Blizzard The Wolf (2009-2011)

In May of last year, I finally returned to my second home of Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies to continue photographing the incredible wildlife and scenery of the mountains. After a week or two of well needed photography and amazing wildlife encounters, my bubble was popped by the news of another grizzly bear death on the Canadian Pacific railway.

A grizzly sow that I photographed in early spring, had been killed the following day by a speeding train leaving her two yearling cubs orphaned. This news was hard to take and all of a sudden I snapped out of my euphoric state and came back down to reality with a thump. Things aren't perfect out here by any means. Animals are still being killed by humans in huge numbers throughout the year, on our roads, railway lines and for just simply being wild.

Now, as my time in Canada is coming to a close once again, I'm saddened to learn of the death of 'Blizzard', my favourite wolf. She was struck and killed by a vehicle on the Trans Canada Highway on the 28th of December, 2011.

A recent portrait of Blizzard from our final encounter (December, 2011) Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

I first encountered Blizzard back in February, 2010 when she was just a pup at about 9 months old. I was fairly new to wolf photography at the time so none of my photos were any good. However, I still remember the encounter vividly as it lasted well over 30 minutes, which at the time was the longest wolf encounter I'd ever had. Back then Blizzard had a jet black coat and I'll never forget the joy I felt watching her playing around in the snow with her brother Skoki.

A couple of months after my first encounter with her, I came upon an injured moose whilst out driving early one morning. Had I arrived about twenty minutes earlier, I would have seen the Pipestone wolves attacking the moose and forcing her to retreat to the safety of the Bow river. I stayed nearby for five whole days until eventually the wolves returned to see what condition their prey was in. During this encounter, I took a series of images which feature in one of my previous blog posts, 'Survival In The Bow Valley'.

Blizzard takes a break on the ice as the pack check on the injured moose (April, 2010) Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Blizzard sits patiently as she watches the injured moose (April, 2010) Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

In June of 2010, I hired a driver for the month and spent almost everyday out looking for wildlife across the Rocky Mountains, from Kananaskis to Jasper. During this time I had several encounters with Blizzard and the Pipestone wolves. Even though she was a very social wolf, most of the time Blizzard would be by herself, off on a little excursion from the rest of her family. But just when I thought she might leave the pack, I saw her one morning as she was babysitting the new litter of pups. Unfortunately I didn't see the little ones, but I could hear their yips and squeaks of joy after Blizzard crossed the road to join them in the forest. She still seemed to be a vital member of the pack after all.

Once I was back in Britain the following winter, I was eager to keep up to date with news of the wolves, especially Blizzard who I had spent much more time with than any other members of the pack. It was during this time that her brother Skoki (who wore one of the two GPS collars which help Parks Canada track the wolves movements) finally left the Bow Valley in search of his own territory. Blizzard however, remained an important part of the pack, becoming one of only only three adults. Parks Canada then darted her from a helicopter, and fitted her with a brand new collar.

When I returned to Banff in the spring of 2011, it had been almost exactly one year to the day since I had seen her last. I was rewarded with a twenty minute encounter which was like a big breath of fresh air. It was an amazing feeling to see her again, knowing she was ok and still successfully navigating her way around the bustling Bow Valley.

Sadly, this encounter began with her walking along the side of the Trans Canada Highway. I'm not sure how she got onto that dreaded stretch of road, which has killed so many wolves and bears over the years. It sometimes takes Parks Canada weeks to fix holes or damages to the wildlife fence and I've also seen gates used by construction workers left wide open for hours on end, with nobody around to prevent wildlife from walking out onto the highway. However she did it, I prayed that she would stick to using the overpasses and underpasses, and avoid that highway like the plague!

Blizzard approaches though a patch of dandelions at the side of the TCH (June, 2011) Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Other than that, I barely saw her this summer. A fleeting glimpse every now and then but that's all. The last time I photographed her was late last year during an incredible encounter with the whole pack.

Blizzard (left) and her mother Faith, looking very similar (December, 2011) Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Blizzard taking a stroll in her thick winter coat (December, 2011) Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

A magnificent wolf! (December, 2011) Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Shortly after this encounter, Blizzard took off again on one of her excursions. This time she was gone a whole month, probably looking for a territory of her own, a process known as dispersal. During this time her GPS collar, which hadn't been working for over a year, dropped off. When she returned to the pack this time, friend and fellow photographer Brandon T. Brown watched as the pups greeted her, pleased to be reunited with their elder sister after so long. However, Faith (Blizzards mother and alpha female of the pack) chased her away across a meadow. With Blizzard spending more and more time away from the family, and mating season just around the corner, Faith wasn't willing to let her stay this time. This defining moment in her life was surely the end of her time in the Bow Valley and she vanished again one last time. I hoped that she had headed the same way as her brother Skoki, who used Spray Valley to make his way into Kananaskis where there are few wolves and lots of prey.

Unfortunately it was only one week later that I saw the article in the local newspaper which read, 'Banff wolf killed on TCH near Lac des Arc'. My heart sank as soon as I saw her photo.

