One of the things I realized after we were several hours from home was that I had left my geyser book at home. Each trip to Yellowstone has had a different focus and the last few have been more on wildlife than on the geysers. But it is SO nice to have the geyser book so that when you get to a geyser, you can look at the signs and determine by how full the bowl is as well as other tells and get a rough idea how long it might be before it might erupt.
Also the thermal features are always changing.
So, one night away from Yellowstone I googled to find Geyser Information sites.
Geyser Watch has interesting information about some geysers whose activity level has increased - geysers that hadn't erupted in a long time that were active this year.
Yellowstone.net also has good current information about what is going on right now at Yellowstone. They also have 3 pages dedicated to the information I was looking for about the signs to look for. I saved the information as .pdf and have moved them to my iPhone so I will have the information at hand.
We're in Pinedale tonight. Tomorrow is a Grand Teton day.
Showing posts with label Yellowstone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yellowstone. Show all posts
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Thursday's Grand Teton Quake
Jackson Hole Daily reported a 3.7 magnitude quake near the Grand Tetons Thurday evening. The University of Utah's map shows the earthquake's location at 8 miles SW of Hoback, Wyoming. This one is definitely farther away from the Yellowstone earthquakes and I really don't know how all the faults in that area are connected. This earthquake occurred at the "south end of a seismic gap that extends into Yellowstone National Park. I had to look up what a seismic gap is. According to Wikepedia: "A seismic gap is a segment of an active geologic fault or subduction zone that has not slipped in an unusually long time; they are often considered susceptible to future strong earthquakes." According to the USGS visual glossary: "A seismic gap is a section of a fault that has produced earthquakes in the past but is now quiet. For some seismic gaps, no earthquakes have been observed historically, but it is believed that the fault segment is capable of producing earthquakes on some other basis, such as plate-motion information or strain measurements." According to Planet Jackson Hole Online the earthquake swarms in Yellowstone are at the north end of this seismic gap.
On January 7, 2004 Teton county was hit by four earthquakes, magnitudes of 5.0, 3.7, 4.1, and 4.0. These quakes were preceded on December 30, 2003 by a 3.5 magnitude quake. Even farther back, in 1925 there were small quakes reported in the same area.
The Wyomic State Geologic Survey has .pdf files with records of earthquakes throughout Wyoming listed by county. I looked up the Teton County information. It has a different earthquake scale the Mercalli Intensity Scale , which I was not familiar with. It is a long read, but for those who are interested in the geology of this area, it has a more complete history of the quakes in Teton county.
I think it interesting that both the Jackson Hole Daily and the Planet Jackson Hole online include earthquake precautions. Most of the quakes historically have been relatively minor, but anyone who lives in an area that could experience an earthquake, should be familiar with what to do when an earthquake happens. I grew up in Girl Scouts, and participated in both Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts with my children. Both have the motto: Be prepared. Taking the time to look over these guidelines, to talk them over with your family, to check out your house or apartment, being careful what you hang over your bed, having canned goods on hand . . . these are things that don't require a lot of time, but could save you and your loved ones lives.
But . . . after you have studied up on what to do before and after an earthquake happens and have taken what ever preparatory actions seem prudent, then file the information in your brain. Don't waste time needless worrying about a big earthquake that may not happen in your lifetime. The probability is that these are just normal small quakes part of our planet's normal shifting. It is wise and prudent to stay informed about the quakes in your area, but it is not healthy to go into a panic mode over something that "could" happen, but probably won't.
I'm following the news about the quakes, because I love the area and find this real time geologic activity fascinating.
On January 7, 2004 Teton county was hit by four earthquakes, magnitudes of 5.0, 3.7, 4.1, and 4.0. These quakes were preceded on December 30, 2003 by a 3.5 magnitude quake. Even farther back, in 1925 there were small quakes reported in the same area.
The Wyomic State Geologic Survey has .pdf files with records of earthquakes throughout Wyoming listed by county. I looked up the Teton County information. It has a different earthquake scale the Mercalli Intensity Scale , which I was not familiar with. It is a long read, but for those who are interested in the geology of this area, it has a more complete history of the quakes in Teton county.
