Those animals are wild

A recent story of several elk being killed by motorists in Grand Teton National Park reminded me of the plight of our wild animals.

I have visited the Teton area several times and recall the time that a herd of elk crossed the road in front of us, stopping traffic for a while. There were probably 100 elk, and it was a treat watching them.

That motorists were careless to the point of killing several 

raises questions about drivers being alert when they are around our wild animals.

I recall one time I was looking for moose droppings that I planned to use for a trick and nearly walked right up to a moose. I did what you are supposed to do, back up slowly until I was out of the moose’s area of concern.

In Yellowstone, animal encounters happen all too often.

In Gardner, the park’s north entrance, you will find that it is a hangout for elk. Mix that with tourists and you have problems. I have watched visitors try to get too close to the elk for a photo op, causing the animals to react, putting the tourists at risk.

Once, in Yellowstone, I was walking on a sidewalk in the Canyon area and heard something behind me. A quick glance revealed a grizzly just keeping pace with me. I quickly got off the sidewalk and the bear just sauntered past me.

Many years ago they used to dump leftovers behind the restaurants, and visitors could watch grizzlies gulp up the food.

More recently, rules in the park protect the animals from this kind of activity. It got so bad that there were multiple instances of confrontations as animals sought an easy meal.

Now, if you see a grizzly and get out of your car to look at it, you can expect a ranger to be there making sure that you don’t get too close.

They often write tickets when people try to ignore the warnings.

I have had huge grizzlies stand up at my car window and look in.

There have been reports of people putting peanut butter on the face of their kids and rolling down the window so a bear could lick it off. That would get you a stiff fine in today’s park.

Our oldest son Paul and his wife Cindy like to take extensive hikes in our national parks, and on occasion have found themselves facing grizzly bears. The same rule applies, back away slowly so you don’t seem to be a threat in any way. So far so good.

Here in the coulee, we have a lot of deer and turkey. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t have deer run in front of my car. On the reservation, you can add moose and bear to the list.

Extra caution while driving in the area protects both the animal and a large repair bill on your vehicle.

They are fun to see and watch. Let’s keep it that way.