Animal Sightings Along the Trail

A yellow bellied marmot watches us hike by on the Old Faithful
Overlook trail in Yellowstone National Park.

My daughter and I just spent two weeks camping and hiking through Yellowstone and surrounding parks. Here is a bullet list of animals we saw:

• Moose (1 beside the trail in Grand Tetons)
• Buffalo (herds, including walking past the car)
• Coyote (3 - one walking down the road, and one being chased by a mama deer)
• Elk (herds and at least two bulls)
• Yellow Bellied Marmot (1 along trail above Old Faithful, 12 in Bear Tooth Pass)
• Snowshoe Hare
• Baby Moose, hiding in the bushed along the trail
• Pronghorn (herds)
• Mule Deer (herds)
• Black Bear (6, one was 20 feet away along the trail)
• Wolves (3 in Lamar Valley and 3 along Yellowstone River)
• Prairie Dogs (whole towns of them)
• Quail (2 in Badlands)
• Pheasant (1 in Badlands)

We saw all "Big Five" but only three of them inside Yellowstone National Park. The moose and bear beside the trail were a bit exciting - too busy gripping the can of bear spray to take pictures! It was amazing discovering God's creatures both big and small.