Dripping drama in Yellowstone

© 2011 Lydia Hinshaw

Elk calf follows mom into swift and deep water

After being swept downstream, calf reaches safety

 

...and they run off into the woods

  BOZEMAN, MT -- We were on the road at 5:30 a.m. Thursday because we had an appointment to get the Magic Bus serviced in Livingston, MT. By skipping breakfast, we made it right on time.

  Before we left Yellowstone we witnessed a big of roadside drama north of Norris Junction.  A cow elk was trying to cross a rushing stream with her calf, who was probably less than a month old.

  There was double the annual average of snow here over the winter, and it's melting now.  Water is high everywhere and waterfalls are in hammer mode.

 Mama elk had no problem with this crossing, but the little one was swept away by the current.  For a moment, we were afraid he was lost.  But mom, out of the water, ran in the direction her calf was moving. Perhaps she was calling to him to tell him what to do.

 In any case, the youngster got into shallower water, regained his footing, and climbed back onto the shore, where the two of them trotted off into the trees.

 It was my second tense animal-safety moment of the week.  Monday, while leading a tour and therefore without my SLR and long lens, I watched with my busload of guests while an osprey struggled to escape the Yellowstone River.

  Ospreys are not built to swim.  They are designed to be in the water only an instant, to grab some unfortunate fish. This bird, possibly a youngster, had messed up somehow.  He missed his fish, and he could not get airborne again.

 We watched him try, and fail, twice.  Finally, after catching his breath for a moment, he worked his wings harder than ever, fought his way free of the water and settled in the top of a nearby tree.

 Two happy endings.  But with the number of youngsters learning life skills this time of year, there must be many more incidents that don't turn out so well.