While Holly and I were out in Yellowstone National Park last month we got to experience something totally amazing.  As we were getting ready to leave the Mammoth Springs around, we noticed a small group of people all standing together with their cameras aimed in the same direction.  In Yellowstone (or any other park for that matter) this always means there is an animal extremely close by and it is almost always worth a look.  When we got over there we discovered a mother elk and her newborn baby.  The other people standing around said it had been born within the hour; some of them had actually witnessed it being born!  Truly awesome stuff.  We stood around for a good bit and got to see it take its first steps and begin to nurse for the first time.

   This is one of those truly unique moments and tender moments.  It was a lot of fun to watch the mother caring for her calf.  She would clean it and then rub her head on it while it tried to stand.  Very cool experience.

–Dan Thompson