meg sommers

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How I Got That Shot: Three Musketeers

While it is not unusual for a grizzly mom to have two cubs in Yellowstone National Park, three cubs is pretty rare, and a huge handful for her. Watching over three cubs is a challenge, as wildlife watchers learned first-hand shortly after this photo was taken. The mother bear had been seen frequently in the area between Mary Bay and Lake Hotel. In fact, she had a regular route that she took in a big circle between those two locations. If you watched long enough, you began to learn her preferred path and habits. Continue Reading →

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Got Elk? Luck and preparation yield an arresting Yellowstone coyote photo

A coyote is smeared with elk blood after feeding on a carcass in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. (©Meg Sommers - click to enlarge)

When I look at this image I remember it as lucky shot. But to paraphrase Louis Pasteur, "Luck favors the prepared." When this coyote crossed the road in front of me that January day in the Lamar Valley, I knew where the carcass was, and I had the right lens and tripod already set. The coyote crossed the road, looked back at us and I took the shot. I was lucky and prepared. Continue Reading →

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How I Got That Shot: Wolf-Bison standoff at Otter Creek in Yellowstone

A wolf from the Canyon Pack stalks an ailing bison at Otter Creek in Yellowstone National Park. (©Meg Sommers - click to enlarge)

It happened at Otter Creek in Yellowstone National Park in October. The female bison (known as a cow) wasn't feeling very well. You could tell that just by watching her. She was lethargic, and never moved very far away from a small meadow she had chosen. Had she felt better, I would have expected her to join the bison herd less than a mile away. It was also pretty clear that the wolf knew she was vulnerable. Continue Reading →

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How I got that shot: Drats! — Yellowstone’s Lamar Canyon wolf pack chases a coyote

Yellowstone wolves

The coyote was extremely nervous now, and everyone was rooting for her. Run, run, we are thinking. Suddenly she does. There is probably about a foot of snow on the level for her to traverse. Rather than try to break a trail through that much snow, she chooses to follow a trail already established by someone or something. The trail leads directly towards the spectators, which doesn't bother the adaptable coyote much at all. She ran straight towards us. Continue Reading →

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