Animal Encounters in Western Canada II

We see animals all the time. These goats were spotted in Radium, next to a sign that said watch out for goats. The Ermine was spotted on the Opabin Plateau (more on that soon.) The Elk and Deer were and probably still are in Jasper.

This goat was taking a sip from the Athabasca River in Jasper. Don't worry it's one thousand kilometers upstream from the tar sands. The water isn't polluted, it is filled with minerals from melting glaciers.

This little Grizzly bear was spotted just outside the town of Jasper. It was the only Grizzly bear we saw close up all year. We spotted a number of the more friendly Black bears found in previous posts.

I've never seen a weasel before. This Ermine to be more precise isn't that rare, they are just small and fast. The white fur with black dots that lines the coats of European royalty is made from ermines when they turn white in the winter.

They are basically just a tube of fur. It wouldn't stay still and we tried getting a decent photo of it for about 20 minutes.

This spruce grouse is also difficult to spot, fortunately it was on the grey rock. There are probably hundreds in the grass, we just don't see them.

Pika's are only found high up. The past few animals were all found in the same place high up on the Opabin Plateau. We took hundreds of photos that day as the entire place is a paradise, it's 2275 meters above sea-level and would be in the alpine zone.

Pikachu was probably named after these rodents as they open their mouths and say pika whenever there is danger (a human) nearby. They're cute and we see them quite often when hiking in the alpine zone but not this close.

This rabbit is our neighbour. There are probably a dozen or so but they look similar. We've also seen coyotes on walks and there are some bobcats to keep them in check. I think our cats are afraid of the hares.

That's all for now you can see more animals in a previous post on Wildlife in Western Canada. I have a lot of catching up to do with posting from such a busy summer and thank you for reading.

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All photos taken with an s22 or iphone 14 pro max phone