Final Day in Jasper and Large Mammals

Bull Elk

On our last morning in Jasper, we started out again to find wildlife to photograph.  This day, we were lucky and came across some bull elk, who allowed us excellent pictures.  We also photographed a sunrise, as it hit the mountain peaks.

Bull Elk

Sun Hitting the Mountain Peaks

Although we searched again in the usual spots where Bighorn sheep are normally found none were located in the morning.  We stopped again for brunch, and one of our participants came and told us that the Bighorn sheep were right on the corner on route 16.  We went and photograph them.  The sheep were both down by the river and up on the ridge by the railroad tracks.  We climbed up and were photographing them.  There was approximately a total of 47 sheep with a young ram in charge of the flock.  They were good photo opportunities.  I enjoyed watching a kid walking on the railroad track.  The sheep were not afraid of us, and were used to the trains, in fact, when one train came and and the engine sounded the whistle, the sheep moved off of the tracks without any hesitation.

Big Horn Sheep Ram

Bighorn Sheep Yearling

Bighorn Sheep Ewe

Bighorn Sheep Ewe Running

Bighorn Sheep Ram Interested in a Ewe

Yearling Bighorn Sheep Tightrope Walking on the Railroad Track

Interesting part about the train, was most of the cars were covered with graffiti.

Graffiti on a railroad car

After we finished photographing the sheep, we again went looking for more animals and photographed again a number of elk.

Elk

Elk In the Golden Light

Although we did not find any large RAM Bighorn Sheep, or any Moose, I have to say the experience was wonderful and this area deserves a return visit.

Our building at the Lodge

The Road to Jasper

Mount Cheperen

Early Wednesday morning, we checked our of our hotel in Banff and started our convoy toward Jasper.  We wanted to be on the Icefields Parkway, prior to dawn, so we can get the sun rising on the mountains.  Our first stop was Waterfowl Lake with Mount Cheperen in the background, and we were able to capture the sun's glow hitting the peak of the mountain.  Also, the moon was right above the mountain.

Mount Cheperen with Moon

Our next stop was Mistaya Canyon, a slot canyon formed by the Mistaya River.  The Canyon has rushing water winding through it and a great view up the river.  Along the trail to the Canyon, there was a number of dead tree stumps with lichens and moss covering them.

Mistaya Canyon

Mistaya Canyon

Mistaya River entering the Canyon

View down the Mistaya River from the Canyon

Moss and Lichen

Our last stop on the Parkway, prior to traveling on to Jasper was at the Parker Ridge, which is just below the boundaries between Banff and Jasper National Parks.  We also had a close encounter with a Common Raven.

Parker Ridge

Clouds over Parker Ridge

Common Raven

When we reached Jasper and the hotel the Jasper Park Lodge, our rooms were not ready yet, so we were shown with the parking lot was and then one of the Lodge employees took us to where elk were right on the property, so we could get some photographs.

Female Elk

After checking in, we then left the hotel to search for wildlife and we found very cooperative bull elks, and since the rut was over, they allowed us to approach close to them and enable great pictures

Bull Elk Resting

Bull Elk

After supper in Jasper, we returned to the Lodge for a good nights sleep.  Looking forward to another great day exploring and photography.

Yellowstone Elk

Elk, or as the Indians named them Wapiti, is the most abundant large mammal found in Yellowstone.  There is 7 to 8 different herds that summer in Yellowstone and contain approximately 30,000 elk.  During the winter, 15 to 22,000 elk are found in Yellowstone.  Elk are the second largest species of the deer family with moose being larger.
During my visit to Yellowstone, I observed elk right in the town Of Mammoth and walking down the main street of Gardiner Montana.  Elk were even feeding in the yards next to our motel and on the football field at the school in Gardiner.
In the fall, during the rut season, the bull elk become very aggressive trying to attract females into their harems and protecting their harems against other males.  Bull elk will attack people, and even cars, as we observed in Mammoth.  When there were a large group of elk, park rangers and volunteers with there to keep people more than 25 yards away from the elk to help protect them.  On the Yellowstone National Park site there are videos that demonstrate why you need to keep away from from the large animals. http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/safetyvideos.htm.  Visitors need to be reminded that all he animals in the park are wild and can be dangerous.
During the visit, we photographed mainly one herd of elk, that hung around Mammoth and along the road leading toward Gardiner.  At times, the bull elk, which we named Ig Boy,,  of this herd was very aggressive, especially if a second bull elk was near the herd.

Bugling Male

There are four different subspecies of elk present in North America, Including the Rocky Mountain Elk, the Roosevelt Elk, The Tule Elk, and the Manitobian Elk..  The Roosevelt Elk are found in the Pacific Northwest.  The Tule Elk, a located in California and I have observed them in the Point Reyes National Seashore..  The Manitobian Elk are located in the Midwestern United States and the Canadian Prairie Provinces.

		Yellowstone Elk VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Yellowstone National Park, an overview

I have just returned from a week long trip to Yellowstone National Park and had a wonderful time.  I was with a photographic group led by Bob Salyers .  The group was very compatible and we had a great time.  We stayed in Gardiner Montana and from there every day went into the park and toured the entire park.  We did see all the major large animals that occur in the park, however, the grizzly bear and wolves were extremely far away and the only dots on the photograph.  If you blow up the photographs of the bear and wolves, you can identify them.
It is very hard to pick out what was the best part of the trip.  Creature wise, it is a tossup between a bull elk and its harem and male bison's fighting.
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In subsequent blogs, I will post landscape and images of other wildlife that we encountered.
Again I want to thank Bob Salyers www.bobsalyers.com  for his intimate knowledge of Yellowstone and driving us around the park so that we could capture the sights of Yellowstone.