I think it interesting that both the Jackson Hole Daily and the Planet Jackson Hole online include earthquake precautions. Most of the quakes historically have been relatively minor, but anyone who lives in an area that could experience an earthquake, should be familiar with what to do when an earthquake happens. I grew up in Girl Scouts, and participated in both Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts with my children. Both have the motto: Be prepared. Taking the time to look over these guidelines, to talk them over with your family, to check out your house or apartment, being careful what you hang over your bed, having canned goods on hand . . . these are things that don't require a lot of time, but could save you and your loved ones lives.
But . . . after you have studied up on what to do before and after an earthquake happens and have taken what ever preparatory actions seem prudent, then file the information in your brain. Don't waste time needless worrying about a big earthquake that may not happen in your lifetime. The probability is that these are just normal small quakes part of our planet's normal shifting. It is wise and prudent to stay informed about the quakes in your area, but it is not healthy to go into a panic mode over something that "could" happen, but probably won't.
I'm following the news about the quakes, because I love the area and find this real time geologic activity fascinating.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Remembering the Buffalo
I am a Christian - so I don't quite buy into the "spirit" of the buffalo. However, I really hope that the message of the unusually large number of buffalo slaughtered this year gets heard - so that a better plan can be implemented.
I've found it hard to read the Yellowstone Newspaper lately, because it does hurt that so many bison have died so needlessly. Yellowstone is one of my favorite places because of the abundant wildlife.
Buffalo Spirits on the Wind" is a beautiful article about a tribal service for the buffalo spirits. Even if my viewpoint is a little different, this article is worth reading.
And from the Billings Gazette the Billings Food Bank buys 3200 lbs of buffalo meat at 55 cents a pound. While I'm glad the meat was not wasted, I think I would have a hard time eating this particular buffalo meat. (I don't have a problem with buffalo raised for this purpose . . . but the national park buffalo deserved better - they are part of the national heritage at Yellowstone.)
I've found it hard to read the Yellowstone Newspaper lately, because it does hurt that so many bison have died so needlessly. Yellowstone is one of my favorite places because of the abundant wildlife.
Buffalo Spirits on the Wind" is a beautiful article about a tribal service for the buffalo spirits. Even if my viewpoint is a little different, this article is worth reading.
And from the Billings Gazette the Billings Food Bank buys 3200 lbs of buffalo meat at 55 cents a pound. While I'm glad the meat was not wasted, I think I would have a hard time eating this particular buffalo meat. (I don't have a problem with buffalo raised for this purpose . . . but the national park buffalo deserved better - they are part of the national heritage at Yellowstone.)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Yellowstone's Buffalo - Update
WIth great sadness, I report that between the slaughter and normal winter die off, it seems that half of the buffalo (bison) may have died this year in Yellowstone.
While there is a new management plan in the works, I hope that someone takes note of what a significant loss of genetic diversity this is for the Yellowstone herd.
The other sobering information, the spring deaths from predators while the buffalo are still weakened from winter is not over.
There HAS to be a better way to handle the buffalo's need for winter grazing and the issues with the Montana ranching industry. The number of buffalo deaths this year is unacceptable.
It is an election year. Writing your congressmen might make a difference. Write your newspaper. Get the word out. Most people are not aware of this sad situation.
While there is a new management plan in the works, I hope that someone takes note of what a significant loss of genetic diversity this is for the Yellowstone herd.
The other sobering information, the spring deaths from predators while the buffalo are still weakened from winter is not over.
There HAS to be a better way to handle the buffalo's need for winter grazing and the issues with the Montana ranching industry. The number of buffalo deaths this year is unacceptable.
It is an election year. Writing your congressmen might make a difference. Write your newspaper. Get the word out. Most people are not aware of this sad situation.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Interesting Wolf Articles - Yellowstone area
The Yellowstone Newspaper has a bunch of links to interesting newspaper articles both about the wolf issues and the bison slaughter. I won't post all the links, but the ones below gave a nice balanced view of the wolf delisting that I think worth passing on.
From the Casper Star-Tribune:
It's important that it be here
Their Greatest Highlight
We're going to start conservatively
A Real Efficient Killer
It's really been a bad deal
From New West:
Celebrate Wolf Recovery, Delisting, and Stop Slinging Arrows
I usually find that with any controversy there are some reasonable issues on both sides. I also see that it is within the nature of people to label the people on the other side of the issue as bad, unreasonable, evil, power hungry, etc. I've been trying to read the articles from the Yellowstone News daily to get a feel for what the real issues are and to try to understand what will really happen as the wolves are delisted. There are a lot of issues - real issues and, yes, some bureaucracy issues as well.
