{"id":29270,"date":"2011-06-05T06:10:14","date_gmt":"2011-06-05T12:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wend.ca\/?p=29270"},"modified":"2020-03-17T20:33:31","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T00:33:31","slug":"banff-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wend.ca\/?p=29270","title":{"rendered":"Banff National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a surprisingly nice day for spring in the Rockies. Previously it snowed, and the weather forecast looked bleak. However, we lucked out in many ways…<\/p>\n

As we headed around Lake Minnewanka, we rounded a bend and La Ni\u00f1a<\/em> exclaimed from the back seat, look at all the white bears!<\/em> Actually not bears… we encountered a herd of bighorn sheep that had stopped for a healthy roadside snack. All were females and rather shaggy looking after a long and bitterly cold winter. <\/p>\n

They happily munched on the grass as we drove by, seemingly unperturbed by our vehicle.<\/p>\n

Later in the day we encountered a herd of Wapiti Elk<\/em> near Mount Norquay Road. <\/p>\n

In the photos below are two elk hinds<\/em>, whom, unlike their flat bellied sisters, looked rather round in the belly — could they be pregnant? One is wearing a collar, which means it is being tracked as part of a wildlife study on elk migration patterns.<\/p>\n