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Our Trip to Yellowstone

We recently returned from a trip to Yellowstone National Park. Above is a pic of some adorable baby bison, viewed through a scope. We primarily went to do some quality wolf-watching, after reading a wonderful book by Terry Tempest Williams, which we blogged a bit about here.

Little did we know how evasive those wolves could be! They are terrified of humans, after all we’ve done to them, and won’t come anywhere near us. So, you basically have to find them with an extreme magnifying glass called a scope. They won’t even show up in basic binoculars they stay so far away. Made us realize how rare the wolf encounter in the memoir, Romeo, was. Now we want to go to Juneau!

We did see one black bear (no grizzlies), and several moose, elk, pronghorns, coyotes, and many, many, many, many bison! Here are some of our pics:

“Slow down. You’re going too darn fast!” says Mr. Bison.

A moose we spotted one evening. It is darn hard to get good pictures. Our respect for wildlife photographers grew immensely on this visit!

A momma bison and her baby, viewed through a scope.

We didn’t see any grizzlies, but we saw this one brown-colored black bear from far away. He’s lying down, back toward us, right next to the tree in the center of the pic.

Soooo hard to get any real pics of wolves, they stay so far away from us. This is through a massive scope lens. She is lying down about an inch below the tree trunk at the top of the scope. She is lying near the den housing her cubs. We waited over an hour for some action, but the most she did was lift her head and appear to be looking in our direction, from about twenty miles away! Sadly, they’re smart not to come around us. Humans haven’t done too well by wolves. Well, we haven’t acted well toward any of our great American predators.

There were lots of wolf-watchers – people setting up scopes and watching the animals for hours. I would have had no idea what I was looking at without their help. These people are experts. Some are pros, some are just very enthusiastic lovers of the animal, who help the park’s rangers track them. There’s a wonderful Facebook page devoted to the wolves of Yellowstone, of Lamar Valley, where most of them live. It’s called Legend of Lamar Valley and I am now hooked on it!

One thing I learned was how smart ravens are. They basically make friends with the wolves when they are cubs, then help them find food. The wolves in return share their killings with the little birds.

My tour guide felt badly that I didn’t get to see any wolves or grizzlies up close so we went to this wildlife educational center in West Yellowstone,  Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, where they had several. Here are two beauties. So, yep, got to see my wolves after all!

And a grizzly 🙂 This guy is from Alaska, so he’s pretty big, feeding on all that salmon.

This lady loves to climb trees for her food!

After leaving Yellowstone, we went on to Reno for the RT Booklovers Conference. Before the convention, we took a little tour to see some wild mustangs. I noticed their bodies are more solid and their manes are wilder than their non-wild counterparts. But they seemed very friendly!

Wonderful trip and we had a blast! I may go back for a winter wolf-watching expedition. Supposedly they are a little less shy because the park is so much quieter. I don’t know though, since I don’t have a lot of experience with snow. We’ll see!

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In the Book Bar: Do Some Wolf Yoga with Moon!

After our reading of the mesmerizing A Wolf Called Romeo, we just loved the idea of this debut picture book by Alison Oliver called MOON. It’s about a little girl who leads a very busy life. She longs to take a break from it all and find her true self. She meets a wolf who helps her do just that by exploring her wild side! Try out some wild wolf yoga poses here. 

Thank you to Book Riot for alerting us to this gem!

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Ducklings Rescued from a Drainpipe!

We love our little community 🙂

Someone walking her dog around our neighborhood lake heard some squawking coming from a nearby drainpipe. She and dog walked over to see a duck chirping madly about. She noticed the squawking was coming from a drainpipe and peered down to see some baby ducks stuck inside it. She frantically called for help and several people showed up to form a kind of assembly line, helping the little ducklings all out. It ended up taking hours and the crew worked into the late evening to get all the babies out. Mother Duck was quite happy, needless to say.

The woman worried that the ducklings would fall down the drainpipe again since it had no covering. So she reported it on Nextdoor.com and asked readers to call the HOA and voice our concerns. Well, quite a few people did – including us, of course! A cover was installed over the pipe by the end of the day.

So, first we worked collectively to get our beloved swan rescued, and now the ducklings. We’re so proud of our fellow people here who care so much about all forms of life 🙂

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In the Book Bar: Review, THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER, by Lawrence Anthony

I listened to this book on audio, and about halfway through I started crying and couldn’t stop until end. And then I cried even more because it was over. Not because it was sad, although there are parts that are bittersweet, but just because it was so beautiful. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about a book!

Written by South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, and co-written by Graham Spence, THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER tells the true story of Anthony’s adoption of a herd of wild elephants who were so unruly, the prior owner vowed to put them down if he didn’t take them. The herd’s matriarch just wouldn’t stay put in the reserve, and she was continuously finding ways to help the group escape. Right after Anthony agrees to take them on his Thula Thula reserve in Zululand, he learns that the leader of the herd and her daughter have been killed. Saddened and angry, he vows to do the best he can with the others.

