Exploring Kootenay Lake

Photographer: In exemption of the first, by Cynthia Fraser, the photos here are taken by Finn Fraser Grathwol. More of Finn’s photos can be seen at @finnfrasergrathwolphoto on instagram.

In the late evening (read: very low shutter speeds and blurrier photos) on the way back from Arrow Lakes on Canada day, we (myself, my dad, and Cynthia) came across a herd of 15-20 Rocky Mountain Elk, the local subspecies, by the side of the highway. Judging by the antlers, the herd appears to be almost exclusively comprised of females and 1-2 year old young males, referred to as cows to bulls, respectively.

Below, courtesy of Cynthia Fraser, a larger-scale sample of this herd is pictured, including a few month old calf. 

Here, a mother and her son pose for a family portrait. 

Two males; note the difference in antler length – perhaps signifying a slight age difference.

A different male rests — or rather uses his mother for a chin rub — it is unclear what behaviour is being exhibited. 

A young male elk times his obligatory nose cleaning perfectly with my camera’s shutter. 
 

This is the third and fourth time this male bear wearing a blaze has been seen to visit, although it has probably come by much more often.

Other years, I did not see black bears from ending hibernation until at least August, so these springtime events are worth recording. I suspect that the high snow fall in the mountains around us and the rain in the valleys have driven the bears down into the valleys. Bears? Well owing to the local unusualness of its blaze, I have just seen one bear repeatedly. 

I commented earlier that it was probably looking for garbage. It clearly found none and so seemed satisfied to eat local plants. Here it is eating clover. 

It looks as if the bear is looking at us. Maybe it is, but it was a passing glance.

This is a good time for a scratch.

For the longest time the bear seemed either unaware or unconcerned that we were watching it from a distance. However, at the end of a long session, it climbed a tree and, in the dim light, stared at us, but without the huffing sound that indicates insecurity. It then ambled to the next home. Photograph by Cynthia Fraser.

Three days later, the bear discovered a bird feeder. Photograph by Cynthia Fraser.

It set to work sampling it and destroying it. Photograph by Cynthia Fraser.

It really looks as if the bear is sticking its tongue at the photographer, but in truth it is just probably repeating the manoeuvre used on the bird feeder. Photograph by Cynthia Fraser.