Over the winter, I have been seeing this cow and her calf’s tracks. I came across where they have been eating, resting and at times, running from something. Perhaps related to the wolf pack or its members that go through their home range. I’m sure they have tried to go after the calf a few times. But the mother has been able to keep her calf safe. I have come across them two times, the last time was two weeks ago. I walked through the deep snow on varied terrain to see how both were doing. Keeping my distance, I was able to see both. The calf, as expected, was the more nervous one. In this picture, it's just behind its mother. You can just make out part of the head with one eye looking toward me. I could have moved around and possibly gotten both in one image, but there was a chance of scarring one or both from the area. They were feeding on willow. There are still a few weeks to go before they start feeding on something green. Until then, the cow will keep working on staying one step ahead of the wolves and I will keep looking out for their tracks.
White-tailed Deer
End of February, the snow fell and more followed the day after. Yesterday, after helping the team move snow with a break in the middle of the day to look after the paperwork and emails. I had just enough energy to walk home. Everything looked beautiful, all covered with fresh snow. And the wet snow that fell in the middle of the day covered all the tree trucks facing west. With no wind, it was a relaxing walk surrounded by trees and not being concerned about snow falling on me. It looked as if I was walking through a black and white landscape. Until I looked to my right, staring right back at me were four white-tailed deer. Three of them were perfectly set for an image. Tired as I was, I just had to take the camera out and take their picture surrounded by snow. Then I quickly moved on so they could head over to the thermal springs for some green treats. Thanks to the warm water. It’s always a good way to end the day by walking through the woods. Until this morning, heading to work but with a lot more snow.
Elk
This bull elk looked better when this picture was taken of him compared to the week before. He was still favoring his back right leg, but not as heavily as the previous week. With a lack of food during the winter, it's harder to recover from injuries than during the season of plenty. As well, even during this mild winter, the bull does not have a lot of energy to spare to heal. If this male, along with the four bachelors he was hanging out with, came across a wolf pack. All the bulls will show strength by standing tall, trying to look as big as they can, so they are not the ones to get attacked by the pack. And if everyone started running, each would again physically show strength, each one hoping not to be attacked. Even if our eyes can’t pick up any weakness between one elk compared to others, the wolves can. Sensing weakness through visual cues and through hearing and scent. In our homes our canine friends can use similar abilities to tell when we’re sick and, in some cases, before we become sick. For the wolves, their success rate in capturing prey is nowhere close to 100 percent. Depending on the location and type of prey, it can be less than 20 percent. So being able to pick the week from the strong increases their chances of having a meal sooner rather than later.
Mountain Goats
It’s always easier to see what colour the mountain goats are when they are surrounded by snow. Of course, that becomes harder as you put more space between you and where the goats are. In this case, they were about a km away from me. All together, there were 15 goats on the side of the mountain. With many years of looking up with my naked eyes at the same locations, I can still tell if there are goats up there in the winter. Then I can watch them with binoculars or a zoom lens. A better way would be to use a spotting scope. The best way would be on the side of the same mountain but far enough not to bother them.
In this case, I was about a km away and I was able to get a picture with the zoom lens, crop it enough where there are still enough details to get an understanding of their winter habitat. The day the image was taken, the temperature was in the minus mid-teens. Their winter coat had no problem keeping them warm, it’s playing an even bigger role today when the temperature hit minus 41 degree Celsius. As we are all dealing with the first major deep freeze of this winter in the mountains. Life is about trade-offs. The goats must deal with extreme weather events and lower quality of food at higher elevations, but there are less predators to deal with. Over the winter with them, as with many other prey, they will not be gaining weight. It’s all about being efficient and using just enough energy to get them to spring. Another good reason for not bothering them if you happen to come across them over the winter months.
