Jackson Hole Wildlife Eco-Tour Adventures

The “Green Wave” has started.  Spring is in the air.   Most naturalists refer to the “Green Wave” as the emerging spring’s green vegetation from southerly latitudes to northerly latitudes.   Anyone living in mountainous terrain can appreciate the “Green Wave” in a more local sense.     As I was hiking up High School Butte yesterday I noticed the vegetation in the southern portion of our valley turning green.   (The Jackson Hole Valley is slightly tilted upwards from south to north for a difference over 540 feet).    As the next few weeks progress one can watch the wave of greenery advancing northward through our valley.   This new spring growth is the most nutritious for many of the local mammals.  Moose and elk have timed their calving season to coincide with the new growth.   After parturition, the cow elk or moose needs the valuable calories of the new green vegetation to support lactation.  Lactation is the most energy intensive part of bringing new life into the world. 

In the Jackson Area there are over 900 species of flowering plants.  Many of these species can be seen flowering on the lower slopes of the mountains earlier in the season and then at higher elevations later in season as the “Green Wave” ascends up the mountain slope. 

This spring has been fantastic for wildlife viewing.  We have hade great opportunities to view some of our local grizzly bears.   The elk are slowly moving towards their summer range.  And the bison are showing signs that their calving season is quickly approaching. 

Join us for an educational program not to forget. With the nature of our small group wildlife viewing naturalist tours we can focus on your group’s specific interests.  

Book now to get into the ACTION!

Here at EcoTour Adventures we are very excited and humbled that TripAdvisor.com listed us as one of the

“GREAT WILDLIFE TOURS OF THE WORLD”       check the below link to see where we stand.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/InfoCenter-a_ctr.wildlifetours

Thanks to our past guests that have posted reviews, we couldn’t of done it without your kind words.   

 The New Year has brought some super cold temperatures to the Jackson Hole Area.  Last week we recorded -33 in Teton Village.   These cold

temperatures didn’t stop us a bit.  We bundled up and headed out into park for some amazing sights.  

 Animal adaptations, both behavioral and physical can be astounding.    A good example of a great behavioral adaption that moose employ to “beat the

cold” would be something as simple as laying on their legs.    This reduces the surface area of their body that is exposed to the cold.  YOU BET, that

when the temperatures are -20 to -30 that many of our ungulates are laying directly on top of their legs.  

An example of a physical adaption that we seen in moose would be their long and hollow guard hairs.  These long guard hairs help block the natural

elements (ie. wind, rain, and snow) as well provide great insulation.   

If you are interested in maximizing your time in the park observing the area’s wildlife and learning about this great ecosystem do keep us in mind for

tours.   

 All of our guides have backgrounds in the sciences and are eager to share their experiences and knowledge with our guests.

We hope to have the opportunity to tour with you down the road!!!

Fall is right around the corner.   The temperatures are dropping and we are seeing some changes in the area.    The bison rut is finishing up and the elk are gearing up for their rut.    

We have had some frosts the past two weeks (a reminder that it is time to start covering the garden at night once again) but the daytime temperatures are still in the 80ies most days. 

September and October is such a great time to tour with EcoTour Adventures.   The crowds are thin and the wildlife is very active.  

This just may be my favorite time to be in the parks.  

For myself the elk are the most interesting to watch.  On tours we view elk from places that most visitors will not find on their own so we have the elk’s behavioral display all to ourselves.     It is captivating to watch them contain their harem of female cow elk. 

Typically an adult bull will acquire a harem of 2-26 cows.  On occasion I have seen harems up to 90 cows.   

The adult bull works hard to keep his cows contained and to keep the satellite bulls from entering his group of cows.   It’s quite the spectacle to observe. 

Explore with EcoTour Adventures to observe the natural world in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  

It’s so great to get reunited with some of the most famous bears in the USA.   Grizzly 399 and her 6 year old daughter, 610.  

Grizzly 399 has been gracing residents and visitors alike with her presence for over a decade.  6 years ago she gave birth to three cubs.  Grizzly bears will typically become reproductively active between 3-8 years of age.  

One of 399’s cubs was named 610.  Just last June we witnessed both 399 and 610 out of hibernation with cubs in tow.   Grizzlies may have anywhere from 1-4 cubs and those cubs are born in the den in January or February.  

In 2011, 399 amazingly enough had three more cubs and 610 had two cubs.   

In the middle of the summer, we started noticing that 610 was traveling and feeding with three cubs and the next day we noticed that 399 only had two in tow.  

A rare cub swap had occurred!   On occasion a sow bear will adopt orphaned cubs.  What is unusual is that the orphaned cub’s mother (399) was alive and healthy.  

What I believe happened is that 399 and 610 were foraging in close proximity.  At times the cubs will get distracted and wander away from mom.  I have seen it many times before where a cub will then look around for mom and then run towards her.  I believe the cub was distracted, wandered off, saw another bear and then ran towards the other adult bear.  As of last week, 610 is still caring for and teaching “the way of the bear” to her adopted cub.  

Last summer the bear watching was incredible!  All summer and fall on tours we were graced with the presence of these two families and a few other adult grizzlies in the northern section of Grand Teton National Park.  

We only hope that we will be so lucky again.   

Join us for an Eco Tour to discover and learn about the wildlife that abounds here in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park.