Well, this won't work....

What could be worse than hearing someone trying to describe wildlife videos in words on a blog?  Not much.
But anyway, we did go last night to the tiny outpost town of Jardine, outside Gardiner, to see Bob Landis's video clip presentation.  He is world renowned, and has done beautiful  wolf video work for National Geographic.  A quirky guy, not too socially adept, who spends almost every waking moment ( and most of those moments you or I would NOT be awake), in the park with his video gear.  The event was held at a little home, with a kind of classroom space and folding metal chairs- called A Naturalist's World.  It is the home and workshop and classroom of Jim Halfpenny, a world renowned wildlife biologist.  Jim was there.  And also Norm Bishop, a legendary wolf biologist.  Norm taught a Yellowstone Association four day course on wolf ecology in the park that Betsy and I took about 6 years ago now.  Norm was actually present and part of the team on that day in mid-January in 1996 when the wolves that had been trapped in Canada had been flown in, and Norm and others were part of a team that brought the cages and wolves in to the hidden fenced enclosures in the park to release them.  The enclosures were hidden and secret, because sentiment was running so high, fears were that people would sneak in and shoot the wolves.  It was -20 degrees, they were carrying the heavy metal cages and enclosed wolves up steep hills through deep snow-  and word came that a federal court had approved an injunction preventing the release of the wolves from the cages!!  An awful moment- as they knew they could not keep the wolves in the cages or their flesh would freeze to the metal cages, but they could not get them back out of the backcountry in the park where they were.  A terrible tense night, but relief was granted at dawn by the courts, and they were able to release the wolves-  and so this great saga began.  Betsy did get to speak to Norm, and express our appreciation for his extraordinary teaching and its impact on our lives.
So, the part now that won't work.   The videos were truly phenomenal- many of these unedited clips that will end up heavily edited and fit into upcoming National Geographic and other videos.

A bison approaching a stream, gathering up, and HOPPING all fours directly into the air and just making it across the stream.  Next bison, doing the same thing, gathering up, HOPPING all fours directly into the air and not making it, face landing smack in the mud and stream, coming up dripping mud, and scrambling to get up the bank.

Bald eagles flying swiftly by, then flaring, hooking talons, and cartwheeling 3 full circles in the air.

A bison crossing a lake- and breaking through the ice.  Not a good ending here.

A coyote- nervous about nearby wolves, but realizing they won't swim out to a bison carcass in the lake, swimming out and clambering up onto the floating bison carcass.  Then clinging desperately and shifting as the center of gravity shifts and the carcass rolls slowly.  Then frantically shifting as the carcass starts a roll perpendicular to the first roll.  Clinging and shifting like a poorly trained dog on a circus ball, and giving up and swimming back toward the wolves, the lesser of two evils apparently at this point.  Perhaps slightly seasick by this point as well!

Geese coming in for a landing on glare ice. Wheeeee!  then tumbling, falling, rolling, and trying to stand up with some dignity.  Another comes in.  Wheeee! Presses tail down firmly to ice like the skeg on a sailboat- gliding to a smooth and upright stop- smooth as a goose.

Otters, wrestling and tumbling, but at the top of an 8 foot bank of mud and snow down to the river- ooops, one loses its footing and over it goes.  And on and on  till all are in the river.

Four otters, anxiously trying to protect a riverside nest of sticks where the young are, from a stalking coyote.  Swimming along the river- darting up toward the coyote, then backing off.  Coyote approaches nest- all four otter pop up all of a sudden right up out of the water.  Coyote decides better and trots smoothly and with dignity off along the river bank.  But- one otter, Momma maybe?  won't let it go at that.  So she is up on the land chasing and scolding.  Well, you could have put a book on the head of the coyote and it would have stayed as the coyote trotted off.  The angry, slow chasing otter, with its inchworm like galumphing along and still falling behind- a marked comparison in land locomotion!

Wolves chasing, playing, wrestling in deep snow.

A glorious picture of a HUGE orange-yellow full moon rising over the mountains ( but he disclosed it was a moon setting, and he had reversed the image, and needed to carefully reverse action as well) to turn it into a moonrise.

Grizzlies, wrassling a 2000 lb bison carcass out of a river in order to feed on it.

A wolf pack denying a lone wolf permission to join, with extended chase, and ultimate killing of the loner.

Well, this was an amazing evening of video we would probably never see anywhere else.
 
We spoke with Matt this morning- he did in fact have tracks yesterday of a grizzly and cub just up the hill from the house, and another grizzly with two cubs just a little further east from that.

We are a little disappointed- the daily report from Freezeout has tundra swans and snow geese numbers dropping.  We may have missed the peak, or the geese may be coming in waves, with more coming later.  Tough to know.  Or as they say in Montana "Hard tellin', not knowin' "

We'll meet up with Betsy's Bozeman cousin Tom, and wife Liz, at the Chop House for dinner Tuesday night.