(image above: NPS/Jim Peaco)
Few ‘firsts’ are anticipated in Yellowstone as much the first grizzly bear sighting of spring. Over the last decade and a half, we have had many memorable ‘firsts’—some of which were captured on film (yes, actual film), pixels, sketches on paper and in clay. Many others live on simply in our memories. Each bear encounter is unique, each one is special. One of my favorite ‘first bears’ was the one of 2010. Young George had come into our lives just 5 months before and we were then– as we still are today–committed to being an active family. So, with that little button-of-a-boy nestled inside my coat, Jenny and I stood in the snow for more than an hour eagerly peering through
A small bronze study, done from memory, of our first grizzly bear of 2010.
our spotting scope from a bluff overlooking the Yellowstone River. At the forest edge below was a very handsome, dark-coated grizzly that was making a very slow transition into spring. The bear had made itself a daybed scraped into the duff at the base of a stately Douglas fir tree and lined with wild rye grass straw. And as that little human boy slumbered and cooed in my warm coat, the bear made a slow-motion bid to find a comfortable position to await a more acceptable version of spring. We didn’t have a chance to take any pictures, not even a quick pencil sketch, but the image stuck with me and I ultimately did a small bronze (edition of 1) just as our own keepsake.
Though driven more by food than cold, bears begin to emerge as the menu options start to improve. One location in northern Yellowstone provides a unique dining opportunity for those earliest emerging bears. Each winter, the Blacktail Ponds are turned into an icy vault. Although the ice continues to thicken with each successive cold front, there are a few isolated spots stirred by freshwater springs that prevent the ice from forming a safe walkway… for bison at least. What follows is an agonizing scene whereupon a bison, or multiple bison, fall through this unstable ice and are left to their fate amid the frigid waters. Occasionally a bison will manage to escape, but this is a rarity. Hypothermia and drowning end most of the bisons’ suffering and scavengers soon gather to make use their remains. Interestingly, it is usually only the eagles who are able to gain any measure of sustenance from these unfortunate animals. Though wolves, coyotes, foxes, ravens and others make valiant attempts to dine on chilled bison steaks, they are unable to get suitable traction or leverage to feed on the floating carcasses. The eagle alone, with its sharp talons and raptorial beak, can carve out a meal—that is, until the bears emerge. This is a feast for bears and the bears alone. It is quite a sight to watch a five or six hundred pound
Darkness turned to light on March 18th, for the first grizzly of 2017.
grizzly bear wade into these frigid waters and extract a waterlogged bison carcass that can easily represent more than twice its own body weight. Though all of the other scavengers are eager to join in, they are relegated to sitting ‘in the bleachers,’ until the bear has had its fill. But don’t get too anxious scavengers, because when the bear finishes dining, it is customary for the bruin to cover its prize beneath a heap of dirt, grass and other debris which it then lies upon and promptly goes to sleep. It was this very setting that led to my first grizzly bear of 2017. Unlike past ‘first grizzlies,’ I was actually close enough in the predawn darkness to hear this bear munching on it it’s coveted bison vittles, long before it could be seen. This was an exhilarating, albeit eerie, experience and frankly one that I would never want to have if I weren’t safely tucked away inside my vehicle. This particular bear was somewhat shy, and in the face of road traffic and human activity, it would depart at first light; I made sure to get into position well before dawn. And only then did I manage to see this bear through the use of a night vision scope.
And then there are several ‘firsts’ that are little more than four-legged ants scurrying across high mountain snow banks. They definitely “count,” but are so far distant, like one I observed up on Specimen Ridge some years back, or another way-up in the highest reaches of the Crystal Creek drainage, that one has to spend some time watching, questioning, to be sure it’s an actual bear and not a speck of dirt or midge fly on your spotting scope lens. Another bear that Jenny and I shared as both of our ‘firsts’ was in a bit of a pickle. The poor bruin was making his way across an open field of crusted snow. The weight of the bear was too much for the icy veneer and he punched through experiencing a jarring collapse with each step. When referring to our own travails in this situation, it is referred to as “posthole-ing.” A look of fatigue and disgust on his face was only amplified by the presence of a gray wolf that, staying gleefully aloft on the crust, harassed the grizzly every time it turned its gaze away. Look for this one in clay soon… reminiscing over all these past bear sightings makes me want to give this one a try in sculpture!