Elk
Another elk rut season ended a few weeks ago. The dominant bulls, like this one, started getting much-needed rest and, even more importantly, putting on the weight they lost during the rut season. The bulls that were successful during the mating season can, on average, lose up to 30 percent of their weight during the rut. But success during the rut season can lead to a shorter life for the bull. From injuries that the bull might have sustained fighting other bulls, being more vulnerable to predators before they recover from the rut season, or the cold weather arriving soon after the rut. The dominant males also lose the protection a herd offers after the rut. They either deal with the winter on their own or they join a few other males to deal with the winter. Including males, they were fighting during the rut. All is forgiven in the elk world, or at least until the next rut.
Elk
We are midway through the elk breeding season, or as it’s most often called the rut. As the days start getting shorter, it affects the melatonin levels in the elk. Melatonin is a hormone that the brain produces in response to darkness. It helps with our internal clock and with sleep. This in turn causes hormone changes in both bulls and cows. For the males at the start of the rut, the antlers mineralize and they shed the velvet. The males will start rubbing trees, to get rid of the velvet. They become more aggressive thanks to the higher testosterone levels during the rut and will start sparring with other males, against trees, shrubs and more.
This is why it’s even more important to be a safe distance from bulls during the rut season. By mid October, the bull’s testosterone level will go back to normal and once again the males will start hanging out with other males to pass the winter. This large bull was making sure I got home safe after work as he watched me through the woods.
Grizzly
Out here in the west, where black and grizzly bears live on the same landscape. Trying to tell them apart from the fur colour, when you have never seen them or perhaps just a few times can be challenging. Particularly if you’re thinking black bears are black and grizzly (brown) bears are brown. About 70 percent of the black bears are black, in the Rockies, 50 percent are black. They can be white, blonde, cinnamon, light brown, chocolate brown or black. And the fur colour of grizzly bears varies as well, from white to blond to almost black.
So, in the Rockies, you might have to use other physical characteristics of the bears to figure out if it’s a black or grizzly bear. One can easily get that information on the internet. This dark eight-month-old grizzly cub was hanging out with its mom and her brown-coloured sibling. When someone asked out loud, "what is a black bear doing with two grizzly bears?" They got a quick answer with the correct information, leaving them with more knowledge than when they arrived. Giving them greater appreciation for bears.
Grizzly
Last year, in May, F142 came out of her den with her second set of cubs, three of them. A rare sight, to see a grizzly with three cubs. But the large family was not going to last. A month later, a large male grizzly, M136, tracked her down at Lake Louise. Popped out in the open where you rent the canoes, swam across the lake and chased the cubs below Lake Agnes. When the dust had settled, F142 had made her way to the back of Lake Louise, only to be joined by just one of her cubs. It is easier to raise one cub than two or three. But this female now not only has to show the cub where to find food and how to be safe. But also be a playmate to its cub. The female would be spending time playing with all her cubs, but would get a break when the siblings play among themselves. Also, the cubs are less likely to get hurt when playing with someone in their weight class. No major injuries are likely to occur, just cuts and bruises that heal fast. Play fighting is an important part of a cub’s life. It gets them ready when the fights are no longer part of the play.
This picture was taken in the middle of June, when both were taking it easy. Enjoying all the dandelions they could eat. She, while eating in a small meadow, first smelled and then saw a large male grizzly approaching them. She wasn’t taking any chances. They both ran for cover in the nearby woodland. For a mother grizzly, rest never lasts too long. Always must be on the move to be safe in the wilderness.
Least Chipmunk
The least chipmunks are the smallest species of chipmunk. Their total length is between 16 to 25 cm and they weigh between 25 to 66 grams. They are active during the day, feeding on seeds, berries, nuts, fruits, and insects. If you had a chance to see them, you would have noticed they can be very agile. Being able to run up to 7.7 km/h when needed. And because of their size, they have a few predators; hawks, owls and members of the weasel family. Least chipmunks do not hibernate, instead during winter they go into a torpor state. Becoming less active, with reduced temperature and metabolic rate. Waking to eat cached food when needed. Mating takes place between March and May, gestation lasting 28 to 30 days. A single litter consists of 3 to 7 young, each one born hairless and blind and only 5 cm in length. If the female loses her litter soon after birth, sometimes they can breed again the same year. They can live two to three years in the wild and up to six years in captivity.
