Although this bear was pretty big he was not the biggest in the area. Later in the afternoon, bear 122 (based on a ear tag), a larger, more experienced bear showed up and quickly displaced this bear (known as “Split Lip” due an old gash over the left upper lip), from the area. If the female had been around and cycling it likely would have been a much more combative fight. Instead, Split Lip sprint down and hill and out of range from 122 before any damage could be done.
A red tail hawk tries to dry out from another prolonged downpour in Banff National Park this spring. With record snowfalls over the winter and several days of rain this spring, many of the low lying valleys are or were underwater and a few roads were temporarily closed due to mud and rock slides.
This clump of feathers appeared almost like a ground nest, but in fact the feathers are all that remain of a grey jay that was likely consumed by a fisher or a pine marten.
These two males took a break from feeding along the Bow river in Banff National Park. Harlequin numbers have been down over the past few years and this year an effort is underway to try and catch as many as possible for banding and placement of radio-transmitters to help researchers figure out why.
Another photo from the vault. This was a few years ago in Jasper National Park. A goldenrod crab spider, which is an ambush predator, managed to catch a much larger bumble bee when it visited a chive flower to collect nectar. The spider hides under or adjacent to flowers and waits for a pollinating insect to come by. You would think that the bee would be able to fly away in time, but the spider is very quick and has powerful, fast acting venom which is injected into the prey to paralyze it. The spider holds on while the venom takes effect and then devours its meal as is. No web making required.
I’m going through images from last year that I haven’t gotten around to posting. This is from the buffalo paddock in Waterton Lakes National Park. The herd crested over a hill just as the sun rose above the landscape allowing me to create this image of a young male calf having some golden grass for breakfast.
Owen Slater Photography 