Wild animals of Alberta 1

Had a very quick visit to my local park late this afternoon. Just as I was almost out of the park, I caught sight of this huge Beaver in the small creek. "In Canada, the beaver population was almost wiped out by 1930, but conservation measures have since restored their numbers to relatively healthy levels. Beavers have a well-developed social hierarchy in which the family is the basic unit, and the female the central figure in each family. The usual family group consists of the adults, the kits, and the yearlings of the previous year. The average size of the family is about 10 or 12 individuals. Adult weight varies between 15 and 35 kg with the average being about 20 kg. The bear, wolf, coyote, fisher, wolverine, otter, and lynx prey upon the beaver who is, nevertheless, a powerful antagonist when at bay. Their lodges, made of tangled sticks and caked mud, offer protection that even black bears have difficulty in breaking through. Beaver dams are usually about 50 m in length, 2 m high, and about 3 m through the base. Their dams help to maintain water levels in forest streams, thus providing habitat for themselves, fish, and waterfowl." Taken from www.nature.ca .

Eye contact! Quite an amusing face and expression. Those tiny, pink hands always fascinate me.

The Beaver officially became a Canadian emblem when it received royal assent on March 24, 1975. The first Canadian postage stamp was the "Three Penny Beaver" in 1851. The beaver is still found on the crest of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Canadian Nickel (5c coin) has a Beaver on the back side.

A Beaver's tail: It serves as a place to store fat. It works as a rudder and also helps the hind feet push the animal forward when swimming. It is a portable chair. They will either lean back against it when standing on their back legs or they will fold it around beneath them when sitting and grooming themselves. When they sense danger, they will slap the surface of the water with it to warn other beavers.

Jellied Moose Nose recipe: Ingredients Amount Ingredient Preparation 1 each moose upper jawbone 1 each onion sliced 1 each garlic clove 1 tablespoon mixed pickling spice 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup vinegar Directions Cut the upper jaw bone of the moose just below the eyes. Place in a large kettle of scalding water and boil for 45 minutes. Remove and chill in cold water. Pull out all the hairs - these will have been loosened by the boiling and should come out easily (like plucking a duck). Wash thoroughly until no hairs remain. Place the nose in a kettle and cover with fresh water. Add onion, garlic, spices and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the meat is tender. Let cool overnight in the liquid. When cool, take the meat out of the broth, and remove and discard the bones and the cartilage. You will have two kinds of meat, white meat from the bulb of the nose, and thin strips of dark meat from along the bones and jowls. Slice the meat thinly and alternate layers of white and dark meat in a loaf pan. Reheat the broth to boiling, then pour the broth over the meat in the loaf pan. Let cool until jelly has set. Slice and serve cold. Recipe is from RecipeLand.com. Think I'd rather see the animal alive and well, like this one at the Calgary Zoo, thank you very much! I have seen Moose in the wild but only have very distant photos.

I believe these two Grizzly Bears are orphans that were brought to the Zoo when they were younger. While I was there, they were really active and were play-fighting and tumbling. Had to take photos through a filthy, plastic (? but something VERY strong!) window, which doesn't lead to very good photos, but does avoid having metal netting in front as well as behind the animals. One of the bears was having so much fun somersaulting and rolling in the snow.

This animal was almost impossible to photograph - never in a convenient spot and I couldn't avoid the wire mesh close to me. Not a good photo, but I would like it for my Wild Animals of Alberta Set. Note the tufts on the ears.

One of the Grizzly Bears at the Calgary Zoo, showing the typical hump of a Grizzly. Black Bears do not have this hump. Happy to see this animal at the Zoo rather than on one of my walks!

Caught sight of this uninvited visitor in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo a few days ago. He didn't even need to pay to get in :)