While the ravens gave up, two magpies decided to give it a try but with quickly put in their place by the wolf, who drove them off with a sudden burst that nearly resulted in the demise of a magpie
Category: Banff National Park
With the bone buried under the snow, the wolf trots off along the frozen bow river to catch up with the rest of the pack.
My luck at finding bears swimming or cooling off in lakes and streams around Alberta continued this fall. I hiked I short distance to a wildlife corridor passing under the Trans Canada Highway adjacent to the Bow river and couldn’t believe my luck. Just across the river was a big male grizzly walking along the bank. I fumbled with my camera which must have made enough noise and movement that he spotted me and took a few brief quick steps before deciding I wasn’t anything too intimidating. I figured he was going to continue along the bank around the corner and disappear into the thick bushes. I lost sight of him for a few moments and started walking back to my car thrilled that I had seen even just a brief glimpse of him. When I came around the corner I couldn’t believe that he had jumped into the river and was swimming across it! I ran down the bank to try and get some decent photos but I was too high up on the opposite bank and the sun was directly in front of me so I didn’t get very good pictures. This one was taken as he hauled out of the freezing water and made his way into the thicket.
A 2011 pup cautiously crosses the road in front of several vehicles. While the TCH is fenced, the Bow Valley Parkway is not and as a result the speed limit is reduced to 60km/hr. However, lots of people don’t follow the posted limits even with warnings about wildlife being on the roads. Shortly before I took this photo someone raced past me at over 80km/hr. If they had know that they were speeding past a pack of wolves they likely would have kicked themselves. So if you are lucky enough to travel this road, please follow the speed limits and keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. You may end up seeing something you have never seen before.
This spring I saw numerous Harlequin ducks which are one of my favourites. These birds fly over the Rocky Mountains each spring to spend a few months in Alberta surfing the fast flowing waters for food and to nest before migrating back to the coast in the fall to spend the winter in the ocean.
This grizzly wandered through the meadow, periodically eating dandelions and digging for tubers. I saw it about an hour later as it strolled through Johnston campground. Thankfully the campground had just opened and so it wasn’t that busy. However, I was surprised that park staff didn’t go around and alert the campers of the bear walking through the campground so I made a quick loop and let everyone I came across know what was going on. Some just nodded and said thanks, others panic and jumped into their cars . Luckily the bear just skirted the outside portion of the campground and showed no interest in the occupants or their food.
I took this photo last summer in Banff National Park along the 1A highway. I’m not sure what the flower is but the bumble bee certainly liked it. It went from flower to flower for well over 10 minutes.
Banff National Park
Banff National Park
While this looks like a fierce battle it was actually a mother grizzly wrestling with her 3-4 year old cub. Eventually the mother will drive her cub off as she gets ready to give birth to the next litter.
Owen Slater Photography 