The Cycle of Life

You have probably all seen “Yellowstone National Park in winter” videos or pictures. Until a couple of years ago, I just could not imagine visiting here during January/February cold and snowy conditions, but we did, and now we are hooked on the beauty of the season, and we have enjoyed the chance to really come in touch with nature. In summer, the grasses, leaves and flowing water can cloak the harshness of the food chain. However, winter strips away these modest layers and truly reveals the survival of the fittest or luckiest. It is a carcass economy, where the apex predators take down prey or kill their enemies while the rest hope for scraps so they, too, can survive.

The eagles and ravens you see here are feasting on the carcass of a coyote that probably came too close to the wolves who had brought down a bison nearby.