The sure-footed mountain goat lives in alpine and subalpine environments, sometimes above 13,000 feet. After age 2, you can count the rings on their horns to determine their age, and their average lifespan is between 9 and 12 years.
Mountain goats, which are actually not goats but belong to the family Bovidae along with gazelles, antelope and cattle, are quite at home on sheer rock faces and near-vertical cliffs, as demonstrated by this billie captured in this incredible footage from Glacier National Park last weekend.
Video by Ben Bluhm
Maddie Pellman first visited Grand Teton National Park as a 14 year old and the experience left an impression she never quite shook. Now, since launching her podcast, "Who Runs This Park," Pellman is cruising and on her way to interviewing the superintendents of every national park in America.
Stay tuned for the Mountain Journal interview with Pellman, who recently had the opportunity to sit down with Chip Jenkins, superintendent of Grand Teton National Park. Check out a quick clip from her podcast with Jenkins below. Volume up!
Climbing out of slumber. March 24, 2024. Moran Junction, Grand Teton National Park.
🎥: Elk Raven Photography
Grizzly emerges in early spring
This big sleepy guy looks like he just woke up. Likely he had. This video was taken on March 24, 2024 just east of Moran Junction in Grand Teton National Park.
Bears are emerging from hibernation. Remain Bear aware and vigilant: carry bear spray and know how to use it.
Many thanks to Elk Raven Photography for the video
If it can happen literally in the middle of Bozeman in summer—a black bear getting into a bird feeder—(and it did recently), then it can happen anywhere in Greater Yellowstone and other places in the Rockies. Secure any food that might be a bear attractant. It’s part of us living responsibly.
On this rainy Father's Day, our elk friends are out exploring in Gallatin Gateway and across Greater Yellowstone. Consider the fragile beings among us as we contemplate our human footprint. Wait for it...
Trail cam footage courtesy Holly Pippel
Bison and the Northern Bridgers
The bison herd at the North Bridger Bison ranch in Sedan, Montana, moving into new pasture yesterday. Storm clouds hang over the North Bridger Mountains in the background.
Video: Matt Skoglund, North Bridger Bison
Badger cam, courtesy of Holly Pippel. Members of the Mustelid family, which includes otters, weasels and wolverines, badgers are mostly nocturnal and live throughout the western U.S., Mexico and Canada. They have powerful legs and massive foreclaws used for digging dens and hunting mice, prairie dogs and ground squirrels, though they occasionally feed on certain plants and vegetables.
Weighing up to 30 pounds, badgers have been known to partner with coyotes to hunt. Studies have shown that the combination of their respective hunting styles significantly increases kill rates because prey such as ground squirrels will react one way to a coyote (burrow into the ground) and another to a badger (run). Tag teaming on a hunt can raise success rates by more than 30 percent.
A mountain lion family makes a back-porch visit in the Northern Rockies. The following short video footage was captured early this morning (Feb. 16) by Natalie Perkins and Colin Nobil. Remember: humans are colonizing important habitat occupied by cougars, wolves, bears and other wildlife, not the reverse. Always remember to secure pet and other foods, don't let your pets run wild (unless you're willing to accept the risk of them meeting a predator) and be on alert yourselves (with bear spray at the ready). Note: pet food was not left out at this location and the wild cats did not bathe in the hot tub.
Last night during MoJo's "Night of the Wolves" event at The Ellen Theatre in Bozeman, Conrad Fisher of the Northern Cheyenne/Tsėhéstáno, and his nephew, MoJo board member Shane Doyle, led honoring songs for Doug Smith, Pat Byorth and wolves. The ancient songs were inspired by wolf howls.
Stay tuned for a full video recording of the evening and a story recapping a night for the ages.
MoJo presents: Night of the Wolves
Join MoJo live for an evening with Doug Smith, who served for more than 30 years as senior wolf biologist for Yellowstone National Park, and Pat Byorth, longtime biologist with the state and Montana Fish and Wildlife Commissioner. Time to howl!
Yellowstone Wolves
We're one week out from MoJo's "Night of the Wolves" event, a conversation with two of the Yellowstone region's most accomplished scientists and advocates. Don't miss an evening with Doug Smith, former chief wolf biologist for Yellowstone, and conservationist Pat Byorth, former Montana Fish and Wildlife commissioner.
Join us at Bozeman's Ellen Theatre next Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. Not in region? Not to worry! We'll be livestreaming the event as well - stay tuned. It will be a howling good time!
Video courtesy NPS
