|
 While we were in Cody, several people asked if we had visited the
"World's Largest Petting Zoo" yet. They were referring to Yellowstone,
of course, which was only about an hour away. Funny, in Yellowstone
they tell you very specifically to stay well clear of the animals. It
could justifiably be called a zoo, but it's definitely not a petting zoo.
While we
were at Yellowstone we saw several elk and mule deer, a black bear, a bald
eagle, and many, many bison. We happened to be there during mating
season for the bison (rangers call it "Bison Behaving Badly" month) and
believe me, you don't want to get anywhere near those beasts. They are
enormous and the sound they make is pretty intimidating. In Hayden
Valley, they pretty much own the road. Once we waited for close to 40
minutes while the herd took their time crossing the road. We held
our breath as several of the 2000 pound males came within 2 feet of our
open windows. We didn't try to pet them. Didn't even try to get their
attention. We were just hoping they'd keep going without charging our
van.
Pictures in the gallery
The entire time we were there we had our eyes peeled for large
animals. We were hoping to see a grisly bear, from a distance. That
didn't happen. There are also many pronghorns and big horn sheep
there, but we didn't see them either. As for the moose, they have
migrated more toward the Tetons since the 1988 fire destroyed many of
the willow trees in Yellowstone. Didn't see them either. Still, it's
pretty amazing to stand about 20 feet away from a huge elk, with
antlers as long as my leg. They are beautiful creatures. Speaking of
antlers, we got a great lesson from a park ranger on antlers vs.
horns. Do you know the difference? Here's a little lesson...
Antlers are made of bone and are only grown by males. They are
shed and regrown every year. Horns, on the other hand, are made of
material that is essentially the same as our fingernails. They are
grown by both males and females and they are not shed, except in the
case of the pronghorn. You can tell the age of an animal by the rings
on its horns. The animals in Yellowstone with antlers are elk, white
tailed deer, mule deer, and moose. The animals in Yellowstone with
horns are big horn sheep, bison and pronghorn antelope. Here's a game you can play to see if you can put the right horns or antlers on the right animal.
|
No Comments.
We're excited to be able to partner