We have been in Yellowstone several times this spring, and it’s one of my favorite times of year. Since things get pretty muddy around here in spring, a day driving through Yellowstone is a great way to enjoy the outdoors. Animals are out and active after a long winter, and babies are being born. There are even a couple weeks where part of the park is open to bicycles and not vehicles (with the exception of park employee traffic).
Early spring also has one of the advantages of winter: animals stand out more against the snow.
Winter and early spring can also be a great time to see bighorn sheep. As things begin to warm up, though, they start losing their winter coats and can look a bit ragged. (The photo below was taken in March, technically not spring yet despite the lack of snow, so this ram was still in his full winter coat.)
As spring progresses, the most obvious baby animals in the park are the baby bison (also known as “red dogs,” due to their color and size). They can be a lot of fun to watch. Although they’re often resting, they can get VERY active, running and jumping awkwardly as they learn how to control their legs. The little one below was being herded away from the road by mom.
Bears are also particularly active in spring. Last year, we had a day where we saw somewhere between 15 and 20 individual bears in a single day! Although we haven’t had such luck so far this year, we have had a couple very memorable encounters with a bear we believe is grizzly 980 (the “Beryl Spring sow”) and her two 2-year-old cubs.
Other babies can be seen in the park, but you do have to get lucky to see them. Elk calves and mule deer fawns are not common to see, as they’re often hiding while mom grazes, but they’re there. I have yet to be lucky enough to see, let alone photograph, wolf, coyote, or fox pups, but again, they’re out there.
Weather can definitely be a challenge at this time of year – we experienced rain, snow, and some very brief and small hail this weekend. Still, I’ll never turn down an opportunity to spend a day in Yellowstone!