WILDLIFE | CANADA | PHOTOGRAPHY
Canada Gets Even Wilder
More Canadian wildlife encounters
As stated in my previous article, Canada is Wild, I wasn’t able to share all of my wildlife encounters while in Canada these past six months because of the 10-minute time limit on articles. So here I am, getting another one in just under the wire of our September 27th deadline.
This time, however, I realize that many of the photos that are included in this article were sent to me by family and friends. Some I requested they send, hoping to get them into the previous article, some were sent to me throughout the summer months as they came across them. I guess they know me well enough to know that I will always enjoy seeing nice wildlife photos.
West Coast of Canada
My cousin had the amazing fortune to work for a company that maintains coastal campsites on the West Coast this past summer. All of them are water access only and are frequented by boaters, kayakers and canoeists. His job came with a boat that he could take out on his own accord and he often would send me pictures of some of the incredible wildlife that he would encounter on a daily basis.
Did you know that the West Coast of Canada features the world’s largest remaining tracts of temperate rainforest?
Because of the diverse ecosystem, our coastline features numerous healthy carnivores — like bears, wolves, and cougars — plus an abundance of marine life. According to the Nature Conservancy of Canada:
The region supports an abundance of other marine wildlife. Many seabirds, including the marbled murrelet and tufted puffin, nest along the coast, and millions of seabirds and waterfowl migrate along the coast. Marine mammals include the northern sea lion, northern fur seal, harbour seal, killer whale and sea otter.
My cousin was fortunate to see a good deal of these animals over his summer of work on the water.
Prior to setting out on our life of full-time travel, we were privileged to live in this lovely part of the world. We truly do miss the rawness of nature and the spectacular vistas out there.
Rocky Mountain Foothills
One of my best childhood friends lives in Western Alberta in the rolling Rocky Mountain foothills. She owns 4 acres of beautiful nature and quite often has incredible experiences with wildlife right in her own backyard. She too sends me photos of her encounters.
This beautiful deer family has been hanging out in their yard all summer. They even saw the young ones with spots earlier on. They also get lots of squirrels and birds that stop by. This cheeky squirrel is in the bird feeder!
They were even privileged to see this juvenile moose in their yard a couple of winters back!
While Chris and I were visiting for just one night last spring we saw numerous birds, a skunk and even a porcupine move through. We were amazed at the diversity of the wildlife that they get in this remote location.
Sadly we didn’t get a shot of the porcupine as it moved away too quickly, but this cute skunk hung out for a while.
Later when we returned this summer, I woke up to the foul smell of skunk coming in through our open bedroom window. I wonder if it was the same one?
Northern British Columbia
The same friend does shift work up in Northern British Columbia and quite often sees interesting wildlife up there as well. She sends me the occasional pictures.
This summer she was ecstatic to see tiny little bear cubs. She said they were like little teddy bears. So cute!
Plus, she saw a couple of different grizzly bears. These were shot from the safety of her truck.
Big Horn Sheep
We had a friend from Hong Kong visit us this past summer while we were housesitting in Canmore, Alberta. We took her out on a bit of a small road trip where we hoped that we could spot a bear. Sadly, she never did get to see her bear, but she did see a big horn sheep. This one was in Kananaskis Country which is located within the Canadian Rocky Mountains in the next valley over from Canmore. It looked to be a young one.
My friend Angela also saw some in Banff National Park this summer. It is her photo that is the lead photo of this article, and here is another shot of a few of them hanging out.
Painting Wildlife
As artists, Chris and I quite often incorporate wildlife into our mural projects. This past summer we painted some buffalo on a wall of a restaurant, aptly named Where the Buffalo Roam.
Buffalo, or Bison, were re-introduced to Banff National Park in 2017 where they have been thriving. But I also grew up seeing these majestic animals just outside of the Banff townsite where a large herd was held in a paddock near the entrance to the town. They are beautiful creatures.
We also painted this coffee table top as a gift to my parents. It features a coyote and an elk couple in the river.
Canada instilled a love of wildlife in both of us
I truly believe that growing up in such raw nature instilled a love of wildlife in both Chris and I from a very young age. We realize the privilege we have had throughout our lives being surrounded by these wonderful animals.
The more we travel, the more we know just how lucky we are.
A hearty thank you to all the Globetrotters who submitted so many wonderful wildlife posts this past month! It has been an utter joy to learn about different animals in the world and to further understand just how diverse our wonderful planet is.
Two stories that have stood out to me are:
We look forward to sharing the next month's prompt with you soon!
More of my writing about Canada:
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