Black Hills Wildlife

We sure did have a great time on our vacation to the Black Hills. Of course I had my camera stuck to my eye the entire trip. I managed to get many wildlife pictures on the trip. On most of these I had my telephoto lens as far as it could reach and it was well worth it. (But I still want a bigger telephoto) =) There were several elk bedded down in the afternoon. Can you see the velvet hanging down in this guys face, there is still blood on the antlers too. What a treat to see. Behind him there is another bull laying down and you can see his antlers in full velvet. I guess I was kinda surprised to see these so low. We had always seen Sheep up by my mom in Montana, we new their local hangout and could usually get a glimpse of them. But those Sheep were always up high in the rocks. I'm not complaining these guys were so low, they were pretty awesome to look at and provided me a great photo op. Okay, I couldn't believe we spotted a Mountain Lion up in the trees. It was actually the first time I had seen one up in a tree before. I can remember all those years of riding with my mom up in the mountains. The horses would cock their ears and stop on a dime. They would jerk their head to the side and be so aware of their surroundings. I would usually get goosebumps, give a heel to my horse and we would be off down the trail. Now looking back, I wonder how many Mountain Lions we rode under... goose bumps again.
I just could not believe the amount of wildlife we saw on our trip. This cute little cub was taking a nap in a pine tree that had seen plenty of abuse from the bears.
I'm wondering if this is a sow? Could it be that cubs momma. It looks pretty big though, maybe it's a male. How nice of him to pose for me to get this shot.

Wow, two more bears. That sure is an interesting rock formation there. I can't believe all these bears. I mean, it was one thing to see the elk, and the sheep, but this is amazing. Look how funny this bear is, sitting on that log the way he is. Wait one minute... Is that a car in that picture? What is going on here?

Okay, okay.... We were actually in Bear Country USA. It was really a cool place to see. These cubs were just adorable. Earlier they had all been playing in a tree, but of course I missed it.
If you are ever in the Black Hills make sure and stop and Bear Country. You start by driving through each section of the park that contains the different species. For some reason they want you to keep your windows rolled up. Can't imagine why. I broke the rules several times for pictures but a wolf never did jump through the window so I guess it was fine. Once you finish the driving portion you are able to park and get out and walk to see more animals and Babyland with all the cubs. It was a great place to see, take the time if you are ever in that area.