Category Archives: mammals

Spike elk

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Alistair

  Visit any elk herd at this time of year and you will find it largely composed of females. Yet, now and then, among them there is a spike elk — a yearling male which has already grown single-prong antlers. … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 2 Comments

Otter romp

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Alistair

  That we have river otters in Kootenay Lake is irrefutable. However, they are few in number and, alas, they rarely visit. It had been many months without seeing them when they stopped by in late November. That was that. … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 6 Comments

Hare splitting

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Alistair

  Perhaps my favourite set of tracks to find in snow are those of the snowshoe hare. This might be because the tracks are distinctive and not nearly as common as, say, are a deer’s. Indeed, as the snowshoe-hare population … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 5 Comments

Disparate defences

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Alistair

  I think that I am on safe ground to suggest that prey prefer not to be eaten. Yesterday I watched two prey animals which had adopted rather different methods of defending against predators. They were a mountain goat and … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, mammals | 7 Comments

Fishing grizzlies

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Alistair

  Three smallish grizzly bears were fishing in a stream. I suspect that these bears were cubs freshly on their own as they had yet to develop the prominent shoulder hump of adult grizzlies. This grizzly appears to be looking … Continue reading →

Posted in fish, mammals | 4 Comments

Chipmunk

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Alistair

  Today I photographed two different mammals, which was somewhat unusual as most days I don’t see any wild mammals. Below is the first seen, and the smaller of the two. The next posting will be of the more dramatic … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 2 Comments

Otters reappear

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Alistair

  I was delighted to see a half-dozen featureless grey ghosts visit a dilapidated dock in the faint light well before dawn. They constituted a family of otters.  In recent times, I had been wondering about local otters for I … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 2 Comments

Hare’s ears

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Alistair

  Wildlife websites assure us that one of the many differences between rabbits and hares is that hares have much longer ears. Usually unmentioned is that this difference vanishes at our northern latitudes.  The snowshoe hare is present across mainland … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 5 Comments

July goulash

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Alistair

  This is a collection of images from this July that did not have postings of their own. The idiom, snake in the grass, implies treachery. In reality, our garter snake is harmless. This Cedar Waxwing seemed intent on expressing … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles, mammals | 2 Comments

Gibson errors

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Alistair

  We drove to Gibson Lake. Gibson Lake is one of the many satellite alpine lakes that hang over Kootenay Lake. On the way there, I was asked two questions: Might we see Indian Paintbrush? Might we see a Hoary … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals, wildflowers | 5 Comments