By Jenny Golding and George Bumann

When traveling the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), you’re entering one of the largest intact ecosystems in the northern hemisphere. Encompassing about 22 million acres from the Wind River Mountain Range in northwestern Wyoming, through Yellowstone and into southwestern Montana, the GYE hosts a diversity and abundance of wildlife found nowhere else in the lower 48 states.

While the region is well known for grizzly bears, wolves, elk, and bison, the GYE is also home to almost 300 species of birds, seven native ungulates, 67 species of mammals, six reptile species, five amphibians, and 16 species of fish. Add in native plants, and a host of invertebrates, and you have an incredibly layered and rich ecosystem unique in the world. From pika to peregrine falcons, rubber boa constrictors to bighorn sheep, badgers to grizzly bears, the chances to see wildlife are greater here than anywhere else along the trail.

So it’s worth paying special attention to the wildlife you see when you travel in the GYE. Yet, despite the abundance and diversity of wildlife found here, most hikers miss the majority of rewarding wildlife encounters. Why?

Because we scare them away before we ever get a chance to see them.

When you drive through the GYE in a car, the long vistas and miles covered give you an advantage in spotting large numbers of animals. Yet on the trail, animals seem to vanish. If you know how to observe and travel however, you’ll stand a much greater chance of spotting a diversity of wildlife along the trail. 

Much like the ripples on a pond when you throw a pebble in, humans traveling through wilderness create a wave of reactions. Passing from animal to animal and across multiple species, a variety of vocalizations and behaviors tell everyone in a quarter mile or further that you are there. Yes, the animals are talking about you! 

The wolf that was traveling along the trail, or the moose grazing the willows in the marsh have likely already moved off the trail and out of sight by the time you approach. Many of them move silently away from the trail to a less disturbed spot, resulting in a missed opportunity. 

Just as trail users are aware of trail signs, markers, and landmarks, it’s also possible to learn how to pick up on the subtle signs being sent by animals encountered along the trail. Once you learn how to tune in to the animal language happening around you, you’ll be able to see more animals, have less of an impact on them, and have a deeper and more intimate relationship with wild communities you travel through.

The first step in tuning in to wildlife is noticing what common animals around you are doing when you see them. The most juicy intel might come from the humble red squirrel, an American robin, or a raven, if you know how to pay attention. With a little observation, you can start to recognize how they behave when everything is “normal” and when their behavior changes to something else. 

Is the red squirrel in the spruce munching pine nuts quietly, or is it chattering incessantly? Is the robin singing a sweet, beautiful song or is it emitting a harsh loud “chip”? Did the mule deer silently and slowly walk away, or did it take off “pronking”—a loudly audible bouncing on all four feet? Watch what they are doing, and take note.

The second step in tuning in to this wild conversation is to ask questions about what you observe. Why is that red squirrel alarming? Is it because of me, a pine marten, or a great gray owl in a nearby tree?

On a recent backpacking trip in Yellowstone, we were sitting outside the tent journaling at the end of the day, when all of a sudden a large number of the Uinta ground squirrels started putting up a big fuss, letting out high pitched chirps, standing and peeking out of their burrows, and looking in a unified direction. 

Because this behavior was a sudden departure from the more calm manner they had been exhibiting, we looked where they were looking and discovered a badger sneaking through the sagebrush! We watched the badger for a while as it hunted near camp. Once it went out of sight, we were able to track its progress by the progression of squirrel and marmot alarms spreading out across the sagebrush landscape.  

Had we not known to pay attention to the squirrel alarms, and the sudden change in their behavior, we never would have seen the badger!

Believe it or not, similar interactions are happening along the trail, all the time! If you notice something different in an animal’s behavior, take a minute to try and sleuth out the source of the disturbance. 

Ravens and magpies have often clued us in to the location of a nearby carcass (and given us the opportunity to avoid a close encounter with a grizzly). A change in a coyote’s vocalization has given us clues to where wolves were present. The sudden departure of ducks from a pond showed us a bald eagle overhead. And the red squirrels pointed us to a great gray owl perched in a tree. These are just a few examples of what’s possible when you learn to pay attention to animals in a new way.

The little stuff gives clues about the big, and you don’t always see the big stuff from the narrow “window” of the trail. No matter how big or small, each animal is telling you something of equal and revelatory importance. It’s not just alarms that tell you things about the environment around you; listening for the chorus frogs might tip you off to  freshwater in the area, or you might know you’re approaching a rock outcrop from the song of the rock wren up ahead. 

The third step towards having a more intimate connection with the animals you encounter is to start recognizing how animals respond to your presence. Survival doesn’t come easy in greater Yellowstone, and how we behave can give wildlife a better chance at thriving. Behaving in a way that raises less of an alarm will minimize your impact on the wildlife around you, and consequently help them be more comfortable in our presence.

Try moving slower when you encounter an animal or herd (how many deer butts have you seen as they or other animals flee when you approach at full speed?) Moving more slowly gives them the chance to adjust to your presence and evaluate the threat level. If you spot that moose in the meadow, or an elk with a calf, consider walking around them and giving them a wide berth so they don’t have to change their behavior because you’re too close. Finally, most animals also feel threatened by direct eye contact. Avoid looking at an animal directly and they’ll feel more comfortable in your presence. 

When you learn to blend into their landscape it becomes more likely that they’ll tell you about something fantastic.

While you can actually use these tactics anywhere you recreate (and even in your own backyard), the species abundance and diversity in the GYE provides a fantastic opportunity to tune in more closely to animal behavior. 

Outdoor spaces give us unparalleled opportunities to pull back the layers and reveal a depth of connection among creatures that few people know exist. You now have the beginning tools to take the blinders off and go beyond what most people experience. Happy wildlife spotting!

Learn more about animal language or the wildlife in Yellowstone at https://www.ayellowstonelife.com.

Jenny Golding is a writer, photographer, and digital storyteller. She spent 20 years directing education and conservation programs for non-profits before founding AYellowstoneLife.com.

George Bumann is a wildlife biologist and artist with over 20 years of experience in Yellowstone helping people learn how to enjoy the wonders of animal language to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of the natural world. 

Learn more about Jenny and George here.

All photos by Jenny Golding.