This one had no family concerns, as it was busy feeding on chokeberries along with a couple of robins and a thrush.
Bighorn Sheep
Many mammals, like the bighorn sheep, have lost or are in the process of losing their winter coat. Before winter arrives, they grow thick fur to survive the long winter. And for the summer, so they don’t overheat, they lose their winter coat. During hikes, you will often come across clumps of fur that have fallen off the animals. Some birds will use the fallen fur for the nest building. I have seen chickadee take fur from dry wolf scats to help build their nest. Certain mammals not only grow thicker fur for the winter but, like snowshoe hares, arctic foxes and some weasels go from a darker summer coat to white for the winter. For the prey, it makes it easier for them to hide in the snow and for the predators, it makes it easier for them to hunt. For some of the mammals, they will have a topcoat called "guard hair" and a much thicker layer of underfur. This adult male bighorn sheep was at the bottom of the valley looking for minerals to lick, and its mates who had already gone back up the slopes for safety.
Black Bear
When out on the trails in the mountains, even if birding. You must be ready to deal with bear encounters. For this encounter, it was about an hour into the morning. The birding was going well. With the warmer temperatures, the camera was in my hands, ready to take pictures at any opportunity. After watching for birds across a small pool of water, I decided to head into the nearby woods to see what I could hear or see. I was about ten meters from the woods when I heard a sound to the left of me. I looked in the direction, one of the local black bears was sitting on the edge of the woods. It seemed he was having a nap and my approach to the woods had awakened him. I backed up until he lowered his alert head and then lowered his head to his paws to get his remaining beauty sleep. This adult male has been collared and tagged by the Banff’s Parks Canada wildlife team to make sure he does not get into trouble. The collar is sending out a signal to the satellite, spaced out so the battery does not drain too fast. But the collar is also sending out a radio signal, helping the wildlife team locate him as needed. With me being out regularly, I have already seen him a few times this season. It’s best to stay calm during these encounters. With a bear spray next to me, the best option was to give him space until he stopped focusing on me and then for me to find a different route for my purpose.
Long-toed Salamander
Banff National Park has one reptile, the western terrestrial garter snake. Most are found on the slopes of Sulphur Mountain, thanks to the several thermal springs keeping the ground warm. And Banff has four amphibians; boreal toad, columbia spotted frog (I still have not seen one), wood frog and the long-toed salamander. The salamander in the pictures was trying to cross the road to get to the water. For the last number of years, there have been signs placed on the Bow Valley Parkway, asking visitors to slow down from 60 km/h to 30 km/h for a few hundred meters. Below the road is the wetland and above the road is where the salamanders go to hibernate during the winter. Surviving on energy stored in their skin and their tail over the cold months. Already a vehicle had whizzed by, doing more than the normal speed limit as the salamander was about to go over this human path. I parked at the nearby pull-off and decided this little one was going to get across. Already I could see what looked to be the outline of one who did not survive the tire that went over it. And another that was just starting its journey on the road when it met a bike tire from the looks of it.
But this little friend was moving well, no thoughts about stopping until it was in the grass. Any incoming vehicles were easily going to see me, even if they were not going to stop for a salamander. The sight of a person with a camera in hand on the side of the road. Well, that’s a clear sign that there is wildlife in the area. The salamander made it across and rested in the grass before going down the slope to the water. Long before the road was built, this salamander’s ancestors were making the same journey, minus the asphalt. This and many other salamanders today have the same instinct to go up the slope to survive the winter under dead vegetation and back down without getting eaten by predators in the spring. Even if the road is empty, they still deal with hotter than normal temperatures on the road and are easily spotted by birds. Slowing down to 30 km/h or more is a very small price to pay for this small species.
