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 →

  I had headed for the Lardeau River in the hope of seeing Grizzly Bears feasting on the spawning Kokanee (Sockeye Salmon). Alas, the jaunt produced no grizzlies. Yet, Mountain Goats high on a cliff overlooking Kootenay Lake provided satisfactory … Continue reading →