Category Archives: mammals

  So unexpected was yesterday’s sighting of a mink that I initially guessed it was a particularly small otter. Small indeed. While the otter and the mink are both semiaquatic members of the same weasel family (mustelidae), the otter is about eight … Continue reading →

  As a portrait of a bobcat, this is mediocre. However, as it is the first bobcat I have photographed, it is a winner for me.  The bobcat was on a path on the west side of Kokanee Creek. It … Continue reading →

  Last Saturday, I spoke at a symposium and showed many portraits of local creatures. I noted that the muskrat, the smallest of our three semi-aquatic mammals, is often unjustly maligned. It is not actually a rat, but an aquatic vole, … Continue reading →

  When I saw black grizzly bears three years ago, I was puzzled for I hadn’t realized that black was even an option for grizzlies. It is, but a somewhat uncommon one. When a black grizzly family was seen this week, it … Continue reading →

  A black-bear sow and her cub often sleep the night in a Douglas-fir tree about sixteen metres above a local parking lot. Folks who arrive at the lot in the morning refer to them as their parking-lot attendants. Indeed as … Continue reading →

  One’s opportunities to spend quality time with a grizzly bear seem limited to a few times a year and, even then, they are fleeting. Alas, grizzlies like to keep their own company. So, it was nice earlier this week to spend ten minutes … Continue reading →