Grizzly
One of the animals sleep researchers are looking at to get a better understanding why they don’t have to deal with the negative effects from long terms of inactivity, is the bear. How are they able to sleep for months with no negative effect on their muscles and bone mass? A possible answer could be shivering in the den, which might help maintain muscle tone and a way to avoid bedsores as well. We humans deal with rapid bone loss due to inactivity. For example, when recovering from an injury, when a tiny few of us spend time in space or when some of us just sit around and eat chocolates. Researchers have found bone degeneration does occur while the bears are in deep sleep, but they do not deal with bone loss. Likely because they recycle calcium and phosphorus right back into rebuilding bone.
On March 23, 2023. This big guy was the first bear spotted in Banff NP this year. Probably got up to make sure he did not miss the Northern Lights that night. He slept for about three and half months. I got to see him when there was plenty of snow in the valley, well rested and ready to battle it out for another season.
Short tailed Weasel
The short-tailed weasel, also known as ermine when it’s in its white winter coat. Is a member of the Mustelidae family. This weasel family includes some pretty tough members. Such as wolverines, honey badgers, and otters to name a few. Although the short-tailed weasel may be on the lower end of the weight scale in the Mustelidae family. But pound per pound, or should I say ounce per ounce, it’s a pretty tough character. Coming in at 11 ounces or .03 kg and up to 41 cm in length. The short-tailed weasel preys on mammals and birds. It’s great at hunting voles, but it can also kill larger prey such as rabbits. During the summer, the weasel is dark brown and white, but it molts to all white during winter, except for the black tail tip.
Even though it's longer and heavier than a vole, because it's about the same diameter as the vole it preys on, the weasel can easily chase the voles in the snow tunnels formed by its prey. Short-tailed weasels are relentless predators. On one occasion, one was spotted giving a ground squirrel a chase. It ended up chasing the squirrel into the burrow of its prey, and after a few screams from the squirrel, all was quiet for several seconds. We waited as we looked toward the entrance to the squirrel's burrow. Out came the weasel with the heavier squirrel in its mouth.
Moose
A female moose will have its first calf when she is 3 years of age. Cows generally give birth every year, twin calves being born once every three years. Otherwise, a single calf is born. Giving birth to equal numbers of bull and cow calves. So, the average cow keeps giving birth until they are 14 to 18 years old. To do a bit of math. Over 14 years from one cow and her offspring, if everything is equal. Two hundred and twelve calves can be born in over 14 years. But factors such as predators, diseases, weather, hunting and road and railway accidents, end up playing a big role in the moose population.
This calf who first spotted me, was a bit nervous. As soon as I saw it was looking toward me and as well, its ears pointed toward me. I realized if I wanted to see more of the calf, I better stay put or move back. It soon relaxed and started eating the willow shrubs. As it ate and moved, the calf ended up disappearing into the shrubs. But, at no time did I see its mother. This calf was born last spring. Calves stay with their mother for at least a year and a half. Female calves can stay even longer. If this eight-month old calf was separated from its mother, perhaps predators playing a role, the chance of it reaching adulthood just got less. A healthy cow plays an important role in helping its calf survive and contribute to the ecosystem as an adult.
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest member of the true foxes. Members of the genus vulpes of the sub-family caninae, are referred to as true foxes. True foxes are separated from other members of the genus Canis, such as dogs, wolves, jackals, and coyotes, by their smaller size, longer tail and flatter skull. The red fox’s typical lifespan is 2 to 4 years, but can live up to 10 years. It is found across the Northern Hemisphere, North America, Europe and Asia. Including parts of North Africa. Its range has expanded with human expansion, as well been introduced to Australia. Where it is harmful to native mammals and birds, helping it to be in the “world’s 100 worst invasive species”. Climate change has also helped expand its range, helping it move north in Canada into Arctic Fox territory. Becoming one of its predators.
In Banff National Park, Red Fox is native to the area. In the last number of years, are becoming spotted more often in the Bow Valley. Unfortunately, also in a few locations that are frequented by park visitors, possibly being fed. Red Foxes are perfectly fine finding their own food, the Bow Valley has everything they need to survive. Most of the time, I tend to see red foxes in the colours we normally associate them with, and on occasion the variant of the red fox, called the cross fox. Which has a long dark stripe running down its back and another intersecting stripe to form a cross over the shoulder. This one was out hunting on the edge of the woods one morning, when I came across it.
