The park service keeps the roads clear for the visitors to get around the park. The critters also use the roads to get around the park when the snow is deep. We were driving down near the Firehole river when we passed a lone coyote trotting along like it was no one’s business.
We stopped once ahead of him to see if we could capture a photo of him. He was moving pretty good because as soon as we got out of the snow coach, he came bumbling around the corner. We only had one to two minutes before he was trotting past us liek we were part of the vehicle. We drove passed him again and came upon an open field with a bison herd so we stopped to get the great view of them in front of the steam geysers. A few minutes later here comes the coyote again still making his way up the road on a mission. This time he stops and gives us a once over before moving on his way again.
We continue our way up the road to the paint pots and as we pass the coyote again, we learn what his mission was to trek miles up the road. He has a favorite hunting ground where he listens for rodents tunneling under the snow in the fields and eventually he finds what he is looking for.
What amazed me with the coyote is how he just ignored us standing on the road and walked within 10 feet of us. The trick is that he sees the snow coach all the time. By standing up next to the vehicle instead of out in the middle of the road, he considers us part of the coach. This makes him much more comfortable with his surroundings and could care less of 5 photogs clicking away at him.
