This pair of pelicans are very much in love. She thinks he’s tall and handsome with his dark hair and brooding eyes. He also has a funny side to his personality and often makes her laugh. He thinks her daintiness is adorable and also loves her headstrong and ambitious personality. The day they met she followed him down the river, knowing that he’d be a loyal and respectful mate. He’d also help raise the chicks and fiercely protect his family, ensuring they are always safe. They have a great life in a beautiful place called Grand Teton National Park. It is where they will make happy memories, raise a family and grow old together.
Mama bear is always watching – Photograph by Laura Lecce
This glorious black bear mama is keeping a watchful eye on her two bouncing cubs not too far away (click here to see baby bear post). Her fur is so shiny and in perfect condition. It was such an experience to sit and watch her graze while her two babies bounced over logs and tried to climb tree trunks and clumsily fell and rolled around in the grass. She wasn’t at all concerned by our presence (don’t worry I was much further away than this picture looks!), but every now and again the babies would stop and stare at me to see if I was still there watching before going back to their rough and tumble play. How blessed they are to call Yellowstone their home.
Spring brings baby bears – Photograph by Laura Lecce
This fuzzy little bear cub is the very essence of what makes Spring the best season of the year. Animal babies! This bouncy ball of fluff is one of two baby cubs to a mamma black bear (click here for her post) in Yellowstone National Park. She is much darker than her chocolate brown babies, but actually the name ‘black bear’ is actually quite misleading as they can come in many different colors such as brown, cinnamon, blond, grey and even white! Don’t you just want to give this cutie a cuddle? Most definitely not because mum is not too far away with an ever watchful eye on her two little bubs.
This gorgeous, nesting osprey was giving me a very stern stare while I was taking her photo. I don’t think it’s her fault though because ospreys look inherently grumpy. Contrary to how this photo appears, I am not close at all, but she spotted me from miles away! After soon deciding that I was nothing worth worrying over, her and her partner went back to usual osprey activities such as mating, eating recently caught fish and general nest building and sitting. I was lucky enough to be able to watch this osprey pair for a few days, and I absolutely loved getting such an insight into their daily activities.
Whistle pig in a meadow – Photograph by Laura Lecce
Any creature in a meadow of bright yellow flowers is adorable, but these cute and furry ground squirrels are also very entertaining. You may also know them as marmots, groundhogs, woodchucks or whistle pigs. The last name describes the shrill call they make to alert the colony of trespassers nearby (such as us humans). Which also means that as you walk through whistle pig territory (Yellowstone National Park), you have high-pitched music following you around everywhere you go.
This male moose was just one of several moose we saw while traveling through Yellowstone National Park. We actually saw this particular moose on two occasions as he obviously likes to graze in the same area, and was accompanied by his girlfriend who was grazing nearby (I had to crop her rump out of my photo). Having visited in the Spring we were also lucky enough to catch a mother and her moose calf playing by a river. Knowing nothing about moose, I was surprised to learn that they grow new antlers every year, so that in Spring they don’t look like the typical male moose pictures you often see with giant antlers. Also, they are often found alongside rivers, lakes and marshy meadows because they like to feed on many aquatic plants as well, and have learned to be excellent swimmers and even dive for their underwater food! So when out looking for moose to photograph, check the nearby rivers and lakes…. who knew?!
Beautiful Boa from Belize – Photograph by Laura Lecce
This is a gorgeous snake from Belize, which was happily perched on a tree branch hanging over a river taking a nap. By far the most sizeable snake I have ever seen in the wild, I was so excited to be taking its photo. I was quite close to the snake, trying to get a good angle through the leaves, and even though I didn’t know what kind of snake I was dealing with, I knew that if it remained happily coiled, I was going to survive the encounter. After a few photographs, the snake was clearly aware of my presence and started darting its tongue in and out to get a sense of what I was. I persisted with my photographs, and to my relief the snake stayed happily relaxed and allowed me to get my photo. After showing this photo to a snake expert, I was told it is a boa constrictor, a serial asphyxiator, a snake who chokes for a living! I was photographing a snake that belongs to the family of largest snakes in the world, made up of anacondas, pythons and boa constrictors. What an incredible thrill!
Black and white butterflies – Photograph by Laura Lecce
Looking at this photograph I started to wonder – What is the difference between a butterfly and a moth? Simple, right? Not so much. For every rule, there are always exceptions and this is no different. However, here are some of the (exceptions aside) differences between moths and butterflies.
Butterflies are generally a day creature (diurnal) while moths prefer the night (nocturnal). Due to this distinction, moths are usually colored grey, black and brown, while butterflies generally show off brilliantly colored wings. Butterflies have slender bodies and long, thin antennae with a club-shaped end, while moths are stout and furry and have feather-like antennae. Butterflies rest with their wings up (like the butterfly in this image), whereas moths rest with wings down. During metamorphosis, moths make a silk cocoon, whereas butterflies make a smooth and hard chrysalis.
Although these are the general rules, this particular butterfly is not so brightly colored, and for the most part sat with wings down against this tree (see image below). I think these traits ensure successful camouflage with the bark of this tree, and therefore a greater likelihood this butterfly evades predation. This reminded me of the classic evolutionary tale of the peppered moths (for more info follow this link).
This brilliantly colored bug from Belize is called a flag footed bug and is also known as a leaf footed bug (Anisocelis flavolineata). It is found throughout Central America and comes in a variety of brilliant colors. There is very little information about them online, except that they can fly and are relatively harmless to humans. Although they can bite if provoked and it will sting a bit. The festive colors of this insect make it the perfect bug for the holiday season. Enjoy!
An elk is not a reindeer – Photograph by Laura Lecce
This is a sleek and athletic looking young male elk. He calls Yellowstone National Park his home, and was munching on dinner in this lush grassy area. This is probably the closest chance I will have to see a reindeer-like animal. Elk and reindeer are very similar in size, however elk fur is very sleek and shiny, mostly dark with a white bum, and with shaggy fur around their necks. This is clearly a male with his small antlers, that will grow much, much larger once he’s older. They are newly grown and still covered in a velvet-like skin which will dry and fall off in Autumn. Each year after mating season, the antlers will also fall off and grow again for the next mating season. With reindeer, the presence of antlers cannot be used to distinguish between them, as both males and females have antlers.
For other posts from Yellowstone National Park click here.
Laura Lecce's art and photography 