The herd’s new leader is Nana, a matriarch who takes after the former leader and continuously devises ways to help her clan escape from Thula Thula. The lengths these elephants will go to cross boundaries shows their vast intelligence. But Anthony must keep them put, lest they be shot by other reserve owners who don’t want wild elephants running about on their property. In order to do so, he must make friends with Nana.

And he does. The way she comes to trust him is depicted so endearingly. She listens to him, considers what he tells her: that this is now her home, and it’s a good home. And she stops trying to break through the wire fences. She explores Anthony with her trunk – and he bravely lets her – then kind of pets him with it, soon letting him touch her, letting her delicate little baby get close to him, and then leading the baby to explore him as well. Her troupe follows her example, coming to trust Anthony too, including Frankie, the kind of second-in-command of the herd, and the hardest to win over.

These elephants are so brilliant, so beautiful, so beyond amazing. You feel like you become friends with all of them, and you learn so much about elephant society in general, and about South Africa, its politics, and its immense beauty, by the way Anthony masterfully weaves the narrative of the land in with that of the herd.

My favorite – and Anthony’s as well (well, besides mother Nana!) – was Mnumzane, the oldest male of the herd, who grows to tower over everyone.  Poor Mnumzane,  he is the son and brother of the two killed elephants, and, as a male who’s reached puberty, Nana and Frankie ostracize him from the herd. This is natural, you learn, as elephant society is a matriarchy. So when males reach puberty, they are kicked out of the clan by the dominant matriarch, then go find their kind of “bachelor society,” which is dominated by a wise and older patriarch, who teaches them how to be a man, so to speak. The tragedy of Mnumzane, and of apartheid Africa, is that he can’t go find his bachelor buddies and his wise patriarch because of the way the land is divided. Thula Thula is too currently small to have more elephants; this is the only herd he can have. Mnumzane has a heartbreaking tale, and, for me, he was the emotional epicenter of the book.

But all of the elephants have their own stories: Thula, the granddaughter of Nana, who is born with a foot deformity and must be taken from her devoted mother, Nandi (Nana’s daughter) to be treated. Hers is a heartbreaking tale as well. And E.T., a young elephant orphaned by poachers, whom Anthony later takes in. She never fully trusts humans – for good reason – but she immediately comes to love the herd and finds her place within it in hours. And then there’s Max, Anthony’s beloved and very loyal bull terrier. What a protector. What a companion. I fell head over heels in love with Max!

This is the most wonderful book. Another reason I cried so at the end was that Anthony talks about how the end of apartheid has meant much of the land will be returned to the rightful owners. He and a new owner of an adjoining reserve will join forces and eradicate their boundaries between them so that more elephants can join Thula Thula. Anthony notes that he’s already received numerous offers of a patriarch, of the kind Mnumzane so needed. So, for all the sad things that happen, the book ends of a tear-inducingly hopeful note.

Tragically, Anthony died of a heart attack in 2012, about three years after the book was published. I found articles on the internet showing that the herd he had so loved somehow knew of his death, and came to visit the main house, to pay their respects. You can’t resist loving elephants – their immense intelligence, their sixth-senses, their ability to forgive and love and trust and remember.

You must read this if you’re any kind of animal lover 🙂 I can’t wait to visit Thula Thula. Someday very soon!

 

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In the Book Bar: Review, A WOLF CALLED ROMEO by Nick Jans

Such an endearing book that now ranks up there as one of my all-time favorite wildlife books. If you haven’t read this book yet and you like wolves, wildlife, Alaska, or even dogs, it’s a must-read!

Published in 2014, A Wolf Called Romeo tells the true story of a large black wolf who lived on the wooded outskirts of Juneau, Alaska from 2003 through 2009 and, amazingly, befriended many of the local dogs. He also became friendly with their humans, but according to Jans, a former hunter now writer and photographer of wildlife, Romeo seemed much more interested in their dogs. He showed up one day, along a big lake in the Mendenhall Glacier and bounced up to Dakotah, Jans’s blonde lab, stopping, then making a play bow to her. Everyone who has a dog knows what that is 🙂 The two regarded each other, then engaged in typical dog play. Later, Romeo chased and caught a ball.

At first, of course, Jans and the others were scared – it’s a huge wild wolf, after all. But Romeo never showed any aggressiveness to dog or human, only wanting to play or just tag along on a walk.

Over time, Jans and the other locals grew close to Romeo, missing him and worrying about him when he didn’t show up to play. They surmised that he was the partner of a female black wolf who’d been killed by a taxi, and had fathered the cubs she was carrying. Hence, the name.

Yet Romeo remained wild. It didn’t seem that he’d been fed by any of the locals. Jans found traces of wild animals – like porcupine quills – in Romeo’s scats, and his stools indicated he was feeding well on deer and other animals that a wolf would normally eat.