Unlike Skoki, Blizzard headed East out of Banff, following the direction of the train tracks and the biggest highway in the country. The Trans Canada Highway is fenced throughout Banff National Park, and Blizzard had managed to navigate around this dangerous road her whole life, using the wildlife underpasses and overpasses to cross from one side of the valley to the other. However, outside the park only some of the highway in fenced. The stretch which passes Lac des Arc has claimed the lives of so many animals over the years. A large adult cougar was killed there late last spring and now Blizzard has become the most recent animal to be hit by someone likely driving too fast at night. With no fencing, speed cameras or traffic cops to be seen anywhere nearby, this will continue to happen until spotting wildlife in our national parks will have become a distant memory.


If you want to learn more about wildlife mortality in the Bow Valley, click this link to hear a WildSmart speaker talk by John Paczkowski. His presentation is called 'Where the Wildlife Roam: Wildlife Movement and Corridor Use in the Bow Valley'.


I'll be moving back home to Wales at the end of the month, but I will continue to campaign on behalf of these animals, and try to update you on the situation here in the Canadian Rockies as best I can. If you haven't done so already, please 'like' my Facebook pages 'Save Banff's Wildlife' and 'Cai Priestley Photography' for news, updates and recent photos.

Even though I'm getting ready to leave the mountains once again, I'm looking forward to the opportunity of photographing some British wildlife for a change, lots of which I've never even seen before. I'm hoping to make several trips to the Pembrokeshire coast for the marine life and I'm exited about a new fox project which I hope to get underway as soon as I get home.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for another blog post about the wild horses of Alberta in the next few weeks.

Cai

Another Summer In Banff

Another summer has already come and gone in Banff National Park and once again I've failed miserably to blog as much as I'd hoped.

This was my third summer in the Canadian Rockies but unfortunately my least active by far. I didn't manage to get out hiking or photographing as much as I'd planned. Every week I worked full time at the store, and on one of my days off I ran a stall at the farmer's market. Eventually, after a lot of saving, I was able to move into my own apartment.

My girlfriend has been visiting for the past two weeks so I managed to get away from work and finally take some photos. We were lucky enough to watch an amazing display of the northern lights and I was finally able to get some shots of this natural phenomenon that I've been hoping to photograph for years now.

I'm going to try and go shooting as much as possible this month to make up for what I've missed. I've been out a few times already this week, and with the elk rut in full swing, I'm hoping to get some nice images of this spectacular event.


Here's a selection of photographs from this summer, including some new panoramas taken last week:

(click on an image to enlarge)

The northern lights reflected on Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Sunrise at Buller Pond, Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada

 

Autumn aspens at Hillsdale Meadows, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Morant's Curve along the Bow Valley Parkway, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Grizzly 64 and her three new cubs take a stroll at sunrise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Faint northern lights in the skies over Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Bull moose in autumn colours, Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada

Fireweed at Bow Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Grizzly bear cub, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

A grey wolf pup born this spring, Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, Canada

Grizzly bear triplets born this spring, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Autumn in Moose Meadows, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

I'm hoping that in the next couple of weeks or so, I'm able to get enough photos of the elk rut to put together another blog post by the end of the month.


All photographs are available to purchase. Please send me a message via my website if you have any questions.

Thanks for reading,

Cai

June In The Rockies

Hello everyone,

So it looks like my 'one blog post a week' plan has already failed miserably! I apologize for the lack of posts recently, but my time has been spent looking for a job as well as looking for bears and other wildlife.

After returning to Canada nearly two months ago, I've finally decided to get a job so that the basic existence that I've been living, can finally come to an end. I start training in Monod's, an outdoor store, on Monday and I'm going to have to get used to a productive routine again after over a year without working. I'm also very fortunate that my new manager has kindly organized my shifts so that I still have every morning free to photograph.


The last few weeks have been pretty amazing for me. I've spent a lot of time looking for a 22 year old grizzly bear and her three newborn cubs. Unfortunately, I've only managed to spot her once and didn't manage to get any photographs. However, I had a lot of luck with other wildlife in June. I finally had a couple of wolf encounters which is what I'd been hoping for this spring. Only one of these encounters yielded a photograph but it just happens to be my favourite wolf shot to date.

'Blizzard', a two-year old female wolf - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

It had been almost exactly one year to the day that I encountered 'Blizzard' last. To see her again and spent twenty minutes photographing her was one of then nicest feeling I've had in a long time. It's so great to see that she's still surviving and looking healthy as ever!

This recent wolf photo is a new favourite of mine, but I've also managed to photograph a lot of other amazing animals over the last few weeks.

Here's a few of my top images from the last month...

(click on an image to enlarge)

Black bear cub in a tree - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Pileated woodpecker chicks - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Bighorn sheep ram - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Grizzly bear grazing - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Subadult grizzly bear in fresh spring snow - Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada

Large male grizzly bear - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Beaver eating along riverbank - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Great blue heron - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Black bear resting - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Black bear cub in a tree - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Pileated woodpecker feeding her chicks - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Bighorn sheep ram overlooking Medicine Lake - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Wet black bear - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Cinnamon black bear sow and cub - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

July isn't considered a great month for wildlife photography, so I won't be getting out to shoot as much this month. I'm going to focus on work for a while and I've also got my summer stall to run at the Banff farmer's market every Wednesday. The recent postal strike here in Canada meant that I had very limited stock for the first market day of the summer. The wind and rain didn't help the situation either! I'm praying for blue skies next Wednesday and hopefully things will pick up.

