Guardian of the path
Moose in the mountains
Agouti, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad
Muskrat, SW Calgary
Agouti, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad
The look that says: "Please feed me"
"Alan, Alan, Alan ...Steve, Steve!"
"They can't see me"
Beautiful Mule Deer family
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Beautiful blonde Black Bear
Bighorn Sheep, Waterton Lakes National Park
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
White-tailed Deer family
White-tailed Deer
Forever cute
My new neighbour?
Wild European Rabbit
Mule Deer doe
Licking salt off the road
Small and fast .... and adorable
Keeping watch over the herd
Waiting for the herd to descend
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in a Pika's cave
Remember to stop and smell the .... wildflowers
On the way down
Pika, on a windy day
Freeze!
Disappearing Skunk - just for the record
Beautiful Mule Deer doe
Bighorn Sheep, mom and youngster
A Coyote's last look back
Bighorn Sheep on the slope
Learning from Mom
Sweet White-tailed doe
Licking salt from the road
She can't see me
Unexpected, and very welcome, Moose
Hungry Moose
Jackrabbit, seen in my car headlights
White-tailed Deer through the snow
Silky Anteater, Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
Agouti, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Young and innocent
A lucky Moose day
Nibbling on a tasty leaf
Yellow-bellied Marmot
Agouti, Trinidad
Bighorn Sheep mom and youngster
Red Fox (just for the record)
One of two Coyotes
Wild European Rabbit
Jackrabbit
Cinnamon Black Bear, Waterton Lakes National Park,…
The start of a great day
Black Bear seen through the bus window
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel munching on Yellow…
Black Bear seen from the bus
Jackie's squirrel - Red or Eastern Gray?
Columbian Ground Squirrel / Urocitellus columbianu…
Thirsty Bighorn Sheep
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
American Pika - such a cutie
It's Pika time - again
Moose from the archives
A sweet encounter
Pika pose
Two's company
Curious Moose
Bighorn Sheep, number 18
Confused bunny
Love those little Pika feet
Muskrat ripples
Hungry little Chipmunk
A brief close encounter
Eye contact with a very distant Moose
02 Two young Moose
One of four Moose seen yesterday
It's that little guy (gal) again
Coyote on the hunt
Mid-squeak!
Light-coloured Pika
Bighorn Sheep on Plateau Mountain, 2012
Push!
Between a rock and a hard place
Quite a typical view
A brief moment of rest
Chipmunk with a yummy snack
Mom and her spotted twins
A brief moment's rest
Looking beautiful
A gathering of female Bighorn Sheep
Bighorn Sheep - she's a beauty
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
The cutest little furball
Unexpected closeness
Don't call me 'Gopher'
Now they can't see me
Hiding in the Canola field
They can't see me
Columbian Ground Squirrel collecting nest material
The reward for getting up early
The youngest bear cub I have ever seen
One mighty beast, Bison Paddock, Waterton N P
Mom and her new baby
Such cute little hands and feet
Bright-eyed little cutie
Pika / Ochonta princeps
Least Chipmunk
Munching on cone seeds
Least Chipmunk
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
'Hiding' in the grass
Feasting on cone seeds
Little forest muncher
Northern Pygmy-owl, one year ago
Moose cow looking for salt
Red Squirrel
Sweet little poser
Hoping for food
One of five White-tailed Deer
At the end of the day
Licking the salt
Creature of the forest
Cute as always
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Yellow-bellied Marmot
![Yellow-bellied Marmot Yellow-bellied Marmot](https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/12/82/44301282.ebc27ca5.640.jpg?r2)
![](https://s.ipernity.com/T/L/z.gif)
Last night, I read that the old Farmer's Almanac is predicting that the second half of February is going to be even more brutal that the first half - though it's hard to see how it could be, having had windchills down to -34C. Forecast is also for a lot of snow in March! Our bitterly cold weather is starting to warm up and today it's -12C (windchill -17C).
I dug fairly deep into my archives and found this photo. I hope I can still remember how to use my camera, as I haven't been out anywhere with it for a week now. Standing or walking in -34C or even -24C windchill does not appeal to me one bit, nor does walking through all the recent snow. Now that the weather is starting to warm up, I'm not sure when I will get out to take photos, as the dizziness/light-headedness that I had for two whole weeks leading up to Christmas Day, has returned. When I can manage to get out, it has to be for very urgent things, not out in nature.
