Big Game Animals of the Greater Yellowstone Region
Want to know more about hunting in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho? A Northern Rockies big game hunt is the ultimate thrill; it also justifies all those Cabela's and LL Bean purchases. The Greater Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming offer some of the finest hunting opportunities on the planet. It also has some of the most experienced outfitters and guides found anywhere. Add a Yellowstone region moose, elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, bison, black bear, hunt, or maybe even a wolf hunt to your bucket list.
Some people say that it is just luck whether you harvesting big game when you are hunting, and it may be to some extent, but it is more knowledge than anything. Luck favors the prepared mind. One must have an understanding of the animal, and it's habits during any given time of hunting season. During hunting season game animals are often breeding or migrating and knowing what is on their mind can aid you in the hunt. That doesn't mean that they will be there to cooperate but that is where you would start.
Anyone who has hunted big game in the Rockies knows how important it is to be in good physical condition. Your physical condition will be put to it's limits so it is very important too first get into shape so your hunt won't end up as a disaster. After considering all these things, you still have to deal with an animal after it is down and be prepared to call on all your conditioning to cope with it. There are game hauling contractors that provide “ you tag them, we will drag them” services that you can hire to pack out our harvest. This can be money well spent. If it is your first Rocky Mountain hunt you do not want it to be your last.
The weather in Rocky Mountain country can change in a matter of minutes. The clothing and gear that you take with you are as important as anything else when you consider a hunting trip into the Yellowstone region backcountry.
If you are a nonresident hunter, it has already been a costly trip; so don't be unsuccessful by trying to save a few dollars. Make the phone calls, use the web, seek the advice of the local hunters, and use the proper equipment and consider the value of hiring a hunting outfitter that can guarantee you a shot at an animal.
There are resources to help you get informed such as the U.S. Forest Service and the Game and Fish department for the state you will be hunting in.
Most early hunting expeditions were by pack
train to the fabulous backcountry and today’s hunts
remain quite the same. For many this remains part of
the attraction, to saddle
up the
horses and load up the packhorses and mules and setting out
for hunting camp high in the mountains. Many outfitters in
the Greater
Yellowstone region hunt this old time style, with packhorses
and tent frame camps because this is still the most efficient
way
to get to the remote areas where the hunting is best. Many
bighorn sheep and deer outfitters provide hunting camps like
this as well.
Elk hunting in The Greater Yellowstone region can be one of the
most remarkable experiences of a lifetime. Here in the Greater
Yellowstone region you will see either the splendor of the Grand
Tetons, the Gros Ventre Mountains, the Wyoming Range, the Absoraka
Range, Snake River Range, or the Big Hole's. Jackson Hole is also
the home of the National Elk Refuge where 6 to 12 thousand elk
spend their winter taunting you into thinking that your hunt is
going to be easy. In the Greater Yellowstone area there are many
outfitters and guides to choose from if you choose to not go without
a guide.
Southeastern Idaho and
western Wyoming are both famous for producing big mule deer
bucks. Most early hunting expeditions were
by pack train to the fabulous backcountry and today’s hunts
remain quite the same. For many this remains part of the
attraction, to saddle up the horses and load up the packhorses
and mules and setting out for hunting camp high in the mountains.
Many outfitters in the Greater Yellowstone region hunt this
old time style, with packhorses and tent frame camps because
this is still the most efficient way to get to the remote
areas where the hunting is best. Many bighorn sheep and elk
outfitters provide hunting camps like this as well.
Your best hunting will probably be in the higher elevations
where rugged country limits access to all but the most hardcore
hunters and outfitters in the know. This area has long been
known for its excellent deer habitat and herd genetics. Controlled
hunts in the Upper Snake region are coveted for the opportunity
to hunt mule deer during the rut in late November.
The Greater Yellowstone region is a stronghold of the bighorn
and has gained a worldwide reputation for producing the some
of the biggest Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. There have been
many fabulous rams harvested in the Greater Yellowstone area
with a good number of them scoring over 200. Bighorn sheep
are heavy horned and often broom (breaking the tips of the
horns off to help vision). It is very difficult to find an
old ram that reaches anywhere near 40 inches long after the
loss of the lamb tips from brooming. However, most sheep
hunters value a heavy horned old ram regardless of brooming
as a fine trophy.
The Greater Yellowstone region bighorn sheep have always been
a premier trophy for sportsmen from around the world. The
sheep outfitting industry in this area has a long respected
reputation as good producers of trophies for their clients.
It is said in Alaska that the most dangerous
animal in Alaska is the moose. It is not that moose are more fierce
or aggressive
than bears, it is because more people are injured and killed by
moose because many people think that moose are giant cartoon characters
and consequently don’t give them the room they need to feel comfortable.
Most animals have a "fight or flight distance" the shorter an
animals fight or flight distance is the more likely they will
fight instead of flee. Moose, bear and bison all have short fight
or flight distances. The lesson being When observing or photographing
moose don’t mistake their docile inspection of you as tameness
because they are just trying to figure out if they want to trot
into the woods or to kill you.
The Mountain Goats of the Greater Yellowstone eco-system
make a home on the vertical planes of the Rocky Mountains where they
cling and move around on the impossibly steep slopes of this unforgiving
and barren terrain, Mountain Goats can survive on scant food in incredibly
hostile environs. Mountain goats fit perfectly into the category of "charismatic
mega-fauna." Their beauty, grace, and athleticism, is a treat to watch
and their cute faces are always a thrill to see. The kids are precocious,
able to move on steep slopes within hours of birth, an awe-inspiring
site in itself.
Although the Yellowstone Ecosystem has an abundance
of Mountain Goat habitat, Goats are not endemic to the region. Between
the 1940s and the 1960s, there were several hundred of the shaggy
cliff dwelling creatures transplanted from western Montana to the
Beartooth, Absaroka, Madison, Bridger, and Crazy mountains and the
Snake River Range. Hundreds of them now inhabit the high country.
Some of those animals are willing to leave their preferred high-elevation
habitat to cross rivers, and valleys too colonize new places. There
haven’t been any transplants in the Gallatin Range, for instance,
but goats thrive there today. -----------------------------> More
The Greater Yellowstone ecosystem is the only
place in the lower 48 states where an endemic population of wild
bison has survived since prehistoric times. Perhaps no other animal
symbolizes the American West like the American bison. In prehistoric
times millions of these quintessential creatures of the plains roamed
the North America from northern Canada, south into Mexico and from
Atlantic to the pacific. No one knows how many bison were in America
before Columbus arrived but the guesstimate is about sixty million.
They were the largest community of wild animals that the world has
ever known. For a good part of the 1800s bison were considered to
be in limitless supply.
After the Civil War the push to settle the west was
on, new army posts were established, coinciding with the westward
push of the railroads. The army and railroads contracted with local
men to supply buffalo meat to feed the troops and construction laborers.
Bison were hunted nearly to extinction in the late
1800’s and were reduced to less than a thousand animals by the end
of the century. Many western legends took part in the big buffalo
hunt including Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Pat Garrett, Wild Bill Hickok,
and William F. Cody, just to name a few. ------------------------------------>
more
The black bear ranges across forested
Canada from Newfoundland to British Columbia as well as much of the
United States. A solitary animal most of the year, they pair up briefly
during the mating season. Cubs remain with their mother for about
a year, who protects which prevents them from being killed by the
adult males.
Black bears swim well and often climb trees
to feed on buds and fruit. They have a keen sense of smell, acute
hearing, but poor eyesight. They can be seen at any hour of the day,
but are most active at night. When very young, the cubs cry when afraid
and hum when contented. .................................more
