CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — How does a bighorn sheep say “cheese?”

Some charismatic critters caught by motion-detecting wildlife cameras seem to know how to strike a pose. But it’s not just show business. As these devices get ever smaller, cheaper and more reliable, scientists across the U.S. are using them to document elusive creatures like never before.

“There’s no doubt — it is an incredible tool to acquire data on wildlife,” said Grant Harris, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologist based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Remote cameras have photographed everything from small desert cats called ocelots to snow-loving lynx high in the Northern Rockies.

Harris cited photos of javelinas, pig-like desert mammals, and coatimundi, members of the raccoon family, taken at higher latitudes in recent years. That could mean global warming is expanding their range northward, he said.

Other scientists deploying remote cameras include researchers with the Wyoming Migration Initiative, who use global positioning to map the movements of elk, mule deer and antelope in and around Yellowstone National Park. They only have so many collars to track animals, meaning there’s a limit to the GPS data they can gather, said Matthew Kauffman, a University of Wyoming associate professor and initiative director.

“You see one animal migrating, you don’t know if it’s migrating by itself, if it’s migrating with a calf, or if it’s migrating with 40 other animals,” Kauffman said.

Remote cameras — which can be left in the backcountry for days, weeks or even months — help fill in blanks by showing how many animals are on the move over a given period, he said.

Where to position them requires careful forethought. Clustering several around a watering hole, for instance, might produce many images but not a thorough profile of a population. But a purely data-driven approach might not yield any useful photos.

“There’s this tension between subjectivity in where you put your camera and where it’s statistically sound,” Harris said.

Sometimes smart-alecky humans turn up among the images. “I’ve seen people moon cameras, and that’s always funny,” he said.

Remote video can also reveal details about animal behavior, including the mewling sounds of migrating mule deer. And live-streaming cameras for everything from bison in Saskatchewan, Canada, to the underwater kelp forest off California’s Channel Islands are always popular.

As with all human intrusion into nature, remote cameras have downsides. Animals such as wolverines and bears have been known to attack them, though whether out of curiosity or aggression is hard to say.

Also, remote cameras have become popular tools to help hunters scout for game, prompting a debate over fair-chase ethics. Then there’s the whole subjective thing about going into nature to get away from it all, including surveillance cameras.

But to answer that original question: A bighorn sheep that looks like it’s smiling probably isn’t saying “cheese” but sniffing pheromones and other scents in what’s called a flehmen response, said Harris.

In other words … bleats us.

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Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver

Yellowstone National Park recorded its second busiest year in 2017, lagging just behind the record set the year before. 

The park counted a grand total of 4,116,524 visits for 2017, the third consecutive year that the number topped 4 million. The visitation record in 2016 was set at 4.25 million visits. 

Topping 4 million is a relatively new phenomenon for Yellowstone, and one that seems to be here to stay. In a news release, the park said visitation has increased by 40 percent over the last decade, and that managers are trying to grapple with the increased number of people.

Two studies on visitor behavior were released last year and park officials plan to gather more information like that in the next couple of years. 

“These studies mark the beginning of our efforts to understand visitation and develop strategies to meet the challenges it presents,” said Dan Wenk, the park’s superintendent. “In 2018 and 2019, we intend to gather more information in order to make informed decisions about visitation.” 

Most months of 2017 lagged behind their 2016 counterparts, but this past December was the busiest in more than a decade. Park statisticians counted 21,294 visits for the month, the highest total for the month since 2001. 

The month’s total in 2001 was more than 27,000, and it marked the end of a four-year streak in which upward of 25,000 people passed through the park’s gates in December.

From their first blind date to the moment he found out his wife, Summer, was pregnant with their third child, Adam Andersen loved hard.

Andersen, 36, of Idaho Falls, died last week from injuries sustained in a snowmobile accident. He was caught in an avalanche while snowmobiling with friends near Mount Jefferson in Island Park.

“It was just a normal day,” Summer said. “He was just going to go out for a short afternoon ride with two friends. He said he loved us and that he would be careful when he walked out the door and that was it.”

