Protect our National Parks

08/20/2022

When bison begin to slowly migrate to the Lamar and Hayden valleys, you know it’s rut season in Yellowstone National Park!

What is rut? The rut, or mating, season is the time of year that bison congregate in large herds to compete, socialize, and eventually breed. Male bison (bulls) fight with each other to prove they are strong mates to the females of the herd. Bulls will mate with multiple females over the course of a single season, however female bison (cows) will mate with only one bull. Rut lasts from mid-July through September.

It’s important to remember that during rut, bulls are on high alert and can get aggravated easily! No matter what time of year, always stay further than 25 yards away from all wildlife, and make sure both tires are over the white lines if you pull off the road to view them.

08/20/2022

View from the top of the Artists Paintpots trail in Yellowstone National Park, so much to see in this beautiful park.

08/20/2022

(Heads Up!) Yellowstone National Park incident at Abyss Pool in West Thumb Geyser Basin. Visitors: For your own safety, always stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas.

- On Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, an employee found part of a foot, in a shoe, floating in Abyss Pool, located in the West Thumb Geyser Basin in the southern part of Yellowstone National Park.

- An investigation by Yellowstone National Park law enforcement officers is ongoing.

- Evidence from the investigation thus far suggests that an incident involving one individual likely occurred on the morning of July 31, 2022, at Abyss Pool. Currently, the park believes there was no foul play. The investigation is continuing to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.

- The West Thumb Geyser Basin and parking lot were temporarily closed to visitors due to the discovery but have since reopened.

- Abyss Pool has a depth of more than 50 feet and is one of the deepest hot springs in the park. Its temperature is approximately 140 degrees F (60 degrees C).

- Visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas and exercise extreme caution around thermal features. The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface. Learn more about safety in thermal areas at go.nps.gov/yellsafety.

- There are no photos of this incident.

More info: go.nps.gov/220819

08/20/2022

It’s National Aviation Day! ✈️

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated August 19th as National Aviation Day in honor of Orville Wright's birthday. Wind, sand, and a dream of flight brought brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright to North Carolina where they made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903.

The National Park Service has a history steeped in aviation, from preserving historical sites of aviation "firsts,” like the flights made at Wright Brothers National Memorial, to those who to take flight in assisting parks with wildland firefighting or in search and rescue and law enforcement operations.

To learn more about aviation and your parks, flyover to: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/aviation

Image: Orville Wright is shown lying in the pilot's seat of the 1903 Flyer in the Centennial Sculpture at Wright Brothers. National Memorial.

08/19/2022

08/19/2022

A buck Pronghorn watching a photographer who has left his car and is walking toward the animals.

08/19/2022

Male (top) and female (head down) Pronghorns. Males have prongs on their horns and a black patch along the jawline and neck area. Females can have horns (most do) but they are shorter and lack the prongs..

08/19/2022

There were large herds of Pronghorn on the Old Yellowstone Trail Road out of Gardiner.

08/18/2022

When not nursing or sleeping, Bison calves are very energetic and curious, and engage in all sorts of running around and play. I watched a couple of them head-butting and shoving each other for several minutes one afternoon, apparently practicing for their more serious bouts when they reach adulthood.

08/18/2022