Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
which kills whitebark pines, will have an increasingly detrimental effect on grizzly food
supplies in the park.
Male grizzlies generally live alone, require over 800 sq miles of territory, and live for
up to 30 years. Females have one to four cubs every three years and are fiercely protective
of their young, which stay by their mother's side for two years.
Grizzlies are most active at dawn and dusk in open meadows and grasslands near
whitebark and lodgepole pines. They can become extremely agitated and aggressive if ap-
proached or surprised, but otherwise they do not normally attack humans. However, they
viciously defend carcasses and can outrun a horse when provoked, thus trails are often
closed when a grizzly is feeding nearby on a bison, elk or moose. For tips on what to do if
you encounter a bear,
Click here
and
Click here
.
Coyotes, Foxes & Wolves
The cagey coyote (locally pronounced 'kye-oat') is actually a small opportunistic wolf
species that devours anything from carrion to berries and insects. Its slender, reddish-gray
form and nocturnal yelps soon become familiar to hikers. Coyotes form small packs to
hunt larger prey such as elk calves or livestock, for which ranchers detest them. While
wide-scale coyote eradication programs have had no lasting impact, the reintroduction of
wolves (which fill a similar ecological niche) is estimated to have reduced the region's
coyote population by 50%.
FINDING WILDLIFE
ANIMAL HABITAT WHEN & WHERE
PRECAUTIONS
black bear forest and
meadows
in summer at Tower and Mammoth areas
grizzly
bear
forest and
meadows
at dawn and dusk; Hayden and Lamar valleys;
Fishing Bridge to East Entrance
keep distance of 100yd,
Click here
bison
grasslands year-round in Hayden and Lamar valleys; in
winter at hydrothermals around Madison River
responsible for more human injuries than
bears; a lifted tail signals charge, keep a
distance, drive slow around herds
