Tony LePrieur photographed these American Pikas recently at Rock Glacier trail near the Highwood Pass in Kananaskis Country.
See more of Tony’s Photos on his Flickr page here.
If you have good photos of Calgary-area mammals, send them to our email address and we may post them on an upcoming Friday.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Despite living in Calgary for thirty years, up until this spring I had never seen a Grizzly Bear. I had never gone looking for them specifically, but I do sometimes get out of the city and into the foothills and mountains, so this was becoming a nemesis mammal for me. In early June as we were driving west out of the city to do a bird survey on the Livingstone Ranch Golf Course, we spotted a young Grizzly in a field opposite Calaway Park, just outside the city limits. This was an unusual place to see one, and since we were driving at 100 km/hr, not a very satisfying sighting.
On July 24 I went for a drive on Highway 40 through Kananaskis Country, and just north of Highwood Pass spotted this bear, feeding on berries at close range.
Bear 104, Kananaskis Country, July 24, 2016.
The bears in this busy area are carefully monitored and are tagged and tracked .
I spent about forty-five minutes watching this bear as it fed.
Showing the claws:
And the tongue:
And a little wet after wallowing in a small stream:
Diane Dahlin photographed these two young Moose west of Calgary on April 30, 2016.
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You can see more of Diane’s photos at I Kiss Horses Photography.
A selection of mammals seen in and around Calgary in the last few months.
All photos by Tony LePrieur.
Coyote pair, Weaselhead, October 18, 2015.
Porcupine, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, October 25, 2015.
White-tailed Deer, Carburn Park, January 31, 2016.
White-tailed Deer, Carburn Park, January 31, 2016.
White-tailed Jackrabbit, Queen’s Park Cemetery, January 31, 2016.
Coyote, Weaselhead, January 31, 2016.
Meadow Vole, Weaselhead, February 27, 2016.
Meadow Vole, Weaselhead, February 7, 2016.
American Mink, Fish Creek Park, November 16, 2015.
Long-tailed Weasel, Fish Creek Park, November 15, 2015.
Long-tailed Weasel, Fish Creek Park, November 15, 2015.
Long-tailed Weasel, Fish Creek Park, November 16, 2015.
And finally, a Feral Rabbit at Frank Lake, April 10, 2016.
It’s a rare day that you see a Canada Lynx, so when Bill and Sharon Thompson spotted this one on a roadside while driving between Calgary and Prince George in 2002, they stopped to get a photograph. The Lynx had crossed the highway but then stopped in the ditch rather than disappearing into the bush.
Canada Lynx. Photo by Bill Thompson
For a few minutes the Lynx stayed still and was vocalizing. When Bill and Sharon looked back on the other side of the road, they saw the reason for this unusual behavior.
Canada Lynx kittens (cubs). Photo by Bill Thompson
This curious young White-tailed Deer was playing with fire, in the form of a Striped Skunk. The photos were taken by Bill Thompson on April 6, 2009 on his acreage near Bragg Creek.
Here are some shots of the skunk foraging :
Grizzlys are in hibernation now, but on September 17, 2013, Rob English saw this one at close range on Highway 40 in Kananaskis Country.
To see more of Rob English’s photos, go to his flickr page.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
This Canadian Lynx was resting on a trail in a wooded area in the hills in Peace River, in northern Alberta, on September 2, 2013. The location was within the town limits, only about 300 metres from the nearest houses. This was the first Lynx I’ve seen in the wild.
Although these photos weren’t taken in the Calgary area, we do have Lynx here, and they are sometimes seen inside the city limits.
Taken with a Canon EOS 40D with 100-400 mm lens from a distance of about 8 metres.
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Posted by Bob Lefebvre
We spotted this Moose running across highway 22X just east of Calgary on July 28, 2013. We stopped and got a few photos and a video as it ran right across the highway. Fortunately, no cars crossed its path. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a moose east of the city before. It probably came up from the Bow River valley just south of the highway, but I’m not sure where it was headed in such a hurry.
The moose is tagged in its right ear. It is probably part of a study of moose populations, but I haven’t been able to find out anything about this. If anyone knows what the tags mean, let us know in the comments.
Below is a video of the moose.
This Wednesday, April 3, Brian Elder, Phil Cram and Mike Mulligan will talk about their experiences doing a bird and mammal Big Year in Canada in 2012. Along with Ray Woods, they were successful in finding over 500 species. You can read about their experiences on their blog, Fur & Feathers 500. Better yet, come out to the Bird Studies Group meeting and hear all about it.
The meeting will take place in room 211 of the Biological Sciences Building at the U of C. Doors open at 7 pm, and the meeting begins at 7:30.
Here is more information and a map to the location.
See you there!