The avalanche occurred late in the evening on Jan. 10 and because of the conditions, a full search and rescue happened the following day. Several dozen friends and family volunteered to help locate Adam. But because the rescue team found him so quickly, they didn’t participate in the recovery.

“They went back the next day with cadaver dogs and were able to find him quickly,” Summer said. “It was really touching how many people showed up to help Adam.”

Summer and Adam celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary five days before he left for Island Park. In addition to his wife, mother and two older sisters, Adam leaves behind three children: a 6-year-old boy, a 3-year-old boy with special needs and a 2-month-old baby girl.

“Adam was the most amazing father,” Summer said. “He had a love for his children that could move mountains.”

Being the parent of child with special needs can be difficult, but that wasn’t the case for Adam, Summer added.

“With my son with special needs he had incredible support in Adam,” she said with emotion in her voice. “I cry for that. I cry for all three of them because Adam provided everything they needed to be successful in life.”

She continued, “He was just the most amazing father, and I am just so sad for them that they won’t get that for the rest of their lives. It’s just a tragedy that this is all they got.”

Born in Pocatello where he lived until he was 10, Adam moved to Rigby and graduated from Rigby High School. Described by Summer as a naturally athletic man, Adam received a full-ride athletic scholarship to play football for Idaho State University.

“He was one of those men that can do anything with very little effort,” Summer said. “Eventually he transferred to the University of Louisville where he finished his biology degree.”

Adam moved back to Idaho and established his own trucking company before meeting Summer. This last year, he transitioned into a new position with Teton Petroleum Transport as a regional manager so that he could be home with his family every night.

“I was incredibly reluctant, but my best friend set me up on a blind date with him,” Summer said about the first time she met Adam. “She told me I was really going to like this guy and I did, and that was it.”

Not just a devoted father, son and husband, Adam loved everything outdoors. Summer said he was a man of adventure and grew up roaming the Idaho mountains with his best friend and father, the late Ed Wayne Andersen.

“He was an outdoor enthusiast,” Summer said. “He did everything with his dad — camping, snowmobiling, dirt-biking, four-wheeling and riding horses — anything you could imagine outside Adam did it and he loved it.”

In addition to athletics and outdoor recreation, Adam was a social butterfly, someone who made new friends at every turn in life, according to Summer.

“He was incredibly vivacious,” Summer said. “When I became pregnant for the third time I was very stern about keeping it to ourselves. But within a week everybody knew because he was so excited and just couldn’t contain himself. He would tell people but say, ‘Don’t tell Summer, though.’”

Services for Adam will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, in the Idaho Falls LDS Mesa Building at 2545 Mesa St. Bishop Jason Blundell, of the Bridgewater Ward, will officiate. The family will visit with friends Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Wood Funeral Home East Side at 963 South Ammon Road, and Monday from 10 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. prior to services at the church.

To assist with Adam’s funeral and his family’s living expenses, an online fundraiser has been established and is accessible by visiting, www.youcaring.com/summerandersen-1066160. The YouCaring.com fundraiser has been shared more than 2,000 times on social media and — with 184 donors — has raised more than $15,000.

Adam was an avid hockey fan and it was a sport that he shared a love for with his 6-year-old son. The Idaho Falls Youth Hockey Association canceled two practices from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, and will host a skate-a-thon open to the public. The entry fee is $5. All proceeds from the entrance fee and sales of concessions will go directly to the family.

Lastly, the Chick-fil-A in Ammon is hosting a fundraiser from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday night. Adam’s family will receive 15 percent of the money spent by patrons of the restaurant who dine during those three hours, and identify that they are visiting on behalf of Adam and his family.

“I have just been completely blown away by the support of the community,” Summer said. “I genuinely don’t have the words to express how thankful we are. It’s been absolutely humbling. I just don’t have the words to properly thank people.”

She continued, “Adam was just such an adventurous man and will be so greatly missed by more than just his family. He was just incredible.”

