Northern Pygmy-owl, one year ago
Little forest muncher
Feasting on cone seeds
'Hiding' in the grass
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Least Chipmunk
Munching on cone seeds
Least Chipmunk
Pika / Ochonta princeps
Bright-eyed little cutie
Such cute little hands and feet
Mom and her new baby
One mighty beast, Bison Paddock, Waterton N P
The youngest bear cub I have ever seen
The reward for getting up early
Columbian Ground Squirrel collecting nest material
They can't see me
Hiding in the Canola field
Now they can't see me
Don't call me 'Gopher'
Unexpected closeness
The cutest little furball
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Bighorn Sheep - she's a beauty
A gathering of female Bighorn Sheep
Looking beautiful
A brief moment's rest
Mom and her spotted twins
Chipmunk with a yummy snack
A brief moment of rest
Quite a typical view
Between a rock and a hard place
Push!
Bighorn Sheep on Plateau Mountain, 2012
Light-coloured Pika
Mid-squeak!
Coyote on the hunt
It's that little guy (gal) again
One of four Moose seen yesterday
02 Two young Moose
Eye contact with a very distant Moose
A brief close encounter
Hungry little Chipmunk
Muskrat ripples
Love those little Pika feet
Confused bunny
Bighorn Sheep, number 18
Curious Moose
Two's company
Pika pose
A sweet encounter
Moose from the archives
It's Pika time - again
Yellow-bellied Marmot
Guardian of the path
Moose in the mountains
Agouti, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad
Muskrat, SW Calgary
Agouti, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad
The look that says: "Please feed me"
"Alan, Alan, Alan ...Steve, Steve!"
"They can't see me"
Beautiful Mule Deer family
Red Squirrel
Sweet little poser
Hoping for food
One of five White-tailed Deer
At the end of the day
Licking the salt
Creature of the forest
Cute as always
Pronghorn
Soaking up the sun
Happy Thanksgiving!
Resting near the Cattails
Elegant innocence
Should I stay or should I go?
Time to rest awhile
Mule Deer buck
Resting in the meadow
Changing colour ready for the winter
Hungry little Muskrat
A rare sighting
Freeze!
Looking back with a smile
Happy little muncher
Busy little Muskrat
Yesterday's highlight : )
Three out of four ain't bad
Mule Deer, Mom and baby
I'm hiding - she can't see me
Grizzly Bear with last year's cub
Least Chipmunk / Tamias minimus
Very young Mule deer
Peace and late evening sun
Moose kneeling to lick salt from the road
Moose in the late evening sun
Having fun with its reflection
Coyote in a field of dandelions
Young Richardson's Ground Squirrel
Life in the cemetery
Pika, up close
Jack Rabbit turning from white to brown
Moose, with a bad case of ticks
Curious Mule Deer
Young bull Moose
Love a Pika's ears
Happy Easter!
Licking salt off its lips
Wild and cute
Enjoying seeds and sunshine
A young male Moose
Moose portrait
Mule Deer at dusk
Love those big ears and big feet
Such a cute little thing
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Going for a swim
Young Yellow-bellied Marmot
Gathering food for the winter
The sacrifice made by Meadow Voles
Columbian Ground Squirrel
Another car gets a licking
Black Bear from last spring
A moment of closeness
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Moose cow looking for salt
What a day I had on 7 December 2014, with friends Cathy and Terry, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off about 7:45 a.m. (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. Early in the drive, the sunrise turned the still distant mountains pink - this is always such an amazing sight to see. There was low cloud in some places, too, which I always love to see.
Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that is still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter months) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day!
My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose and on this day they did really well, finding the beautiful female seen in this photo and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they approached the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All this female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance :) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free carwash, anyone??
Most of the time, this female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun, as in this photo.
We saw this female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either.
I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. I always tell my friends that just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me.
“The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female.
The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose
Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that is still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter months) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day!
My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose and on this day they did really well, finding the beautiful female seen in this photo and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they approached the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All this female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance :) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free carwash, anyone??
Most of the time, this female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun, as in this photo.
We saw this female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either.
I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. I always tell my friends that just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me.
“The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female.
The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose
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