As far as the buffalo slaughter, apparently there are 4700 buffalo in Yellowstone National Park, the target number in terms of proper wildlife management may be only 3,000. But the way this is being handled right now . . . no testing for brucellosis, apparently there is an area where there won't be cows any more that some of these buffalo might could use . . . There has to be a better way than just to round them up and haul them to the slaughterhouse.
From the Casper Star-Tribune:
It's important that it be here
Their Greatest Highlight
We're going to start conservatively
A Real Efficient Killer
It's really been a bad deal
From New West:
Celebrate Wolf Recovery, Delisting, and Stop Slinging Arrows
I usually find that with any controversy there are some reasonable issues on both sides. I also see that it is within the nature of people to label the people on the other side of the issue as bad, unreasonable, evil, power hungry, etc. I've been trying to read the articles from the Yellowstone News daily to get a feel for what the real issues are and to try to understand what will really happen as the wolves are delisted. There are a lot of issues - real issues and, yes, some bureaucracy issues as well.
As far as the buffalo slaughter, apparently there are 4700 buffalo in Yellowstone National Park, the target number in terms of proper wildlife management may be only 3,000. But the way this is being handled right now . . . no testing for brucellosis, apparently there is an area where there won't be cows any more that some of these buffalo might could use . . . There has to be a better way than just to round them up and haul them to the slaughterhouse.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Yellowstone's Wolves
Well, they delisted the wolf from the endangered species list in the Rocky Mountain area. I've got mixed feelings about that.
We were visiting Yellowstone when the first plans were being made to reintroduce wolves into the Yellowstone ecosystem. On that visit the buffalo were at one of their largest population levels - really too many for the park's natural resources to sustain. At that time the only wolves in the continental United States were in parts of Michigan and perhaps northeastern Minnesota.
Humans have a love-hate relationship with wolves. Wolves are cunning and very intelligent creatures. They work together as a pack both to hunt and to care for their young. We have many stories about pioneer people out camping or living in very primitive conditions and fending off attacks from a starving wolf pack (at least I have many memories of movie and TV versions of these tales.) And, yes, the wolf is a mighty hunter. In the days when our nation was a more agrarian society, wolf attacks on domestic animals were a real issue.
The states surrounding Yellowstone National Park are still primarily rural with farming and ranching as major industries. When the wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone, provision was made to pay ranchers for any livestock lost to wolf predation. Wolves caught in the act of harming livestock or threatening humans were fair game to be killed. Ranchers were worried . . . but a lot of effort was made to keep them from being financially harmed by this experiment.
But as much as people feel threatened by wolves, we are also fascinated by them. They are beautiful creatures with an amazing social structure. I've been privileged enough to get to see a morning reunion of a wolf pack - and it is a joyful amazing event. The sound of the wolf howls and barks of greeting are an amazingly primitive call that thrills that still wild part of our nature. There is quite a large number of people who come and spend time in Yellowstone each year both to study the wolves and their packs and to enjoy them. We've named their packs, identified individuals and mourned the losses that occur when two packs get too close together.
I've been more than willing to get up at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning to trek across the park to be in position to watch the morning activities of a pack. I've stayed out after sunset (even when it was a long 2 hour drive back to the campsite) in hopes of hearing the wolves or catching a glimpse of their evening activities. I'm secretly jealous of those people who get to spend weeks or months EVERY summer and know exactly where to find which pack and who know the wolves "by name."
The wolves that were introduced into Yellowstone have indeed spread throughout the park. However, wolf packs are very territorial and I remember hearing that the wolf numbers are not increasing right now due to wars between the packs where individual wolves die.
Humans were able to totally remove the wolf from its original range. And, there were law suits that wanted to remove the wolves from Yellowstone. But wolves were part of the original ecosystem at Yellowstone and the park has seen many benefits from the reintroduction. Aspens and willows are coming back from elk over grazing. The elk and buffalo herds have a natural predator keeping the numbers at more reasonable levels for the ecosystem to support.
But with the delisting, I suspect that the wolf population outside the park will be at greater risk than before. I wonder how long before the only wolves in the Rockies are the ones in Yellowstone National Park and perhaps Grand Teton National Park. Will it be easier or more difficult to put them back on the endangered species list then? What will the politics be?
