Wrapping up this series on our trip to the Rocky Mountains, I'm sharing some images of the wildlife we encountered throughout the parks. From small critters, a variety of birds, up to large elk, sheep and even bears, we saw some sort of wildlife almost every day of the trip. Here are a few of the animals we encountered:

Ground Squirrel and Chipmunks

Elk

Deer

Bighorn Sheep

Mountain Goats

Bald Eagle nesting

Loons

Bears!

We saw over a dozen bears on lakesides and the roadsides as we travelled around the three parks. Most of the bears were black, but three of them were Grizzly bears, with their distinctive large claws. One of the grizzlies has a large tag around its neck which likely housed a GPS or radio tracking device. We were somewhat concerned about running into a bear on the trails, but despite several recent reports and sightings at Sunshine Meadows and Lake O'Hara we managed to avoid any encounters in the wild. The bears were mostly scavenging for berries, while the grizzly was flipping over rocks and debris looking for insects and small animals.