Coyote
Coyotes are one of the success stories, and that’s without our help in urban centers. With little to no wolves, less snow and more and more green spaces, urban centers are a perfect habitat for the coyote population to flourish. In the wild, coyotes have to watch their backs if wolves are in the area. Wolves will not hesitate to kill a coyote. Wolves are not fond of any competition from other members of the canine family. During the winter, coyotes can benefit from scavenging on wolf-killed carcasses. But they have to be careful the pack is not around. Otherwise, the coyote will have a painful ending.
In Banff, the coyote is the predator I tend to see most often, in and out of town. No matter the season. One early morning as I was heading for work. When along the path I was walking on, I came across various body parts on the grass back of a building. Coyotes during the night had brought down a mule deer. They don’t seem to have the same fear of us and where we reside as other predators. But they do have a limit, they had fled before I or someone before me had reached the area in the dark.
The one in the picture popped out in front of me on a trail I was walking on. It saw me and realised it had to move off the trail. With me behind and other walkers making their way from the other side, there was no other option. It quickly made the decision, crossed the frozen creek beside the trail and watched me for a few seconds before heading into the woodland.
Grizzly
I would say I'm part of the one percent when it comes to experiencing nature in the Canadian Rockies, even if it is mostly in Banff and occasionally venturing into Kootenay, Yoho, and Jasper national parks. When I think about all the flora and fauna, sunrises and sunsets, and other things I've seen first hand over the years, I wouldn't trade my spot with anyone. And I have many years to go. There's a reason why getting my sleep, eating right, and being active are my top three priorities to stay healthy for everything in life. Getting out with my camera for many more years is high on the list.
A couple of years ago, in the middle of the winter, I filled up the car's tank with gas before enjoying the drive back to the mountains from Calgary. A gas attendant asked after finding out I lived in Banff NP. "What do you do in Banff? "Don't you get bored?" I replied, "I enjoy nature, and there is no time to get bored."
November was when I got this picture of M122. He had gone into the woods. I waited in my car, as I knew he was going to be out in the open soon. My heart began to race as I became excited, anticipating seeing him in the open. I was not scared, I knew I was safe in the car. It's nature, it still has this powerful effect on me. A sight of wood lilies on the edge of a forest, a Yellow Warbler calling from a willow shrub, a beautiful morning sunrise, Northern Lights over Mount Rundle, perfect grizzly tracks on wind-blown snow, or the grizzly who made those tracks a week later.
Life is short. Spend as much time as you can doing things that get your heart beating faster. Don't wait until you have more time. Make time. The only difference will be for me when I have more time. My pictures will get better.
Red Fox
For red foxes, having great hearing is important. It’s the main way they are able to detect various prey, like rodents. During the winter, when the prey is under the snowpack. The fox will stalk their prey with their hearing, following the unsuspected prey before pouncing on them. They are able to hear low-frequency sounds made by rodents underground, such as rustling, squeaking, scratching and chattering. Other animals are not able to hear some of these sounds, but thanks to a chamber in their eardrums of the fox, that echoes the tiniest of sounds. Foxes can hear them from over 100 feet away. Underground or hidden noises from 20 to 25 feet away. It’s the same distance for me when someone is unwrapping a chocolate bar.
Grizzly Tracks
On November 21 2022 around 1330 I came across these grizzly bear tracks on the wind-packed snow. The tracks were fresh, after making sure I was the only one in the area. I started to look at the tracks with all sorts of photo opportunities running through my head. I realized the lens I needed was not in my pack, but the tracks were too good to pass on. Homeward I went, and I was back forty minutes later. The wind was picking up and the tracks would be mostly covered in a few hours. With the camera in hand, I started looking at what worked as a photo. I had about ten meters of track on the frozen river. So many possibilities. I must have spent twenty minutes taking pictures. The tracks were so well defined.