My heart says we have too few wild places left. My heart wants them to stay wild. My heart wants to protect the "critters."
We were visiting Yellowstone when the first plans were being made to reintroduce wolves into the Yellowstone ecosystem. On that visit the buffalo were at one of their largest population levels - really too many for the park's natural resources to sustain. At that time the only wolves in the continental United States were in parts of Michigan and perhaps northeastern Minnesota.
Humans have a love-hate relationship with wolves. Wolves are cunning and very intelligent creatures. They work together as a pack both to hunt and to care for their young. We have many stories about pioneer people out camping or living in very primitive conditions and fending off attacks from a starving wolf pack (at least I have many memories of movie and TV versions of these tales.) And, yes, the wolf is a mighty hunter. In the days when our nation was a more agrarian society, wolf attacks on domestic animals were a real issue.
The states surrounding Yellowstone National Park are still primarily rural with farming and ranching as major industries. When the wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone, provision was made to pay ranchers for any livestock lost to wolf predation. Wolves caught in the act of harming livestock or threatening humans were fair game to be killed. Ranchers were worried . . . but a lot of effort was made to keep them from being financially harmed by this experiment.
But as much as people feel threatened by wolves, we are also fascinated by them. They are beautiful creatures with an amazing social structure. I've been privileged enough to get to see a morning reunion of a wolf pack - and it is a joyful amazing event. The sound of the wolf howls and barks of greeting are an amazingly primitive call that thrills that still wild part of our nature. There is quite a large number of people who come and spend time in Yellowstone each year both to study the wolves and their packs and to enjoy them. We've named their packs, identified individuals and mourned the losses that occur when two packs get too close together.
I've been more than willing to get up at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning to trek across the park to be in position to watch the morning activities of a pack. I've stayed out after sunset (even when it was a long 2 hour drive back to the campsite) in hopes of hearing the wolves or catching a glimpse of their evening activities. I'm secretly jealous of those people who get to spend weeks or months EVERY summer and know exactly where to find which pack and who know the wolves "by name."
The wolves that were introduced into Yellowstone have indeed spread throughout the park. However, wolf packs are very territorial and I remember hearing that the wolf numbers are not increasing right now due to wars between the packs where individual wolves die.
Humans were able to totally remove the wolf from its original range. And, there were law suits that wanted to remove the wolves from Yellowstone. But wolves were part of the original ecosystem at Yellowstone and the park has seen many benefits from the reintroduction. Aspens and willows are coming back from elk over grazing. The elk and buffalo herds have a natural predator keeping the numbers at more reasonable levels for the ecosystem to support.
But with the delisting, I suspect that the wolf population outside the park will be at greater risk than before. I wonder how long before the only wolves in the Rockies are the ones in Yellowstone National Park and perhaps Grand Teton National Park. Will it be easier or more difficult to put them back on the endangered species list then? What will the politics be?
My heart says we have too few wild places left. My heart wants them to stay wild. My heart wants to protect the "critters."
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
A piece of good news for the buffalo
I know that being sick this past week or so has left me with a more pessimistic look at the world. (Hopefully that will turn around as I begin to feel better.) I've been finding myself reading various news articles and feeling that things are looking pretty discouraging right now. So when I was doing my last internet surfing before I went to bed, I found this article, The New West. I sure hope it gets circulated in "all the right places." It was definitely an encouraging article to me - people trying to find workable solutions to difficult problems.
A reasonable look at alternatives for the yearly buffalo migration out of the park during the winter, it also gives some ideas that could actually work - fencing the few cattle in the migration route away from the buffalo. It also describes well the public distaste for the current methodology.
Reducing numbers of buffalo for native American hunting (the Nez Perce - see story here.) and for the health of the buffalo herd is one thing. (They have also been hunting buffalo near Grand Teton, but for different reasons - see story here.) But the current hazing and needless slaughter of the Yellowstone herd (even though - yes the meat is being used and the hides donated to native groups for ceremonial purposes) seems unreasonable to me. Especially since there are some nearby public lands that are part of their historic migration area.
Yellowstone's buffalo are part of our national heritage and should be managed respectfully and wisely. I sure hope someone in authority is "listening."
