Category Archives: mammals

  A few valleys to the west, there have been coyote culls; a few valleys to the east, there have been deer culls. We seem to live at the balance point; around here, we happily coexist with both species (see … Continue reading →

  Mountain Goats are found only in the mountains of western North America and the majority of them are in British Columbia. With such a large and unusual creature in our midst, an occasional visit is in order. Indeed, the … Continue reading →

  Elks like to wallow in mud. Why they do this seems to change with the season. In the summer, a coating of mud probably cools the animal and protects it from insects. But, why should an elk wallow in … Continue reading →

  Two White-tailed Deer, a doe and fawn, were browsing behind my home in the pre-dawn light.  As I watched, I pondered: Why the white tail? What evolutionary advantage did it give these deer to be able to hide and … Continue reading →

  These deer were running through a frost-covered field in the pre-dawn light. Sometimes a blurry picture can tell the story better than will a sharp one.  

  An ungulate is a hoofed mammal (ungulate is from the Latin, ungula, meaning hoof). This region has an unusually diverse population: seven species. Some are in the cattle (bovine) family and have horns: Big-horned Sheep, Mountain Goat. Some are … Continue reading →

  I have seen (and photographed) Grizzly Bears a number of times before, but never one with an obviously black coat. Everything about these bears said grizzly—body shape, face shape, ear shape—but, the colour was wrong. Or so I thought. … Continue reading →

  A black bear standing in the shadows of trees is not a promising subject for photography. However I had to try, as only fifteen minutes earlier I had expressed disappointment at not having seen any black bears this year. … Continue reading →