By Chelsea DeWeese
It’s that time of year again in Yellowstone! The time of year snow starts melting, grasses start greening, and the anticipation of baby animals fills the air. Bears, bison, and other wildlife start appearing with their offspring as early as April here at Yellowstone’s North Entrance. Shortly after, in May and June, we see wolf and coyote pups emerge from dens. Elk calves rise on wobbly legs to examine their new surroundings, and bighorn sheep lambs leap across seemingly impossible rocky outcrops.
We feel fortunate here in Gardiner, Montana, to have year-round access to the northern part of Yellowstone where most of the wild animals tend to gather. While the park’s other entrances dig out from winter’s snow cover and their roads gradually reopen, we have the ability to get a head start looking for the wild animals that make the Northern Range world famous.
Everything about Yellowstone can—in a way—be described as “vast.” This includes the number of wild animals a visitor to the park can hope to witness; the Yellowstone ecosystem hosts at least 27 mammal species, nearly 300 bird species, and numerous reptiles, amphibians, insects, and fishes.
Because of this, we are hard pressed to recommend one type of baby animal over another, and the wild animals visitors see often depends on the time of year and the part of the park they are exploring. Our guides’ familiarity with the ecosystem and knowledge of the wild animals that call it home can help you make the most of your springtime visit and to safely and respectfully enjoy viewing Yellowstone’s springtime celebrities. Below are a few of our favorite herbivore (or grass-eating) babies:
Elk calves are among the most numerous babies in the Northern Range– and among the most elusive. One minute not a calf is in sight, and then they start popping up everywhere. The calves are spotted, gangly legged, and filled with curiosity for their surroundings. But they don’t stay small for long. Blink, and they lose their camouflage spots and start growing into mature elk before you reopen your eyes.
Deer fawns, unlike elk calves, often come in pairs. First-time deer mothers often birth one fawn, while subsequent births bring two and sometimes three fawns every springtime. Doe deer strategically bed their twins and triplets separately from one another only to reunite them after three or four weeks when they are better able to escape predators. Look for their little tails wagging once they are up and nursing!
Moose calves have their own survival techniques including, believe it or not, swimming. Calves bed down until mobile and rapidly accelerate their senses of hearing and smell to compensate for their limited eyesight. They quickly prove to be exceptionally strong swimmers – according to some, being able to swim 10-miles-per-hour! For this reason, their mothers often use lakes and streams as a way to help protect them from predators.
Bighorn sheep lambs, in contrast to moose calves, have excellent eyesight. This adaptation, as well as pliable hooves, allows them to leap across rocky outcrops and crevasses behind their mothers within their first few months of being born. While desert bighorn in the Southwest breed earlier in the year and typically lamb in early winter, Rocky Mountain bighorn in Yellowstone typically breed later in the year and lamb in early springtime.
Pronghorn fawns are among the smallest of the grass-eating baby animals, weighing in at a mere 5 to 7 pounds when born. Unlike bighorn lambs, which thrive on cliffsides, pronghorn fawns require flat, open terrain where they quickly develop their superpower: running. And, boy, can they run! Most can run faster than a grown human within just a week of being born. Watch for them puffing up their little white rumps when startled or excited.
Which brings us back to one of the first species of baby mammals seen in Yellowstone at the outset of spring: baby bison.
Bison calves envelop the Northern Range in mid- to late-April showcasing their tawny coats as the snow recedes. Many longtime Yellowstone visitors and residents consider these “red dogs,” as they are called, a harbinger of the change of seasons and of other species of baby animals to come. Yellowstone Wildlife Profiles offers a variety of wildlife-viewing trips in springtime, be it a full- or half-day adventure, and can help customize your tour to your individual interests. Learn more about our spring and summer tours and please take a moment to meet our guide team. We look forward to taking you on an adventure!
Chelsea DeWeese writes from her hometown of Gardiner, Montana, the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park.