The Yellow-bellied Marmot is classified as Secure in the General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. Even so, I had never seen one, so this was a real treat to see several of these beautiful animals on the final day of a three-day trip down south. Friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, spent two days (26 and 27 August) in beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park, and on the third day (28 August), we drove eastwards, hoping to see these animals. Most of them were running backwards and forwards in the long grasses, so were not easy to photograph. Another couple of them were high up on the rocky hillside, and lower down was an adult with a young one, who was so cute : )
"Yellow-bellied marmots usually weigh from 1.6 to 5.2 kilograms (3.5 to 11.5 lb) when fully grown, though males typically weigh more than females. Adult males typically weigh between 3 to 5 kilograms (6.6 to 11.0 lb); females typically weigh between 1.6 to 4 kilograms (3.5 to 8.8 lb). They get fatter in the autumn just before hibernating.
Their territory is about 4 to 7 acres (2 to 3 ha) around a number of summer burrows. Marmots choose to dig burrows under rocks because predators are less likely to see their burrow. Predators include wolves, foxes, coyotes, dogs and eagles.
Yellow-bellied marmots spend about 80% of their life in their burrow, 60% of which is spent hibernating. They often spend mid-day and night in a burrow as well. These burrows are usually constructed on a slope, such as a hill, mountain, or cliff. The hibernation burrows can be up to 5 to 7 metres (16 to 23 ft) deep, but the burrows constructed for daily use are usually only 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep. Their hibernation period varies on elevation, but it is typically from September to May.
Yellow-bellied marmots are diurnal. The marmot is also an omnivore, eating grass, grains, leaves, flowers, legumes, fruit, grasshoppers, and bird eggs." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-bellied_marmot
During our three days away, we saw so many things, including breathtaking scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer (including several that we saw in the town of Waterton (where we stayed for two nights at the clean and friendly Bear Mountain Motel), Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including a family of Dusky Grouse that are uncommon to the park, a few wildflowers, and a few different insect species. I was so happy to see these Marmots when we drove way east of the park and a bit later in the day, all three of us were so thrilled to find our very first two (possibly three) endangered Burrowing Owls. I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators. Oh, and we got caught in a storm like nothing we'd ever seen before - a mesocyclone, apparently.
I dug fairly deep into my archives and found this photo. I hope I can still remember how to use my camera, as I haven't been out anywhere with it for a week now. Standing or walking in -34C or even -24C windchill does not appeal to me one bit, nor does walking through all the recent snow. Now that the weather is starting to warm up, I'm not sure when I will get out to take photos, as the dizziness/light-headedness that I had for two whole weeks leading up to Christmas Day, has returned. When I can manage to get out, it has to be for very urgent things, not out in nature.
The Yellow-bellied Marmot is classified as Secure in the General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. Even so, I had never seen one, so this was a real treat to see several of these beautiful animals on the final day of a three-day trip down south. Friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, spent two days (26 and 27 August) in beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park, and on the third day (28 August), we drove eastwards, hoping to see these animals. Most of them were running backwards and forwards in the long grasses, so were not easy to photograph. Another couple of them were high up on the rocky hillside, and lower down was an adult with a young one, who was so cute : )
"Yellow-bellied marmots usually weigh from 1.6 to 5.2 kilograms (3.5 to 11.5 lb) when fully grown, though males typically weigh more than females. Adult males typically weigh between 3 to 5 kilograms (6.6 to 11.0 lb); females typically weigh between 1.6 to 4 kilograms (3.5 to 8.8 lb). They get fatter in the autumn just before hibernating.
Their territory is about 4 to 7 acres (2 to 3 ha) around a number of summer burrows. Marmots choose to dig burrows under rocks because predators are less likely to see their burrow. Predators include wolves, foxes, coyotes, dogs and eagles.
Yellow-bellied marmots spend about 80% of their life in their burrow, 60% of which is spent hibernating. They often spend mid-day and night in a burrow as well. These burrows are usually constructed on a slope, such as a hill, mountain, or cliff. The hibernation burrows can be up to 5 to 7 metres (16 to 23 ft) deep, but the burrows constructed for daily use are usually only 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep. Their hibernation period varies on elevation, but it is typically from September to May.
Yellow-bellied marmots are diurnal. The marmot is also an omnivore, eating grass, grains, leaves, flowers, legumes, fruit, grasshoppers, and bird eggs." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-bellied_marmot
During our three days away, we saw so many things, including breathtaking scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer (including several that we saw in the town of Waterton (where we stayed for two nights at the clean and friendly Bear Mountain Motel), Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including a family of Dusky Grouse that are uncommon to the park, a few wildflowers, and a few different insect species. I was so happy to see these Marmots when we drove way east of the park and a bit later in the day, all three of us were so thrilled to find our very first two (possibly three) endangered Burrowing Owls. I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators. Oh, and we got caught in a storm like nothing we'd ever seen before - a mesocyclone, apparently.
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