We've gone for walks down in the Oldman River valley the last few evenings and have always come across some sort of wildlife. This evening we happened upon a mule deer doe and her fawn. They couldn't have cared any less that we were there. I've seen many deer in my life but I always enjoy watching them and their behaviour. Especially the fawn's curiosity. Mule deer are among the different species of deer in this area. They are known for their big ears (which resemble those of a mule), their black tipped tail, larger bodies (than a whitetail), and the male's antlers are forked instead of growing off of a single beam like the whitetail's. There are many subspecies of Mule deer that range across the western United States and Canada.
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There were some White Pelicans down in the Oldman River tonight. They usually arrive in Alberta in late April from down south and may return to the same area year after year. They usually way 5-8 kg and have a wingspan of 3 metres. An adult pelican eats up to 2 kg of food a day. The Canada Goose. An icon of Canada. They are a migrational goose migrating thousands of kilometres each year. Many of them return to the same breeding spot each year with the same mate to raise their new goslings the same way as they always do. They are a monogamous animal so they will stay with the same mate their whole lives. They have been introduced to many countries outside of North America including the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and the Falkland Islands. The subspecies of the Canada goose were listed as:
An interesting fact about these geese is that they are the second most damaging to airplanes during flight in the United States and Canada. In 2000 the population of Canadian Geese in the world was estimated to be between 4 and 5 million birds. These turtles are called "Painted Turtles". They are found in the Oldman River in the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands in Lethbridge, Alberta. They are native to the Milk River area and no one is quite sure exactly how they made it to Lethbridge. It's possible that someone brought them here, or a few turtles migrated really far and reproduced. There are over 70 turtles in this area. You may ask yourself what they do during the winter. They dive into the mud and lower their metabolism in order to go into a dormant state. If you want to see them, follow the trail on the west side of the Oldman River along the Bridge Valley Golf Course. Sunny days are the best as they love to sunbath on logs and rocks. This is the Okotoks Erratic in Okotoks, Alberta. These large quartzite rocks were a part of the Foothills Erratics Train. They consist of a group of large rocks carried from the Rocky Mountains by glaciers during the ice age. This block in particular came from the Jasper area and weighs about 16,500 tonnes and measures about 41 x 18 x 9 metres. The name of the rock comes from the Blackfoot word for rock: Okatok Many of these rocks have split from the prairie sun. There is a Blackfoot story as to why: "One hot summer day, Napi - the supernatural Trickster of the Blackfoot - sat upon the Rock to rest. Because it was so hot, Napi threw his robe over the Rock saying "Here, I give you my robe, because you are poor and have let me rest on you. Keep it always." Napi walked on, and it began to rain. Napi sent to the Rock and asked it to lend him the robe, but the Rock refused. Napi got angry, and took "his" robe. As he walked away, he heard a loud noise - the Rock was chasing him! Napi was scared and ran. His friends - the buffalo, the deer and the antelope - tried to stop the Rock, but were crushed. Nearly exhausted, Napi called upon some bats for help. The bats dove at the Rock and one hit it in the middle and split it in two." This Blackfoot legend shows both how the rock was split and how bats got their "squashed faces. I've heard other variations of this legend where Napi is a coyote and he has a fox friend. He sends the fox back to get the robe instead. When the rock starts to chase both of them, the fox dives into a hole but his tail gets squished by the rock. This is why foxes have a white tip on the end of their tails. And at the end some witches turn the rock to dust and then want to eat Napi, so he tricks them and escapes. To hear this version of the story you can visit the Myths and Legends Podcast site and listen to episode 32. There are a few other stories of Napi that are shared. Below are a few more photos. |
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Hello readers! I'm Brian, an amateur photographer. I will be posting photos I take, reviews of products, and any tips I can offer to fellow photographers out there! I hope you feel welcome to read, leave comments, and create discussion! Check out other posts on my Niume account here: Brian Sloan Blog Categories
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