Wolf pack attack in the Banff National Park
On the weekend I was able to watch an amazing encounter in the Banff National Park. A pack of four wolves hunted and took down an elk on the outskirts of the Banff townsite. The wolves had trapped the elk on a train overpass and wore the much larger animal down with continuous lunges and bites. I will detail how the scene unfolded in an upcoming story but I wanted to share this image while I had a few minutes. Watching this was a window into survival in nature and I came away in awe of the victors and their tenacity, intelligence and cooperation. A shadow of sadness for the elk was a part of this story and I gave thanks for what that life lost meant to this pack.
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A few of Jasper’s juvenile bald eagles
The Jasper National Park is an amazing place for wildlife. That statement is not a great surprise but still I wasn’t expect the encounter Jeff Rhude and I had on the last day of our trip up there. Walking along the Athabasca River outside of the townsite we were looking for wolf tracks in the snow. Instead, we found one juvenile bald eagle that was perched above the river. When it flew out of the tree it went to a lower point and that drew our attention to a second and then a third one in the trees. There was a fourth that circled nearby as well. Over the next hour, we hoped they would dive for fish while enjoying watching them fly between one another. Crazily, a set of five mature eagles over them as the afternoon faded and that stirred these younger birds up. They attacked each other a couple of times. Which seemed like play fighting and did not last long enough to be serious. It was incredible to see this action up close. They were in trees less than a hundred feet away when the other eagles flew over and we had a great view of the fights. After these, a couple of them went back to their original perch while the others crossed the river and flew out of sight. I hope to see them again next time I get back to this incredible place.
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Christopher Martin Photography 