To be sure, some did worry about danger, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife considered re-locating Romeo further into the forest, but they never did. There were too many who grew to love him.

One thing so remarkable about the book is Jans’s ability to weave facts about wolves seamlessly into Romeo’s narrative. Wolves travel in packs and they mate for life – which was part of the sadness of Romeo’s story. Of course they are dogs’ wild ancestors. So, it makes sense that dogs are so loyal, since we basically take away their ability to mate for life when we spay and neuter them. They then become our mates for life 🙂

This is a truly fascinating book. Jans is such a brilliant writer, the language is beautiful, pensive, and he brings you so fully into his world you grow to love Romeo along with him and the others.  I’ve never been to Alaska, but am now dying to go. In the epilogue Jans talks about the planned installation of a memorial to Romeo in the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. I’m going to Yellowstone this year to wolf-watch, but I’m hoping for a trip to Juneau next year!

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In the Gallery: DREAMCATCHER by Miya White

Yes, it’s a wolf, not a wildcat, but we still love this new drawing we just bought at the Heard Museum‘s Student Art Show! It’s called DREAMCATCHER and it’s by 15-year-old Navajo student, Miya White. We’re heading up to Yellowstone National Park for a wolf-watching expedition in early spring, so this puts us in the mood. And, for some reason – the girl, the kindred animal, the detailed design of the dreamcatcher – it just speaks to us. We love the Heard – one of the best things about Phoenix.

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“We Are Not the Only Species Who Grieves”

 

(Originally published 7/22/2017 but I am re-pubbing since I loved this reading so much, and since this wonderful author has inspired me to tour Yellowstone National Park this upcoming spring.)

Last night I went to a talk at Changing Hands bookstore given by Terry Tempest Williams discussing her latest book, The Hour of Land. She told a story about her visit to Yellowstone National Park that I thought was beautiful and fitting for this blog.

She and her husband wanted to catch a glimpse of white wolves, so they found a little lookout over a canyon bed, where they saw a bison carcass being eaten by several coyotes and birds. Their guide told them that yesterday the bison had given birth to a stillborn calf and hungry wolves had attacked her during this vulnerable moment. They continued watching as suddenly the coyotes’ hackles rose and the birds quickly fluttered away, followed by the coyotes. They then saw a majestic white wolf, who came down from the hill, licking his lips. He ate more of the carcass. The next day, they returned in hopes of seeing the wolves again. Instead, they saw that the carcass had been completely eaten. Only the skeleton remained. Soon, a trail of bison appeared. They walked in a line toward the bison’s bones, then walked in a circle around her, their pacing identical, their bodies evenly spaced apart. They made a circle three times, then stopped and lowered their heads toward her bones. After a moment, they raised their heads and walked, again in a line, their bodies evenly spaced, up the hill, leaving only one small buffalo, who stayed with the mother.

She let us envision it for a moment, then said, (I’m paraphrasing) “We are not the only species who loves, who feels, who thinks, who grieves.” Yes, something anyone who’s a close observer of animals knows very well.

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Support Your Local Apex Predator for a Healthy Ecosystem

Witty Kitty spent yesterday at the beautiful Saguaro National Park, and, while there, she heard a fascinating lecture given by a guide about her big aunties in the desert, the Puma concolor, also known as a Mountain Lion, or a Cougar – now also named, by WK, as the Dawas of the Desert.

We learned how pumas find and stalk their prey – much like we do, advancing by moving back paws up to front paws so as to not make a sound! And how they find their home territory, mate, and raise their young. And we learned what sounds they make and don’t – no crazy screaming! They actually make the same sounds domestic cats do: hissing, growling, and clicking their teeth together, even purring. Big cats are so similar to small cats, just with about 100 times the power and speed!  And we learned how dangerous being a predator can be – we couldn’t stop thinking of Dawa!

People always think these big cats are a threat to humans, but it’s actually not true. Statistically only one human is killed by a wild cat about every five years in North America. The four-legged mammal who is actually the most dangerous to people is – believe it or not – a deer. Not that deer are vicious predators hunting humans while they’re picnicking or anything horror-movie-esque like that, but because they can’t see cars, and they either run into cars or cars run into them. They end up killing an estimated 120 people per year in the U.S. this way. Mountain lions are not interested in bothering humans, and, unless they are very hungry or somehow feel threatened by you, will be happy leaving you alone. But deer is their primary prey. A deer or a moose can feed a mother puma and her cubs for about a week. Animal biologists have found that whenever the population of apex predators – pumas, or wolves – is low, the entire ecosystem is thrown out of balance, meaning more deer who cause the aforesaid problems to humans as well as those lower on the food chain by eating their vegetation. So, support your local apex predator for a healthy ecosystem!

But also, support your local apex predator just because they’re majestic, awe-inspiring animals 🙂

Above photo from National Park Service.