If you're in Banff this summer, come along to the market and say hello! I also have a 'Save Banff's Wildlife' petition with me on the stall which I will be sending to Parks Canada, CP Rail and local MP Mr Blake Richards. Hopefully it will help put them under pressure to do something about the wildlife mortality rate here in Banff as well as spread awareness of the issue.


I've recently opened an account on the popular photo sharing website '500px'. You can view a selection of my most popular photos from around the world as well as vote for which are your favourites.


All photographs are available to purchase. Please send me a message via my website if you have any questions.

Thank you for reading,

Cai

Survival In The Bow Valley

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share this story with you as it is one of the best wolf encounters I've been lucky enough to have. The story took place in April last year when I was living in the Canadian Rockies. It appeared in Banff's local newspaper and was my first published article as a wildlife photographer. 

I hope you enjoy it...

The Bow Valley, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The Canadian Rockies draw people from all corners of the planet, to enjoy the numerous activities they have to offer. Whether it’s the skiing and snowboarding in winter, or the year round beauty of the national parks, there will always be people here. But we are not alone. We share this valley with some of the worlds most amazing wildlife. While most valley residents are able to see animals like deer and elk walking around town or grazing in our gardens, only a small percentage of us are lucky enough to encounter some of the rarer animals that live in the park.

   

I came to Banff nearly two years ago, with the intentions of finding and photographing some of these magnificent creatures.

   

A few weeks ago, I was out early in the morning looking for my first bear of the season. After a few hours of driving around without any luck, I spotted a cow moose standing in the middle of the Bow River.

   

She was pacing back and forth in the deep water, and it was clear to me that something had spooked her. Taking a closer look, I noticed that she was badly injured. One of her back legs had skin torn from it and was bleeding profusely. There were also some smaller injuries around her chest and fore legs, consistent with an attack by wolves. I spoke with a local man who claimed he had seen several wolves in the area about 30 minutes before I arrived on the scene. A blood trail along the road, led to a small clearing about a kilometer away where the initial attack took place.

The cow moose retreats to the safety of the Bow River - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Thinking that the wolves would return again, I spent the next few days watching the moose to see what might happen, staying at a distance so as not to cause her any unnecessary stress. The morning after the attack, I found her in the middle of the river again, and there were fresh tracks along the snow on the banks. The wolves had returned during the night but the deep water had once again provided some safety for the moose.

   

She spent the next few days lying on the bank of the river, retreating to the water whenever a coyote walked by or she felt threatened by something. Finally, five days after she was first attacked, the wolves returned. The moose was back in the river instantly while three of the wolves watched her from the bank.

'Spirit' sniffs along the riverbank to locate the moose, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

'Spirit' follows the injured moose along the riverbank, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

'Spirit' and daughter 'Blizzard' watch the moose from the icy riverbank, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

The stand-off  lasted about 15 minutes until eventually the wolves vanished into the trees. When they reappeared, the moose was standing in slightly shallower water. ‘Spirit’, the alpha male of the pack, saw an opportunity to try and get the moose to run again so that the others could begin another attack. He paced along the bank a few times and then went charging into the river. 

'Spirit', the alpha-male, charges into the river after the moose, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

The moose ran only a few meters and then turned to face him, standing her ground. This put a stop to the charge immediately and Spirit quickly returned to the safety of the river bank. He was recently kicked by a moose during an attack and was unable to stand for two days! This lesson has clearly taught him to be more careful of these huge animals. Even when injured, they are still capable of delivering a fatal kick.

'Spirit' stares at me as he walks along the ice of the riverbank, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

 

Eventually the wolves left once more and for two more days nothing happened. After an entire week of watching and waiting, I decided to take a morning off to catch up on some sleep. That morning, a grizzly bear showed up. I watched footage of the bear chasing the moose across the river and into the trees. Even though her injuries were causing her to limp badly, when the adrenalin kicked in, she ran like the wind! She reappeared further downstream and shortly afterwards, the bear emerged looking confused and sniffing around for clues as to where she had gone. For the first time in eight days she was nowhere to be found.

  

I began to think that she was gone from sight for good or that she had been killed elsewhere, but to my surprise I spotted her again over a week later in exactly the same spot in the river, still limping very badly. It can sometimes take a pack of wolves several weeks to take down a moose so it looks like they might still win this ongoing battle. However, we may never know how it ends.

   

This is just one of many interesting tales about the daily fight for survival facing wildlife here in the Bow Valley.

I'm hoping to photograph the Bow Valley wolves again this year when I return to live in the Rockies.

If you enjoy reading the stories behind my photographs, don't forget to subscribe to my blog. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address into the box at the top of this page and click 'submit'.

Thank you for reading!

Cai