Friday, February 15, 2008
Grieving over Yellowstone's Buffalo
Here is the National Park Service's explanation of the buffalo (bison) round up that is ongoing right now.
Now, I grew up in cattle country and still own ranchland. And I know that I don't have nearly enough information about the current buffalo slaughter to even have a very good informed opinion.
Brucelosis is a problem disease for cows that causes still born calves. The cattle industry naturally wants to eradicate the disease for reasonable financial reasons. Cattle ranchers are real people who just want to feed their families like the rest of us. And, they have to fight bad weather, years with no rain, prices for their product that they can't control - it is NOT easy to be a cattle rancher. It is hard work and I have a great deal of respect for all aspects of the agricultural sector.
However, in terms of the Yellowstone buffalo, there does not seem to be adequate research as to whether buffalo can actually spread the disease back to cattle. Folks, that research needs to be done - it does not make sense to kill animals because they "might" pose a threat. How much would it have cost to test the buffalo that were sent to slaughter? If elk can also carry the disease - why are we picking on the buffalo?
Why does it matter? Why do I care? Why does this news story bother me right now?
The story of the buffalo is part of our American culture and history - part of the story of the American Plains Indians. The slaughter of the buffalo in the 1800's whether to feed the workers building the railroad or to remove the food supply of the Indians (depending upon which story you were told) was a great tragedy in so many ways. We almost lost a species (actually we did lose one of the types of buffalo.) Certainly, the buffalo are one of the symbols of the great American west. And, thankfully, the population of existing buffalo is currently healthy.
Having been to Yellowstone numerous times, buffalo are fascinating to watch. Watching the bulls follow the cows during mating season - hearing them grunt . . . The wonder of a buffalo swimming across the Yellowstone River . . . the energy of calves play, the herd behavior as the buffalo move from one area of the park to another. All of this is part of the wonder that is Yellowstone.
We idealize our national parks - we want nature to rule. We want the animal deaths in a national park to be natural ones - from predation, weather, old age, etc. (And the laws are structured that way) It just feels ugly that the Park Service would be killing part of the natural resource of the park. And I think I would feel very differently if they were doing the slaughter because of over population to prevent suffering from starvation.
Another reality, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is HUGE! Why is there not room for this free ranging buffalo herd to live in peace? Don't we have plenty of grazing land away from the park boundaries? Should tax payer money (or private money) be spent creating a fenced barrier zone so that these buffalo don't have to be needlessly killed? As in so many things in life - I wonder why different groups of people can't get together and work out more positive solutions to issues like this.
More random buffalo facts:
One of the first national wildlife refuges was set up for buffalo habitat in Oklahoma. It is still ongoing - buffalo are still doing well there. There are lots of cattle operations in Oklahoma. Difference: The Oklahoma refuge is probably completely fenced such that the buffalo can't leave, but they live pretty ordinary buffalo lives. And perhaps the herd at the Oklahoma refuge has been tested and found free from brucelosis.
There are other herds of buffalo outside Yellowstone. The current slaughter of buffalo in Yellowstone will not cause an extinction of the species. And there are many private herds of buffalo being raised for the meat outside the park. (But why aren't nearby cattle people upset about brucelosis issues with domesticated buffalo - perhaps they are vaccinated or tested???)
And . . . by the way, yes, probably it is more scientifically correct to call the bison - not buffalo. But I was raised in the American west, and in some way, they will always be buffalo to me.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Yellowstone's Buffalo
The other thing that I'm noticing at the The Yellowstone Newspaper are a number of articles about the winter slaughter of buffalo. I know that there are big issues with brucelosis and that at one point the Yellowstone herd was too large for the Yellowstone ecosystem to provide forage in the winter. But one thing that disturbs me about the reports right now, buffalo were being hazed IN THE PARK to an area where they were going to be slaughtered. There are one set of issues when buffalo are already out of the park and causing problems. And maybe these particular buffalo had already strayed out of the park and had gone back in . . . I don't know.
Things I do know: Buffalo have in the past over populated to unsustainable numbers for the habitat. The wolves were supposed to help reduce the numbers naturally. Buffalo are hard on their environment damaging trees and small shrubs. I know less about the brucelosis issues.
But right now the numbers of buffalo in Yellowstone do not reflect overpopulation. I saw some of the "herding" of buffalo in Yellowstone last summer - while the calves were still young.
