Living in close proximity to wild animals has given me the opportunity to get to know individuals, sometimes over the course of their entire lives. To me, a herd of bison grazing lazily in Lamar Valley becomes more than just a teeming mass of brown. Each one is unique, with their own expressions, behaviors and physical characteristics that set them apart from the herd.
My mission is to help people see these animals as sentient beings with joys, struggles, family dynamics–an inner landscape. That’s why I spend so much time in the field studying the fine details of gesture, anatomy, and form: my hope is to translate the intangible spirit of my encounters with these animals into something tangible that people can relate to. Here are the stories of a few of the animals I have come to know.
"The White Lady"
As the vehicle rolled across the “high bridge” east of Mammoth Hot Springs, an odd thought registered with a sideways glance–“that’s awfully low down on the mountain to see a goat…” A second look revealed it to be ‘her’ – the beautiful, white alpha, female of Yellowstone’s Canyon Wolf Pack. She stood on that snowy bluff in the company her pack, poised, embodying a sense of dignity and fortitude against all that the world has thrown at her during the years I have come to know her. Read more…
"Veteran Traveler" aka "Scarface"
“Scarface” (aka #211) was one of the most accommodating, easy-going grizzly bears that has called Yellowstone home in recent times. I had watched him wander all the way across the Lamar Valley and pass right through the cars and people of the traffic jam stopped to watch him—without batting an eyelash. “Scarface” was utterly blasé about humans, their noise, and commotion and as a result, was photographed, viewed, and loved by many Park visitors. Read more…
"Queen of the Mountain"
It was deep winter when we heard the news: there’s a mountain lion in Lamar with two kittens, on a carcass. Any news of a mountain lion in Yellowstone is a big deal, so we headed towards the Buffalo Ranch to take advantage of the rare opportunity for a sighting. Every now and then we were able to get a few glimpses – mostly the ghostly silhouettes of their sinewy feline forms through the light snow falling. Read more…
"Endurance"
All dynasties have their zenith and their inevitable decline. The Druid Peak pack was just such dynasty—one lived out in wolf years. The scope of its success and its place in the annals of wolf lore is unparalleled anywhere on earth before or since. When our home was the Lamar Valley Buffalo Ranch during the early years of our Yellowstone life, the Druid Wolf pack reigned supreme; my sketch books are filled with notes and renderings of them. Read more…
"Yoga Bear"
He was dubbed “Yoga Bear”. The name was given after seeing him play with his irresistible, people-like feet, stretching, twisting and rolling himself into all manner of un-ursine-like positions. This adult grizzly appeared lost in his own autumn reverie, preoccupied with a whimsical journey of self-discovery. At times he would roll over and grab his foot as if to say, “Hey! Whoa, check this thing out!… oh, wait… IT’S ATTACHED!” Read more…
"Intermission"
The sculpture started with a bull elk dubbed “moose”—which confused the heck out of plenty of tourists–and was done largely in one day of sculpting elk in Mammoth Hot Springs. Surrounded by his harem this bull took a few moments to relax amid the mid day sun between bouts of corralling his darlings and confronting his adversaries, not unlike a boxer resting on his stool between rounds. Read more…
"Above and Beyond"
When we first spotted the coyote along the road, she was carrying a “big chunk of food or something”. It was only after a closer inspection that we realized that the “food” was moving—it wasn’t a hunk of meat at all—it was a puppy! We waited several minutes after she disappeared into the brush (to deposit the little one) before she exited, heading back the direction from whence she had come. Read more…
"Moosely Affections"
Inspired by a pair of moose along the Gros Ventre River in Grand Teton National Park, this idea has been floating around for a long time. As odd and awkward as moose seem to be, these enormous creatures are capable of great subtlety; watch them sneak silently through a willow patch, see them select out the choicest of tiny twigs to eat amid an entire copse of others, or to introduce themselves to a new potential mate…Read more…
"Those Who Remain"
It struck me deepest while on a snowcoach in the frozen, white desert of Hayden Valley some years ago. It was March and arcing out across the pristine tableau of snow was a simple line carved through the flats–it ended in a herd of bison. Each animal followed in the steps of the one before it like so many unhitched rail cars, drawn by the hope of food in some distant, and assuredly, scantly vegetated thermal area. Read more…