Our morning started dark and early, the first animal we saw entering the park was a bull elk and his harem right in Mammoth hot springs. Throughout the day we saw many bison. There are around 5,000 bison in the park. I learned from our guide Taylor that baby bison are born red to help with camouflage them from predators which are colorblind. Throughout the day we saw a few grizzlies, one wolf, multiple pronghorn, one fox, mountain goats, and some bighorn sheep. We also saw a mother black bear with a black coat and her yearling who had a cinnamon coat

I also learned that mountain goats have a tendon on the bottom of their hooves that act as suction cups to help them on the steep and rocky terrain. I also learned that the Black Canyon area in Yellowstone has the highest predator density in the lower 48, with 2.2 predators per square mile.

We also went up to explore an old bison kill site. This was super interesting to see all of the bones and fur. We learned that biologists will come and take a marrow sample out of wolf kills. While exploring the area around the site we also found a few elk skulls and sheds. The park rangers will come and saw off chunks of the elk sheds to discourage people from stealing from the park.

The last event of the day was exploring mammoth hot springs. This year has been pretty dry here, so the springs were pretty dry. They were still pretty cool to see, however it would’ve been really cool if there was more water.

On our way back from the springs we stopped in Mammoth to look at the many elk hanging out in the historic district. We watched the bull for a while and chatted with a ranger. He said that he frequently gets asked what the elk are by unknowing tourists. The bull has a reputation for being a jerk and ramming cars.

Tomorrow we are going to watch a new kill site and hope for some more wolf or grizzly action.