These two creatures are Wood Buffalo about an hour west of Watson Lake, YT, just a bit back inside British Columbia--the most northern part. The Wood Buffalo is a different species from the Plains Bison. The Wood Buffalo is larger and several hundred pounds heavier. They were thought extinct until a herd of a few hundred were found in the 1950s in northern Alberta. Now the species has rebounded with human assistance to several thousand animals.
Like every bison I have ever seen, these two had no concern about being road hazards. As I drove up behind them, I decided to park ahead of them so I could photograph them coming towards me. They lumbered right past me. This type of proximity should be avoided if the animal is snorting or has its tail extended--signs of distress. But on this day, the beasts were chill, and I got to see something magnificent.
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I drove from Michigan to the Pacific Ocean in 2015, mostly along US-2. One evening, I found myself in Malta, Montana, and I needed a place to park for the night. I didn't find anything inviting along US-2, so I turned south on MT-191 and found myself in splendid isolated and open nature where several Pronghorns and Mule Deer were loping about the meadows.
These two guys were as interested in me as I was in them as they provided several poses as I snapped away in the evening light.
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I was spending a couple of days on the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I was photographing loons, and trying my best to catch a kingfisher (I failed) along with a Pileated Woodpecker couple (bad results). But as I was wandering slowly through the preserve and standing about looking for the Kingfisher to shoot by, hoping it would land within range, I looked to my left and saw a chipmunk languidly moving through a blueberry bush, and how happy he looks as he finds a bounty of these delicious berries.
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On my way back from Alaska, I decided to explore upper central Montana for Grassland birds. On my last day before my return home, I drove up to Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan because I had heard wonderful things about this park.
Imagine my joy when I found two juvenile badgers playing near their burrows with mom nearby.
I took this shot early in the morning with the sun hitting the little guy. I couldn't have asked for a better pose. And his cute, innocent expression made this one my favorite images.
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I found this wolf on BC-97, perhaps seventy miles from Watson Lake, YK. He was heading steadily north along the wide grassy area next to the road along the forest line.
As soon as I saw him, I brought my vehicle to a halt. It was dusk, so the light was not ideal, but I knew I needed to take every opportunity with this glorious animal.
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