As Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “In wilderness is the preservation of the world.”
Happy National Wildlife Day!
National Wildlife Day!
Tag: wild animals
Happy National Panda Day! 🐼
Happy National Panda Day! Who can resist a day dedicated to one of the most adorable animals?!
Did you know that pandas spend about 14 hours eating? They consume about 83 pounds of bamboo a day! And did you know that pandas are born blind and weigh only 4 ounces (picture a stick of butter)?
And did you know that pandas need our help to protect them as less than 2,000 panda exist today?
To celebrate this day and these important animals: check out a documentary on giant pandas; virtually adopt a panda online; watch pandas on livecams on explore.org; purchase a panda item from pandasinternational.org; or consider donating to one of the organizations dedicated to protecting these animals such worldwildlife.org or pandasinternational.org.
Happy National Panda Day! 🐼
World Wildlife Day
Happy World Wildlife Day!
Enjoy a few wildlife photos from our recent trip to Florida.
Take a moment and appreciate all the amazing wildlife all over this great world! 🌎❤️
National Wildlife Day!
Happy National Wildlife Day!
Take a moment and enjoy all the amazing wildlife all over this great world!
Wild Wednesday
National Park Week brings us to Wild Wednesday today! Embrace the wild side of the parks!
To celebrate this day, go wild! You can go on a hike in the wilderness; check out some local wildlife; enjoy some wildflowers; check out the night wild skies; or learn about the wild within the national parks online.
Enjoy some wild photos from last summer at the Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.
Enjoy your wild side! Happy National Park Week!
Dreaming of…
On this February day, I sit distracted by thinking about bison jams. Yes, I said bison jams.
Last summer, we visited Yellowstone National Park and experienced (more than once) bison jams. If you ever visit this national park (while I highly recommend), you are bound to encounter this unique situation along on the park roads. It is literally what the name suggests – a bison (or many) strolling along the road causing traffic to pause or stop for some time.
These large animals will walk in front of your car, next to the car, or behind your car. They don’t have watches, so do not care about their pace or time of the day. They might play follow the leader or might butt heads. They might pause for a bite to eat next the road. They might even sit down for a nap.
Bison are amazing creatures. One of my favorites! American male bison weigh around 2,000 pounds! Also, did you know that these huge mammals can run up to 35 mph? I wrote a previous blog about bison last year that you can read here if you’re interested in more bison information.
As I sit at my computer here, I keep picturing those bison jams from last summer. It’s a really amazing experience to have such a mammoth creature stroll by your car.
You can hear them breathe and snort. Our children could not believe these animals surrounded all these cars and just kept on their hike down the road.
I wonder what these animals think seeing all these cars with people inside holding some rectangle gadgets by the windows. I wonder if the bison like the paved roads or miss the entire area being unpaved. I wonder what bison dream about.
Back from my wonderings and dreams, go check out these unique visitor experiences in Yellowstone National Park. Trust me, it will stick with you beyond the moment.
Bison
When you think about our national parks, what do you think about? Many people will say the wildlife. Our national parks contain some amazing animals – on land, in the water, or even in our skies! One of these amazing animals really awed me the first time seeing them – bison!
When you think about the American West, you can’t help but think about the American bison.
I will never forget driving into Yellowstone National Park and seeing my first herd of bison there. They are such large, beautiful creatures. American male bison weigh around 2,000 pounds! Also, did you know that these huge mammals can run up to 35 mph?
It’s also pretty cool to think that these bison have lived in Yellowstone continuously since prehistoric times. Millions used to roam North America along all parts of it.
So, are they called bison or buffalo? Americans often refer to these creatures as buffalo. Technically, they are bison. Bison fall into the same scientific family group as the Asian water buffalo and the African cape buffalo. Back when European explorers came to America and saw the bison and thought that they looked similar to the Old World buffalo, so started calling them buffalo. Yet, technically they are bison here in America. Buffalo in Africa and Asia do not have a large hump by their shoulders that the bison have here.
The American bison have endured many challenges over the years. In particular, hunting and poaching dwindled their numbers down to about two dozen left. Over many years, national park employees worked hard to bring the bison numbers back up in Yellowstone and avoid extinction. These great animals still face challenges today, but the goals still exist to protect and best manage these mammals.
In 2016, bison were declared our national mammal because they are a symbol of wild America, an important part of our heritage, and a key player in an ecosystem that’s much larger than a national park.
During your next trip to Yellowstone National Park, remember that bison are wild animals. According to the NPS, bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal there. Stay at least 25 yards away from bison (if not more) as these great creatures can be unpredictable and run fast!
I can’t wait to see this great creature again out in the wild and roaming through the valleys of Yellowstone National Park!