| Show park rangers get ready for winter 0 cut hay from meadows to feed animals when snow comes yellowstone Tellow stone park wyo the park rangers cancers are out in the meadows get ting in the winter bay and rumors from yellowstone Tellow stone animal circles tell of great rejoicing among the elk antelope ope and buffalo each year the lowlands along the lamar and gardiner rivers find their tributaries tributa ries are harvested of rich timothy clover and natural hay along slough creek at yanceys Yan Yance ceya ys old pi place ace hear bear the buffalo ranch in the lamar valley and at the north entrance to the park at gardiner mont the rangers work gathering catherine a thousand tons or more of hay meanwhile the tourists pass through the park coming coining at the rate of 2500 or more each day in their travels over the grand loop road of nearly miles many animals are seen particularly ticul arly the bears but realization of the conservationist work responsible for the abundance of wild life in the yellowstone Is not always forthcoming the tragic story of the american buffalo or bison Is well known thanks to the untiring efforts of the park service yellowstone boasts of one of the few large herds of these animals in the united states there are two buffalo herds in the park one that Is cared for by winter feeding consisting of approximately head end and the other a band of that ro roams ams free and without care the year around to in the eastern wildernesses wilder nesses of the park buffalo herd in valley the winter headquarters of the large lierd herd Is nt at the lamar valley buffalo ranch where the Ahe fragrant timothy hay grown in nearby meadows carefully stacked behind 12 foot fences Is rationed out buffalo can break through fences less than 12 feet in height in the summer they range up the valley and into the mountainous areas A huge drift fence three miles long which spans the lamar valley prevents them from coining down to the ranch and eating their winter provisions before the hay la Is stacked A story similar to the buffalos buffaloe buff alos has been very nearly true of the antelope and elk in this country of elk possibly head remain 40 per cent of them in the yellowstone national park this area surrounding the park in wyoming and montana supports other large elk herds and an excellent system of game preserves has fostered elk bands in pennsylvania south of yellowstone in jackson hole the forest service and biological survey aided by a huge land purchase of the izaak walton league feed these ant finals ln the winter this area and the park are huge game preserves which largely foster the excellent hunting found in nearby localities feed elk in winter winter feeding la is resorted to with the elk after deep snows have covered all available natural hay with elk and likewise with antelope the topography of yellowstone Tellow stone park creates the winter inter problem the park Is much like a huge plateau as ag big as the states of rhode island and delaware higher than the surrounding land and circled by mountains the heavy winter snows force the animals down the river valleys from the plateau into lower country where grazing crazing may he be found here they are unprotected from predatory animals and other dangers hence it Is to their advantage to be kept in the park by feeding while the elk range in almost every section of the park usually well back from the roads during the summer cummer the antelope are found almost entirely in the northern portion of the yellowstone they number about COO and an increase of possibly kids took plaice place tills this year tho the most favorable for wild life in park records many are seen throughout the summer near camp roosevelt and tower falls and in the winter they aliey migrate to the grassy ridges along the northern boun dary of the park where rangers jealously guard them from molestation the deer are in yellowstone in large numbers nearly 2000 of the mule or black tailed variety and a few of the white tailed species they also take advantage of the winter feeding and each year when the snows are deep on the ground a small band congregates c rig about the settlement at I 1 mammoth hot springs begging their food from the rangers and others living there pleased at moose increase park officials are happy over the recent marked increase in numbers of the yellowstone moose an added delight Is that these wary animals frequenters qu enters of the swamps and tf timberlands ber are being seen by the summer tourists from the auto roads not far from mammoth an old cow moose with twin calves has been noted along the road to to old faithful time and again this summer the rangers estimate moose in yellowstone few who have followed the auto road to the summit of mount blount washburn this year have missed the band ot of bighorn big horn sheep ip I 1 that vicinity there are COO mountain sheep scattered through the park in the high places they as well as the moose are entirely able to shift for themselves and have thrived on protection from hunting during many years in the national park every one who ever came to yet tel low stone and a good many who have not lot knows of the bears the friendly gluttons that even resort to highway robbery of tourists for food they hibernate in park eaves caves during the winter and will eat cat anything during the summer the bear feeding grounds near the four big hotels are always centers of attraction tor for the tourists the yellowstone brown bears number and the grizzlies grizzlier grizz lies 75 secret of trappers Trap pr in the days when john jacob astor artor was reaping his fur far harvest from the west in far away new york the yel lowB tone region was the jealously guarded secret of a few trappers the fur bearing animals now in the park approximate the numbers that they did then and their protection from the unscrupulous during the winter Is another task of the park service con beaver otter mink muskrat ermine and other lesser animals ills abound the winter ranger patrol on snowshoe and ski guards against pon poachers chers the predatory animals coyote mountain lion and wolf bucit be carefully kept few in number the pork service has no intention of completely exterminating these animals but by trapping and shooting during the winter maintains a small percentage of coyotes and mountain lions ilona in the park otherwise the carefully protected big game herds would furnish means for these predatory animals to increase and eventually exterminate all others wolves are noted in the park from time to time migrating tn in and out of the region A few lynx exist nowhere in the country can a region more abounding with wild life be found and it Is sate safe to say ray that nowhere have conservational efforts juul equal to LV those of the park service been exerted for as long a time |