A private viewing for two—2014’s first grizzly bear as photographed through my binoculars.
With the arrival of spring comes the plowing of the roads and limited access to Yellowstone’s interior. By 2014, young George was old enough to attend daycare and so mom and dad could escape for some quality time together time after the long winter’s confinement. “Crust skiing” is a fun way to explore some of the long-neglected backcountry locales as the snow pack begins to erode— If you make sure to get there early in the morning while it is still frozen. Push your luck too far into sunny warmth of the day and it turns to mush. On one such an outing, Jenny and I lingered a bit too long and managed to come up against a softening snowpack near Canyon Village. With no small amount of effort, we found our way through tangled, snowy forests to the road that winds between Mount Washburn and Canyon. While still gated and unplowed, the road offered a much more pleasant ski surface than was experienced in the surrounding environs. On a lark, we skied a bit further along the road to the north and were rewarded for our efforts with the perfect cherry to go on top of our morning spent together—the first grizzly bear of 2014! Like many bears, this one had probably denned high in the upper elevations of the Washburn Range and upon leaving the den, was using the high, thinly-snowed ridges to make its initial forays into another Yellowstone spring. I snapped this one photo of him by holding the camera up to my set of 8×42 binoculars.
As much as we remember a particular bear, the exact spot it was observed, or the weather on the day of a fabled sighting, we find that the people that we get to share these wonderful experiences with are also indelibly linked to these stepping stones through the changing seasons. Though I must confess that I cannot remember the exact location of my first bear spotted on that morning of April 9th, of 2013, I distinctly recall peering through the scope and teeheeing with Brad Orsted over the lounge lizard performance by this one boar grizzly; he lolled about in what appeared to be a reclining lawnchair made out of an excavation in the hillside. Lying on his back, with his front paws elevated and limp-wristed, he gave the impression of being on the sofa in front of the television with the only thing missing being a bowl of popcorn balanced upon his belly. As is often the case, ‘first sightings’ are not always the clearest, nor the closest, but
Brad Orsted and I shared this view of our first grizzly in 2013.
A wax, thumbnail sketch inspired by the first grizzly of 2013.
after watching for sometime, I rendered the details of what I saw through the spotting scope in bit of modeling wax. Pictures or written words do not always fully capture a moment and this little three-dimensional ‘scribble’ was my way of paying homage to yet another magical first in the high mountains snows of a Yellowstone spring.¶ You may also find it interesting to know that some of the details observed from this bear from 2013, were combined with others going back many years in order to create the finished bronze of a flexible grizzly and entitled “Yoga Bear“. Although one particular encounter with a specific bear may inspire a sculpture, each finished piece is literally a collage of dozens, if not hundreds of sightings that span multiple years and individuals.
Each sighting is accompanied by so many more observations and experiences, hinted at from my field notes from my first bear in 2012, while leading a press trip for the Yellowstone Association. “Was out with a PR film crew in the Park yesterday… got a great, but distant view of 10 of the Mollie’s Pack wolves and met a man and his daughter who saw them bring down the bison they were feeding on the previous evening. Lots of new birds arriving like sandhills, 1st belted kingfisher of the year, western meadowlarks, etc & my first grizzly of the year, also got this amazingly close view of a golden eagle!”
I would be remiss to not include this year’s first grizzly bear sighting. Our most recent sightings are always the most fresh and vivid, and we were most delighted to share this first grizzly bear with our friends Jody and Lyall from Australia. From a high viewpoint overlooking the Yellowstone River and Hellroaring Creek we got to see the bear feeding on a bison carcass. The two of them are traveling the world interviewing leaders in sustainability, publishing their adventures through their blog and a great series of podcasts at Sustainable Jungle. Not only was this the very first trip to Yellowstone for Joy and Lyall, but it was also their very first time to see a bear in the wild! Cheers and safe travels to you both, and may all of our readers celebrate all of the fascinating ‘firsts’ that spring continues to offer in your part of the world.
This year’s first grizzly bear as sketched from memory.
