Yellowstone NP has a wide variety of animal life, including North America’s largest land animal
(American Bison), fastest land animal (Pronghorn Antelope), and many other interesting creatures.
On this page we take a detailed look at the North American Black Bear, Bison, and Bighorn Sheep.

Some of these images have appeared on earlier pages, but all images
have been processed for this page using some recently developed techniques.

click an image to open a larger version
Use your back button to return to this page.
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Images on this page are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Animals Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

Images can be found in the following Galleries (Direct Links)

Black Bear
Bison
Bighorn Sheep

North American Black Bear

The most common bear in North America is the Black Bear, which can sometimes be found near the
public areas of Yellowstone. There are also Brown Bear (Grizzlies) in Yellowstone, but they are more
difficult to find as they are most often in the high country. Depending on what the weather has been
like, in the late fall it is sometimes possible to see bears eating berries and otherwise fattening
their cubs (and themselves) in preparation for the long northern winter. Sometimes they are
hard to find in the lower regions of the park, and sometimes they are all over the place.

Black Bear 7927

Black Bear closeup 8359

Black Bear Tasting Berries 9031

Black Bear 9000

Black Bear Eating Berries XL

click image to open 977 x 1200 version

Available as an XL Signed Composite (2464 x 3025)

Black Bear closeup 8385

Black Bear closeup 8391

Black Bear Female closeup 8426

Black Bear Female closeup 8434

Black Bear Female closeup 8431

Black Bear 8221

Black Bear Cub 8730

Cinnamon Cub 0643

Cinnamon Cub 0647

Black Bear Female with Cub 8560

Black Bear Female 8577

Cinnamon Cub Closeup 8449

Black Bear Cub closeup 8619

Cinnamon Cub Closeup 8447

Cinnamon Cub 0671

Cinnamon Black Bear 8166

Black Bear Cub 9181

Black Bear Cub 9195

Black Bear Cub Don’t Forget to Smell the Daisies 9122

Black Bear Cub Flower 9167

Black Bear Cub
Don’t Forget to Eat the Daisies 9123

Black Bear Crossing 8871

Black Bear Cub XL

click image to open 1406 x 1200 version

Available as an XL Signed Composite (4100 x 3500)

Black Bear Cub 2 XL

click image to open 1500 x 677 version

Available as an XL Signed Composite (4100 x 1850)

North American Black Bears XXXL

click image to open 1500 x 643 version

Available as an XXXL Signed Composite (11508 x 4936)

North American Black Bears XXXL (framed)

click image to open 1500 x 815 version

Available as an XXXL Framed Composite (14318 x 7778)
 

Bighorn Sheep

Over my several visits to Yellowstone, I have only seen Bighorn sheep at a great distance,
except for one time. I was heading to Gardiner MT outside the North Entrance of the park to
get some food, when I encountered a small herd of females and youngsters browsing near the
river and on the surrounding slopes, very close to the road. Having a short telephoto zoom on my
camera didn’t turn out to be a liability, as I was able to get quite close.  Unfortunately, the male
stayed high on the cliff and never gave me a shot, so these are all females and youngsters.

Bighorn Female Portrait 1232

Bighorn Juvenile Portrait 1173

Bighorn Juvenile Portrait 1152

Bighorn Lamb 1187

Bighorn Juvenile 1162

Bighorn Lamb Portrait 1206

Bighorn Family 1203

Bighorn Sheep closeup 1290

Bighorn Sheep 1299

Bighorn Female 1263

Bighorn Juvenile and Lamb 1218

Bighorn Juvenile 1278

Bighorn Lamb 1282

Bighorn Lamb 1288

Bighorn Sheep 1302

Bighorn Sheep 1307

Bighorn Family 1248

Bighorn Sheep Portraits SXL

click image to open 1487 x 1200 version

Available as an SXL Signed Composite (3284 x 2650)

Bighorn Sheep Family Portraits XXL

click image to open 1362 x 1200 version

Available as an XXL Signed Composite (4936 x 4350)

Bighorn Sheep XXL

click image to open 1500 x 1061 version

Available as an XXL Signed Composite (4948 x 3500)

Bighorn Sheep SXXL

click image to open 1500 x 1193 version

Available as an SXXL Signed Composite (6600 x 5250)

Bison

The animal most widely associated with Yellowstone NP is the American Bison.
The only continuously wild herd in the USA resides in Yellowstone. The 3500-4000
individuals descend from 23 individual mountain bison that survived near-extinction
in the late 1800s by hiding in Pelican Valley. In 1902, a captive herd of 21 individuals
was introduced into the Lamar Valley and managed as livestock until the 1960s,
when a policy of natural regulation was instated in the park. Bison are now in
 the Lamar and Hayden Valleys and in many of the southern geyser basins,
and have begun to migrate to the lower elevations outside the park.

Yellowstone Bison 5716

Bison Snowstorm 6564

Bison Nursing Calf 5901

Bison Female and Calf 5772

Bison Newborn Calf 7169

Bison Newborn Calf 7172

Bison Newborn Calf 7177

Bison Newborn Calf 7199

Bison at Dawn 0307

Bison Madison Sunrise 1260

Bison Firehole River 8713

Bison Headshot 8506

Bison’s Point of View 8516

Bison Yellowstone Lake 8661

Bison Madison Riverbank 9826

Bison Juvenile 9849

Bison Juvenile 9851

Bison 0471

Bison 9653

Bison Lamar Valley 8482

Bison Lamar Valley 0275

Bison Lamar Valley 9944

Bison 9510

Bison at Rest 0928

Bison Fight 0951

Bison Fight 0958

Bison Fight 0995

Bison Roadblock 0282

Bison Roadblock 6008

Bison Roadblock 0524

Bison Roadblock 5807

Stampede on the Madison

I was shooting with friends (Craig and Susan Hilton, who drove over from Colorado),
and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that they had moved off, but didn’t think much about
it, as you know that photographers often move around to get a different angle on their subject (and
I fixated on my viewfinder since the River Otters were quite interesting). The next thing I know I have
that prickly sensation on the back of my neck. I turn (with my lens... you never know) and saw a group
of Bison filling my frame. I look up from the viewfinder (after taking the shot shown above left) and
realize that it’s a large group, they are about 100 feet away, nearly filling the narrow riverbank
and moving quickly in my direction. There wasn’t enough time to make it all the way
across the riverbank and up the hill, as I might trip on the roots and stones
that were strewn everywhere (you know how those riverbanks are).

Have you ever been in an emergency situation?

You know how things seem to slow down to a crawl?

Anyway, I saw that there was a tree in the middle of the riverbank,
between me and the bison, but I had to run towards them to get there.
I picked up my tripod and took off, getting my back against the tree just
as the bison split to go around it on both sides (heart pounding away like
a triphammer, of course). The bison went around the tree, and as each one
passed they saw me out of the corner of their eye and spooked a little, but they
couldn’t react in my direction as they were moving about 15-20mph. Meanwhile,
Craig and Susan were on the top of the riverbank, taking shots of my predicament.
I hesitate to say this, but it’s probably a lot like people watching an auto race. They
wanted to get a shot of my face in a stressful situation, most likely. I doubt they would
have wanted to see me get squished like a bug, but you never really know, do you?

:^)

By the way... notice my shutter finger. Ready to go... (but these guys were WAY too close).

American Bison XXL

click image to open 11500 x 1130 version

Available as an XXL Signed Composite (6040 x 4550)

Images on this page are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Animals Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

Images can be found in the following Galleries (Direct Links)

Black Bear
Bison
Bighorn Sheep