North American Animals

I spotted this bear while traveling from Calgary to Canmore via the Highwood Pass. He was grazing and hunting ground squirrels alongside the highway and was totally unperturbed by my presence  or that of other vehicles that stopped to take a look. I was able to observe him for close to an hour before I chose to move along. This was one of many photographs I took from approximately 50m distance and from the security of my car. I used my Canon 40D camera with the Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8 lens and a 1.4x Tamron extender.

A real big boy. Rolande and I were trolling the road through Elk Island National Park near Edmonton looking for bison when we came upon this guy on the side of the road. We were very close, probably no more than 10 m away and of course, I took the shot from inside the car.

I photographed this young male along the Spray Lakes Road, about 35 km south of Canmore. He was grazing with his mom along the side of the road and he paused long enough to offer me this shot. We got a number of good pictures of him and his mother before moving along. Moose are plentiful near the Mount Engadine Lodge, where there is a large, boggy area. It’s almost a certainty that you’ll see moose in and around the lodge.

A young, white-tailed deer photographed in a neighbour’s yard no more than 50m from our house in Canmore. Deer are very commonplace in our neighbourhood and quite accustomed to human presence. I was able to get within 10 m to get this photo without the sanctuary of a car. He kept his eye on me, but was content to pose as long as I kept my distance. I think he knew he could outrun me.

I spotted a small herd of antelope along I-25 in Wyoming while driving home from Arizona in May of 2006. I was able to get several pictures, including this trio who kept a wary eye on me. I was quite distant, but managed to get a reasonable shot using a Canon Rebel XT camera and a Canon EF 85-300 mm lens.

This bruin was photographed near the road as we entered the town of Telegraph Cove, B.C. in the spring of 2009. She had a couple of cubs; one can be seen partially behind her in this picture. They were probably 25 m away, so I didn’t stray far from my car door to get the picture. She was comfortable with my presence and showed no signs of concern for the safety of her cubs. I used a Canon 40D camera with the Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8 lens and a 1.4x Tamron extender.

A large male with an impressive set of antlers. Nice rack, 6 points. I photographed this particular elk along the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park, just west of Banff. Elk are very plentiful in the Rocky Mountains, including Canmore where we occasionally see them in our backyard! He was close enough (~15m)  that I was able to zoom in quite close, using my EF70-200mm, f2.8 lens to get a good shot of his face.

We see a lot of these sheep throughout the Canadian Rockies. I photographed this young male along the highway, near the Highwood Pass in Kananaskis Country. As he matures, his horns will grow and curl into the form we associate with the adult, male bighorn sheep. The females don’t have horns and they are sometimes erroneously described as mountain goats. Mountain goats are distinctly different; they prefer higher elevations and consequently are not commonly seen  in places frequented by humans. Once you’ve seen one, you won’t confuse it with a sheep!

I was very excited to get this shot of a mountain goat. Rolande spotted him while driving home from the west coast last spring. He crossed the road in front of the car near the summit of the Sunwapta Pass, a high point along the Icefields Parkway between Jasper and Lake Louise. He considerately waited for me to disembark, then posed for a few shots before ambling off. He was fairly close but seemingly undisturbed by my presence. I used my Canon 40D camera with the Canon EF100-400mm, f4.5-5.6 lens.

The ubiquitous coyote, known to inhabit all the 50 states of the U.S. and likely all the provinces and territories of Canada. This guy was photographed from a golf cart while out with Barry Stewart, looking for birds in North Scottsdale, AZ. Nice pose!

Taken from the boat while on an excursion from Telegraph Cove, B.C. in the course of our west coast tour, May 2009. This was a long distance shot using the full capability of my Canon EF100-400 mm, f4.5-5.6 lens and a 1.4x Tamron extender.