There is a lot of conflict right now between Montana ranchers and hunters over not only the buffalo but also the wolves.
If wolves are delisted (as appears likely), then the wild ones outside the park are likely to be killed probably rapidly.
While I may not be totally in agreement with The Buffalo Field Campaign, I am glad there are people out there working to raise awareness of what is going on right now with the buffalo in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Things I do know: Buffalo have in the past over populated to unsustainable numbers for the habitat. The wolves were supposed to help reduce the numbers naturally. Buffalo are hard on their environment damaging trees and small shrubs. I know less about the brucelosis issues.
But right now the numbers of buffalo in Yellowstone do not reflect overpopulation. I saw some of the "herding" of buffalo in Yellowstone last summer - while the calves were still young.
There is a lot of conflict right now between Montana ranchers and hunters over not only the buffalo but also the wolves.
If wolves are delisted (as appears likely), then the wild ones outside the park are likely to be killed probably rapidly.
While I may not be totally in agreement with The Buffalo Field Campaign, I am glad there are people out there working to raise awareness of what is going on right now with the buffalo in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
African Elephants
Each day I scan for news on "My Yahoo." I have it set to get news from Reuters, AP, entertainment news from various sources, Denver's "Rocky Mountain News," the Los Angeles Times, USA today, and "most emailed "stories. If I'm really motivated (rarely) I have links to the New York Times, the Austin American Statesman, and other major US Newspapers. I won't say that this assortment keeps me "well" informed, but I do have a clue what is going on in the world.
Today's Los Angeles paper had an interesting article about the elephants in South Africa.
Now we really enjoyed seeing the elephants in Zambia and Botswana. They are amazing creatures, very family oriented.
I have photos of a group of them surrounding their young one for protection.
Babies stay with the family for several years and they are a long lived species. Needless to say, elephants are large animals with large appetites. They also don't have a good digestive system, so they don't get full advantage of what they do eat. In the southern parts of Africa, there are still plenty of elephants. Unfortunately, it is a "good news, bad news" situation. It was wonderful to see the large numbers of elephants everywhere at Chobe and South Luangwa. It is incredible to see a large herd of elephants cross the river or run to the water to get their morning drink.
But . . . at places like Chobe and apparently Kruger in South Africa, there are more elephants than the environment will be able to support. You see, elephants are hard on their environment - they eat trees and tear them up in the process, they pull up grass by the roots, and they are always hungry. During the rainy season, there may be enough food, but in the dry season, they'll eat tree branches -thorns and all. And, they kill many trees in the process by tearing off too many big branches and knocking the tops of the trees off.
Even if elephants don't digest their food well, all is not lost. There are a number of animals that find their diet in the remains of the elephant dung . . . baboons and guinea fowl can be found foraging in the piles of elephant dung for the seeds that the elephants were not able to digest. So, if you control the populations of the elephants, it might have an impact on some of these other species. However, other grazing animals might benefit from better forage . . .
I'm not a wildlife biologist, but I've seen or heard from several sources that places like Chobe have more numbers of elephants currently than is advantageous for the overall ecosystem. The TImes article does a good job talking about the tough choices that will need to be made. If you have to thin the herds (yes . . . that could be one of the right things to do) then you have to thin out entire families, because they have such a strong family structure. They are trying some birth control methods. And while it is an option, it might be possible to transport elephant families to areas of Africa where elephants were once common, but have now disappeared. But that is expensive, and most African governments don't have the money to transport elephants when their people are starving, wells need to be drilled, better medical treatment and medicines are needed, and the roads are filled with pot holes.
We were in Yellowstone during the time frame when there were too many bison. Bison also are hard on their environment. And when the number of bison reaches a critical level, they start leaving the park to forage. The local ranchers get most upset, because bison carry brucellosis which in theory could be passed on to cattle which then causes major problems for the cattle industry. Once again, the alternatives are not happy. Ranchers are allowed to shoot bison that leave the park. Last summer a large herd was "hazed" back into the park. No one was happy, because the cows had calves and were rushed with helicopters and cowboys - pushed faster than their normal speed possibly causing distress.
Whether we want it or not, humans have a responsibility to manage game herds so that their long term viability is maximized. If we let animals overpopulate, they will die of illness and lack of food. And, of course, human activity has reduced the natural range for many of the large herd animals . . .