On the morning of January 16, 2018, park staff discovered 52 bison, held at the Stephens Creek facility for possible quarantine, had been released from the pens. The National Park Service has initiated a criminal investigation of this incident at the Stephens Creek facility in Yellowstone National Park.

Currently, park staff are making an effort to locate and recapture the bison. At this time, none of the animals have been located.

The missing bull bison were being held in two separate pens. A group of 24 animals have been in confinement since March 2016 and the other group of 28 animals, since March 2017. These animals were being held and tested for brucellosis at Stephens Creek as part of a plan being considered to establish a quarantine program. The purpose of that program would be to augment or establish new conservation and cultural herds of disease-free plains bison, enhance cultural and nutritional opportunities for Native Americans, reduce the shipment of Yellowstone bison to meat processing facilities, and conserve a viable, wild population of Yellowstone bison.

“This is an egregious criminal act that sets back bison conservation. It delays critical ongoing discussions about a quarantine program and the transfer of live Yellowstone bison to tribal lands. The park is aggressively investigating this incident,” said Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk.

“I am absolutely heartbroken for the Fort Peck Tribes who have been working with the park, the state of Montana, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for years to repatriate these bison,” said Secretary Zinke. “The criminals who broke into a national park facility to release these bison put at risk the safety of the animals that are now at risk of being culled and our park rangers who are rounding them up. I will be working with Secretary Perdue to see if we can get back on track to transfer the brucellosis free bulls to the tribe this year.”

The Stephens Creek facility is closed permanently to the public.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to call the Yellowstone National Park Tip Line at 307-344-2132 or email Yell_LEO@nps.gov. For more information, visit http://go.nps.gov/tipline.

THE DALLES, Ore. (AP) — A remote camera picked up two gray wolves in Oregon’s northern Cascade Mountains, marking the first time multiple wolves have been documented in the area since the species returned to Oregon more than a decade ago.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday the animals were spotted in the White River Wildlife Area and in Mt. Hood National Forest, as well as on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

Single wolves have been spotted in Wasco County twice before in 2013 and 2015.

Gray wolves are a federally protected species in western Oregon.

Wolves crossed into Oregon from Idaho in the early 2000s after being driven to extinction in the state decades ago.

Officials are currently updating a wolf management plan to address changes in population.

ASHTON — A lack of snow might move the annual American Dog Derby Race to Mesa Falls next month.

Race chairman John Scafe made the announcement during the city’s recent council meeting.

“Mother Nature’s not being nice to me,” he said.

Unless Mother Nature dumps a foot and a half of snow on Ashton between now and Feb. 16, Scafe says he might move the race to the Bear Gulch Trail near Mesa Falls.

It doesn’t look like there will be much snow anytime soon in Ashton, he said.

“The long-range forecast is not looking really good, but it can always change,” Scafe said.

Even if Ashton gets snow, there are concerns that warm weather might overheat dogs. It could also create mushy snow that’s damaging to sleds.

“We don’t want to cancel, but if it comes down to the safety factor for the dogs and mushers, that’s our number one priority. If it’s too warm, it can overheat the dogs. Weather is a big factor in everything,” he said.

Derby organizers last canceled the race about four years ago. At the time ice covered the snow, which was mushy underneath, making it difficult to sled over. In the 27 years that the derby has been held on a regular basis, officials have only canceled the race three times. At one point around the 1930s, despite no snow, mushers put their sleds on wheels to keep the races going. That isn’t an option now, Scafe said.

“Back in those days they could do that more. It’s just not really feasible with these sleds. Mushers have invested a lot into them,” he said.

Over the weekend Scafe visited Bear Gulch Trail and noted that while snow covered the trail, there wasn’t a lot of it.

“It’s marginal, but a snowmobile can go on it. I think they’ve been grooming it,” he said.

While there’s snow on the Bear Gulch Trail, Scafe was also concerned about room for mushers’ families and visitors to watch the races.

“My biggest concern is parking and spectator safety. It’s just a two-lane road there. I’ve got to really look at safety factors for people,” he said.

Despite the bleak snow forecast, dogsled racers have signed up for the 2018 race.

