White Coyote at Yellowstone
When this animal first appeared trotting through the partial cover of distant sagebrush, the wildlife paparazzi of Yellowstone rushed to the scene, excitedly thinking it was the famed white wolf --the Angelina Jolie of the Hayden Valley. I admit to the same delusional thinking, but luckily I was already parked and photographing in the projected path of the approaching celebrity--thereby missing the traffic jam where the frantic photographers and frenzied tourists were abandoning their cars in the middle of the road, like they were enacting the Rapture. I didn't care when it was a coyote that emerged from the brush; it was still a nice photo op as it started hunting something in the grass, followed by a cavalry of photogs that couldn't keep pace as they struggled under their big tripods and heavy 600mm lenses to their self-made Calvary. I had already abandoned my own big rig in favor of a more mobile combination that allowed me to go beyond the fast moving coyote and get a better angle with the light. No Angelina, but the coyote posed, and I had fun.
1. Feigning not seeing the pursuing crowd, the coyote trots up the slope from the Hayden Valley.
2. Encountering an interesting smell in the new spring grass...
3. Taking a parting look at the approaching crowd, slamming car doors, honking car horns, and a Ranger arriving to restore order.
1. Feigning not seeing the pursuing crowd, the coyote trots up the slope from the Hayden Valley.
2. Encountering an interesting smell in the new spring grass...
3. Taking a parting look at the approaching crowd, slamming car doors, honking car horns, and a Ranger arriving to restore order.
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Coyotes who have to resort to scavenging in trash bins and around the edges of towns can be really raggedly and pitiful. I think a lot of people are surprised to see how different truly wild coyotes are.
Thomas Fuller.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
The story made me laugh! ......I witnessed the same sort of roadside spectacle in Denali Park over a moose!
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You are all right, and ever since I left Yellowstone I have been kicking myself for not taking more photos of the the human antics--especially the crazies poking their cameras in the faces of aggravated bison. (Instead I shouted at the photogs to get back--the swishing tails meant the bison were angry.)
The rangers in the Park have a saying about Bison and their tails...." When the Bison tails goes up, one of two things is going to happen....there's going to be either a discharge or a charge ".
Tom
http://rckimaging.smugmug.com/
We have a spot back near my hometown where all the coyotes are a silver color (most of them have that ruddy brown coloring) although I've never tried to photograph them. We would have to call them in as they tend to stay on ground we can no longer access.