Wildlife

Two grizzlies playing in the water at Glacier NP

Cow moose eating gravel on the side of the road in Big Sky, MT

Bull elk walking along the road in Jasper

Mountain goat licking salt from rocks on the Icefield Parkway, near Jasper

A herd of bighorn sheep hanging out at Miette Hot Springs, near Jasper

I sure am glad we got a pair of binoculars for this trip.  The past few weeks have been like a safari.  Some of our best sightings have been wildlife on the sides of mountains, across valleys, or otherwise far away.  Unfortunately, our ‘equipment’ doesn’t really allow us to take pictures through our binoculars, so most of our wildlife photography happens when we’re lucky enough to be up close (often at the roadside).  So far we have seen:

Grazing animals

• Bison (herds)
• Elk (bull & cow)
• Moose (bull & cow)
• Bighorn sheep (herds)
• Mule deer (several)
• Pronghorn antelope (2)
• Mountain goat (5+)

Rodents

• Marmot (many)
• Pika (many)
• Chipmunks, squirrels, ground squirrels, Columbian ground squirrels (who even knows)

Birds

• Bald eagle (two)
• Osprey (several)
• California condor (several)

Animals that are scary

• Black bear (5+)
• Grizzly bear (2)
• Wolf (1)

Smaller versions of animals that are scary

• Coyote (1)
• Fox (1)

Animals we ate

• Pigs
• Cows
• Chicken (meat)
• Chicken (eggs)
• Deer