Category: Wildlife

  • Don’t Bring Your Own Firewood to Yosemite

    While not necessarily an invasive species, this photo shows the damage that bugs can do to trees in Yosemite. Photo by Letsgetridofny. @YosemiteScience posted a link to this interesting page I hadn’t seen before. Yosemite National Park Service officials are asking that you don’t bring your own firewood into the park. Why? Because it can…

  • Rattler! (video)

    Mat Honan found one of Yosemite’s more nefarious inhabitants while hiking in the park, a rattlesnake. I haven’t actually heard of anyone being bitten in the Park but man, coming across a rattler on the trail puts your adrenaline through the roof even if you don’t have a confrontation. Hopefully Matt didn’t shoot this video…

  • Yosemite Bears Targeting Minivans

    A tagged black bear in Yosemite Valley. Photo by Simon Phipps. Yes, it’s true, Researchers have found that black bears searching for food in Yosemite National Park have been targeting minivans over other types of vehicles. In a recent article that appeared in the Journal of Mammology, researchers have found that black bears in Yosemite…

  • Yosemite’s Bear Boss Tells All About the Bears

    Discovery News has a great interview with Ryan Leahy, the Lead Bear Technician in Yosemite. It’s a great interview and well worth reading. Discovery News: Are the temperatures this winter affecting the bears at all, or are they hibernating comfortably? Ryan Leahy: With such warm temperatures, a number of bears never went into hibernation. Some…

  • Meet a Scientist

    Ever wonder what an Ornithologist in Yosemite does? How about a Fire Archaeologist. A new series of videos from the National Park Service gives you the chance to meet scientists working in Yosemite to find out what they do. There are four videos so far: Sarah Stock an Ornithologist in Yosemite specializing in owls, Social…

  • Come Pick Apples and Save a Bear

    Visitors, employees, and residents are invited to pick apples at the Curry Village Apple Orchard to help keep bears wild! The ripe apples attract bears to developed areas and alter their natural diets. By removing the apples, bears will return to natural food sources found throughout the park and not become exposed to humans and…

  • 1 Bear Dead, 1 Injured Due to Motorists

    Bears are a rare sight in Yosemite even for frequent visitors and that makes their needless death even more tragic. This week two bears were hit by vehicles this week, one died from its injuries. Please slow down and obey speed limits. The park speed limit is 35 if you don’t see a sign with…

  • Tuolumne Meadows Winter Conditions Update

    If you spent the whole winter at Tuolumne, you’d be excited to see a flock of Bushtits, too. From the winter rangers: _______________________________________________ March 5, 2008 Weather: (February 27 to March 4) High temp: 61° (Feb 27) Low temp: 4° (March 4) New Snow: 0” Total settled snow depth: 58” as of March 5 Ski…

  • Photo of the Day: Bobcat by Chuck Cagara

    Today’s Photo of the Day comes to us from Chuck Cagara over at www.MagicalLightPhotography.com Chuck said in his email: “I have seen this bobcat several times during the last month around Cook’s Meadow. It largely ignored me while intently on the prowl. Oddly, the only creature nearby (directly in the cat’s line-of-sight) was a browsing…

  • Photo of the Day: Cub with Mama Bear in Yosemite by Taylor Davis

    Somehow I missed this really cool photo Taylor posted on Flickr and tagged yosemiteblog.com but when I was looking through all the great photos tonight it really drew my attention. What a great shot! Nice work Taylor. By the way, if you’ve got a photo or story you’d like to share or you think is…