.

It was amazing!! My next post will be details about seeing a bear close up and almost too personal.