Lots of issues . . . no great solutions . . .
I'm glad to finish this piece with the encouragement that at least here in the US, young people are going to college and getting "trained" in managing the land for wildlife. Let's just hope the politics keeps the importance of healthy wildlife populations as something we as a nation and a world value.
Today's Los Angeles paper had an interesting article about the elephants in South Africa.
Now we really enjoyed seeing the elephants in Zambia and Botswana. They are amazing creatures, very family oriented.
I have photos of a group of them surrounding their young one for protection.
Babies stay with the family for several years and they are a long lived species. Needless to say, elephants are large animals with large appetites. They also don't have a good digestive system, so they don't get full advantage of what they do eat. In the southern parts of Africa, there are still plenty of elephants. Unfortunately, it is a "good news, bad news" situation. It was wonderful to see the large numbers of elephants everywhere at Chobe and South Luangwa. It is incredible to see a large herd of elephants cross the river or run to the water to get their morning drink.
But . . . at places like Chobe and apparently Kruger in South Africa, there are more elephants than the environment will be able to support. You see, elephants are hard on their environment - they eat trees and tear them up in the process, they pull up grass by the roots, and they are always hungry. During the rainy season, there may be enough food, but in the dry season, they'll eat tree branches -thorns and all. And, they kill many trees in the process by tearing off too many big branches and knocking the tops of the trees off.
Even if elephants don't digest their food well, all is not lost. There are a number of animals that find their diet in the remains of the elephant dung . . . baboons and guinea fowl can be found foraging in the piles of elephant dung for the seeds that the elephants were not able to digest. So, if you control the populations of the elephants, it might have an impact on some of these other species. However, other grazing animals might benefit from better forage . . .
I'm not a wildlife biologist, but I've seen or heard from several sources that places like Chobe have more numbers of elephants currently than is advantageous for the overall ecosystem. The TImes article does a good job talking about the tough choices that will need to be made. If you have to thin the herds (yes . . . that could be one of the right things to do) then you have to thin out entire families, because they have such a strong family structure. They are trying some birth control methods. And while it is an option, it might be possible to transport elephant families to areas of Africa where elephants were once common, but have now disappeared. But that is expensive, and most African governments don't have the money to transport elephants when their people are starving, wells need to be drilled, better medical treatment and medicines are needed, and the roads are filled with pot holes.
We were in Yellowstone during the time frame when there were too many bison. Bison also are hard on their environment. And when the number of bison reaches a critical level, they start leaving the park to forage. The local ranchers get most upset, because bison carry brucellosis which in theory could be passed on to cattle which then causes major problems for the cattle industry. Once again, the alternatives are not happy. Ranchers are allowed to shoot bison that leave the park. Last summer a large herd was "hazed" back into the park. No one was happy, because the cows had calves and were rushed with helicopters and cowboys - pushed faster than their normal speed possibly causing distress.
Whether we want it or not, humans have a responsibility to manage game herds so that their long term viability is maximized. If we let animals overpopulate, they will die of illness and lack of food. And, of course, human activity has reduced the natural range for many of the large herd animals . . .
Lots of issues . . . no great solutions . . .
I'm glad to finish this piece with the encouragement that at least here in the US, young people are going to college and getting "trained" in managing the land for wildlife. Let's just hope the politics keeps the importance of healthy wildlife populations as something we as a nation and a world value.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Yellowstone - Day 2
As we started our rounds yesterday, we had cloudy weather with occasional snow and sleet. The gray sky made landscape photos difficult, leaving me uninspired. So far the bears we'd seen had been either disappearing artists or in dark lighting. I was also fighting the issue of a photographic axiom, "Don't put your tripod in the prints of someone elses." Yellowstone is so photographed, how am I going to make unique magic photos here.
While I did not take photos of every highlight yesterday, the highlights were:
Bald eagle nest with eaglets and one of the eagles hunting and hovering over the river
Finding the larger buffalo herds with calves
Coyote den in the rocks
Grizzly bear near the campsite
The coyote den was already packed with photographers with their huge lenses. Talk about a wildlife jam when we first arrived. There was one lady in a car trying to get through who got so upset . . . she starting beeping her horn and yelling. For crying out loud, this was not a moose, elk, or bear jam . . . didn't she know how rare it is to see baby coyotes? After the first toot, I told her tersely, "Don't honk your horn." And it really did not take her that long to wait through the slow line of cars.
