With Wyoming wildlife mating and migrating, fall is a great time to watch them. By Dina Mishev
There's a tiny town at the southern entrance of Grand Teton National Park called Moose. It might not even have an official population. Of humans at least. Moose run rampant in Moose however. So do elk, coyotes, eagles and any number of small critters. A few years ago I heard a funny story about Moose – the town, not the animal – the actor Harrison Ford and the Dalai Lama. I don't know if it's true, but it's funny and that's enough of a reason to repeat it here.
The Dalai Lama was visiting Mr. Ford in
Moose are among the over 350 different species of animals found in Wyoming
Jackson Hole and wanted nothing more than to see some moose while in the area. As Grand Teton National Park has several great spots for observing moose, Harrison set off to take the Dalai Lama there. Driving Moose-Wilson Road, one of the back ways into Grand Teton National Park, the Dalai Lama was impressed the park kept such good track of its resident moose. Not knowing there was a town named "Moose" and that he was headed towards it, the Dalai Lama understood the signs saying "Moose 7 miles" as "there will be moose animals in seven miles." Thankfully, Moose-Wilson Road is actually one of the best places in the park to spot moose and the two men ran into moose before Harrison had to correct His Holiness.
But you don't need to be a famous Hollywood actor or Nobel Peace Prize winner to find moose, or bison, eagles, antelope and elk in Wyoming. Here are our suggestions for the best fall wildlife watching around.
Day 1: Red Desert/Farson – "If any place south of the Alaskan tundra qualifies as America's Serengeti Plain, [Wyoming's Red Desert] is it."
— Frank Clifford, Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2000.
The Red Desert's six millions acres (slightly bigger than Vermont) is home to over 350 different species of animals, including the largest migratory game herd in the lower 48 states (pronghorn antelope) and the largest desert elk herd in the world. Nothing to do with animals, but interesting nonetheless, the Red Desert also has the largest active inland dune system in North America.
Six million acres is a lot of land to cover in your quest to see some wildlife though. Take a bite-size chunk by concentrating your efforts around Oregon Buttes and Steamboat Mountain, outside Farson off Route 28. (Make sure to pick up a Wyoming Gazetteer so you know exactly where to go.)
Dawn and dusk give you the best chances of spotting pronghorn antelope, mule deer and elk. The area around Steamboat Mountain (which happens to be an ancient Native American buffalo jump site) is smack in the middle of the migration areas for all the big game species. If you're lucky, you might even spot a herd of wild horses.
Bull Elk at the National Elk Refuge
Day 2: Jackson Hole
Fall is too early for you to see the National Elk Refuge, adjacent to the northern side of the town of Jackson, in full swing (the elk take their time migrating into the valley from the mountains above) but there should still be enough of the big guys and gals around by late October for you to get a sense of what mid-winter's 7,500-elk-peak might look like.
Directly across from the refuge, the National Museum of Wildlife Art offers horse-drawn sleigh rides out into the middle of the herd from mid-December until April. In early autumn, head into Grand Teton National Park (the area around Timbered Island is ideal) after sunset to listen to elk bugling. The eerie sounds come from males trying to attract females in heat.
Exiting the park back onto Highway 89/191, head north one mile and turn right onto Antelope Flats Road. Jackson Hole's bison herd, about 600-strong, often hangs out within easy sight of here. If you reach a "T" in the road without spotting any of the giant beasts, hang another right and head for the town of Kelly. Eighty-percent of the time, the herd is somewhere in this area.
Day 3: Dubois
National Bighorn Sheep Center
Back out on 89/191, Dubois is a scenic 70-some mile drive over a moderate mountain pass. Pulling into town, don't miss the National Bighorn Sheep Center. Yup, you heard right. It really is a don't miss. Not only are there hands-on exhibits that help you learn to differentiate the four different types of wild sheep in North America and explain how sheep can be so nimble on steep mountainsides, but the center also offers tours – complete with spotting scopes and binoculars – to the Whisky Mountain Habitat Area, home to about 750 bighorn sheep. The tours are $25 and offered from November through mid-March.
I don't want to sound too prejudiced, but November really is the best month to go: it's mating season and there's nothing quite like seeing two giant, curly-horned male sheep squaring off. Unless it's how unimpressed the female sheep act by all this activity carried out on their behalf: most often they're standing around in the background, idly chewing their cud. If you come through before the official tours start, the center has directions for a self-guided tour.
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