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You never know what you may see when driving in Yellowstone. In this week’s installment of Find the Animal, I share a picture of a grizzly bear during a snowstorm, as seen from the road connecting Mammoth Hot Springs to the Norris Geyser Basin. It is a decently easy animal to spot in this picture and an experience that may be a highlight for many who take a trip into the park in late Spring.
ABOUT THE PICTURE
It was your typical May morning in Yellowstone National Park. Interior park roads had been open for a few weeks and while the rest of the country was in the midst of spring weather, we were getting a wet, heavy snow. My plan was to go down and wander the Norris Geyser Basin for the first time in 2022, but as I rounded a corner a dozen of miles south of Mammoth Hot Springs, I noticed a smattering of cars parked at a pullout. I also noticed a ranger vehicle, with lights flashing, also parked at a nearby pullout.
Without a second though, I knew there was a bear nearby.
Sure enough, out in the field to the west, I spotted a grizzly, just a few years old, flipping over rocks and looking for an easy meal. A light snow was falling, accumulating rather quickly in the chilly morning air, giving the normally brown fur a white coating. Still driving, I searched for a spot to park, but didn’t see one I could get into from my direction. I drove on, turning around a mile down the road and heading north toward the bear. It was here that I decided to slow down in the road and snapped a picture. There were no cars behind me, so I could more easily justify my actions. While driving in Yellowstone, one should never stop in the road to take a picture.
Can you spot the grizzly bear?
As always, click on the image to see it larger.
Another “Find the Animal” picture of the bear, from a different angle:
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