I had grabbled my 100-400 because it was easier to get to in a hurry, but I quickly went over to the jeep and got the big Sigma out. Unfortunately, i had forgotten to change my setting from manual back to autofocus. Plus I had to wait patiently as the non photographers moved to get a good spot. But the jackpot for me was when the mother coyote came back. While she did not go to the den with all the photographers there, she did show herself several times as she kept trying to get back to the den. I haven't decided whether to post these or not as they ARE competition quality.
We're going to get out early, and that den is high on my list for the day.
While I did not take photos of every highlight yesterday, the highlights were:
Bald eagle nest with eaglets and one of the eagles hunting and hovering over the river
Finding the larger buffalo herds with calves
Coyote den in the rocks
Grizzly bear near the campsite
The coyote den was already packed with photographers with their huge lenses. Talk about a wildlife jam when we first arrived. There was one lady in a car trying to get through who got so upset . . . she starting beeping her horn and yelling. For crying out loud, this was not a moose, elk, or bear jam . . . didn't she know how rare it is to see baby coyotes? After the first toot, I told her tersely, "Don't honk your horn." And it really did not take her that long to wait through the slow line of cars.
I had grabbled my 100-400 because it was easier to get to in a hurry, but I quickly went over to the jeep and got the big Sigma out. Unfortunately, i had forgotten to change my setting from manual back to autofocus. Plus I had to wait patiently as the non photographers moved to get a good spot. But the jackpot for me was when the mother coyote came back. While she did not go to the den with all the photographers there, she did show herself several times as she kept trying to get back to the den. I haven't decided whether to post these or not as they ARE competition quality.
We're going to get out early, and that den is high on my list for the day.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Yellowstone - 1st 24 hours
We drove into the Teton area last night. It seemed a good omen that as we were driving up the road that would drop us into the Teton Mountain area we saw our first grizzly. While I did not get a great shot, I did catch it as it stood up and popped up its head over the willows to check on the people that were trying to watch it.
As I was working on paying this month's bills, we saw a coyote run along the road right near the camper. On our first loop near Obsedian Cliff we saw a mother grizzly bear and her cub near the road. She saw us about the same time we saw her and herded her cub up the side of the mountain and then walked in sight just above the road for a little while. Great sighting, but no time to get a good photograph. After she headed up she was always pretty hidden in the trees. Just up the road, there was a coyote running along the road, with a car right behind it, with a lady hanging out the window with her small point and shoot camera trying to get a photo. (Yes, I hang out the windows and doors of my car sometimes trying to get a shot.) Once again, it happened too fast to get a photo.
We could see clouds moving in from the northeast, blocking out the last evening sun. Sure looked more like snow than rain, and the temperature was right for snow.
As we headed east from Mammoth just near Tower Falls, we saw a black bear foraging. It was on Henry's side and this time we did get a shot. I quickly handed him the camera with whatever lens was on it (it was my landscape lens) after making a quick adjustment to shutterspeed to get something fast enough for a handheld shot.
We passed a sandhill crane sitting on her nest on a small island in one of the ponds. I passed on trying to get her picture because the light levels were low. I figured that she was likely to still be there at a better time of day on another pass through the loop.
The clouds were still coming in, the sun was probably down, but we still had some light. We saw a car facing in the same direction we were traveling but on the wrong side of the road. It must be a good wildlife sighting and it was. A black bear foraging along the creek working its way upstream, oblivious to the human watchers above. I dug out the 100-400 to get started. But as I realized that I would have more opportunities as it went upstream, I asked Henry to get the big lens out and ready. Now I knew light wasn't great. I already had the ISO at 1600. I would not be getting quality images. But the photo fever was on me . . . I fought with the big lens tripod, I hastened up the hill hauling lens, camera and tripod headless of whether I was getting winded or not. And I kept trying to get a keeper shot of that bear. Light was so bad it wouldn't auto focus, so I switched on manual. And I enjoyed watching that bear scratch himself against a tree (turns out that is marking behavior for bears). The light was getting worse, so I finally just enjoyed watching the bear as it continued upstream. The first photos of him are the best, none is competition quality. But this is part of the Yellowstone experience, rounding the bend and having a wonderful wildlife encounter.
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