“I’ve had a 7-year-old signed up. She’s been racing since she was 2. I’ve got five vendors signed up,” he said.

Last year American Dog Derby officials celebrated the race’s centennial. While there had been lots of snow during the 2016 winter, warm weather melted much of it, leaving barely enough snow on Ashton streets for the races. Ashton City workers hauled in more of the white stuff to compensate. Still, the snow was limited, and officials shortened races.

Although there were concerns about the amount and quality of snow last year, racers from throughout the country and as far away as Scotland participated. Dog racer Ann Stead, who helped train dogs for the Disney movie “Iron Will,” also attended and met with residents.

“She’s looking at coming out again,” Scafe said.

Racers from California to Minnesota have been known to attend the dog sled races. Iditarod racers have also attended the annual Ashton races.

“We get all kinds,” Scafe said.

He said that he recently received a phone call from a fat bike enthusiast who wants to race in the dogsled races next month.

“He wants to run his bike. He says he has the dogs pull it. I told him I’d have to do a little thinking about that. I’ve never had that request before. I told him we were set up for sleds, not fat tire bikes,” he said.

That’s not to say organizers wouldn’t eventually consider such an event.

“You need to change up and get fresh things going. It would be quite interesting. If there’s more interest in it, I would entertain people to help me out with it. It’s something to think about next year,” Scafe said.

Scafe said the man had some sort of harness he hooked between his bike and his dogs.

“It’s like skijorning — a skier being pulled with a couple of dogs — but on a bike,” he said.

The Ashton dog races prove popular for mushers, and Scafe says they’re looking forward to attending again this year.

“It’s a good race. People have fun. The mushers have all told me that it’s like a big family reunion when they come to Ashton,” he said.

In the meantime, Scafe is hoping for snow. Members of the Ashton City Council joked he could do a snow dance to urge Mother Nature to drop some precipitation on Ashton during the next three weeks.

Scafe joked that the weather consistently changes in Idaho. If you don’t like it, just give it five minutes, and you’ll see something different.

In the meantime, Scafe is planning on having a dogsled race — somewhere — next month.

“We have to have a positive attitude about it. We’re still going for it. Like it or not, we’re going to have fun,” he said.

For more information on the upcoming race visit americandogderby.com or check out the derby’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/americandogderby.

I stated skiing at Skyline Ski Area (Pebble Creek) in the late 1950s when Cubco bindings were popular.The bindings would release my skis from my boots in a hard turn, as well as in any kind of fall. The skis were connected to the boot by a cord so that…

I stated skiing at Skyline Ski Area (Pebble Creek) in the late 1950s when Cubco bindings were popular.The bindings would release my skis from my boots in a hard turn, as well as in any kind of fall. The skis were connected to the boot by a cord so that…

OGDEN, Utah (AP) — Authorities rescued a hiker who spent a frigid night stranded on a cliff in northern Utah.

The Standard-Examiner in Ogden reports that Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen said the hiker was hoisted out of Logan Canyon Monday morning. He wasn’t injured.

The 19-year-old Max Susman had called for help Sunday night after he hiked into a cliff area and couldn’t get down.

Rescue teams were unable to land a rescue helicopter that night and instead dropped supplies to get him through the night. That included a sleeping bag, food and a kit to start a fire.

Members of the rescue team hiked to the spot to spend the night with the Utah State University student as temperatures dipped below freezing.

OGDEN, Utah (AP) — Authorities rescued a hiker who spent a frigid night stranded on a cliff in northern Utah.

The Standard-Examiner in Ogden reports that Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen said the hiker was hoisted out of Logan Canyon Monday morning. He wasn’t injured.

The 19-year-old Max Susman had called for help Sunday night after he hiked into a cliff area and couldn’t get down.

Rescue teams were unable to land a rescue helicopter that night and instead dropped supplies to get him through the night. That included a sleeping bag, food and a kit to start a fire.

Members of the rescue team hiked to the spot to spend the night with the Utah State University student as temperatures dipped below freezing.