Trees whose insides reveal a thousand rings, Rivers whose waters turn pink with influxes of salmon, Oceanic passages and straits that house ‘Wolves of the Sea’, Grizzly bears, Black bears, White bears, Petroglyphs that tell the stories of those who have thrived here for centuries. This is the coast of British Columbia.

Towards the end of each year, as the waters cool and the leaves begin to change, a race for life begins. Millions of salmon return to the rivers in which they were born. Led by metal deposits in their brains, that together with the magnetic poles of the earth, direct the salmon home. This is a journey that brings the salmon thousands of kilometers, through the feeding grounds of hundreds of animal species.

Salmon are what’s known as a “keystone species”, which means that they play a great role in their ecosystem. Salmon are a key factor in the lives and deaths of many other animal species, both land and water based. The salmon run feeds hundreds of species, from Orca [Killer Whale] and Stellar sea lions, to Bears and Wolves. Not only are the salmon beneficial to the fauna, but also to the flora. The bodies of decomposing salmon, left along river banks by bears, wolves, eagles, etc, result in up to 80% of the nitrogen found in some trees. Nitrogen fuels the growth of trees, as well as reducing CO2 in the air. Salmon fuel life even after their death.

A male and female Coho salmon in the river at the base of our viewing platform.

A combination of a great interest in the salmon run and its subsequent determination of the lives and deaths of other animals, along with having watched one too many documentaries filmed on the coast of BC brought me back last week, for the second time this year.

The first tour I took was a Grizzly expedition to the Orford river valley in Bute Inlet. Here there are 5-6 viewing platforms to stand safely in while giving space to the bears to go about their feeding. The ride up to the Orford valley gives ample time to explore the shores of all the islands on the way up, where you can find wildlife such as seals, stellar sea lions, dolphins, bald eagles, whales, black bears, and even possibly some coastal wolves.

The second tour I took was an 8 hour whale watching tour. On the way up to the best viewing area we saw 100′s of Dalls porpoises, more seals, eagles, and then ORCA ! Our boat stopped in the middle of the channel, surrounded by approx. 30 ‘resident’ Orca. Orca whales (which are in fact part of the dolphin family) have been classed into 3 types, those being ‘resident’, ‘transient’, and ‘offshore’. Each type can be distinguished from the other, with an educated and keen eye, based on dorsal fin shape and body markings. The reason I bring this up is because the ‘resident’ Orca are fish eaters, which is a little less interesting than the ‘transient’ Orca who prey on mammals ! Unfortunately we did not get to see any predation, although the tour company did recount their luck the previous week as they witnessed a pod of transient Orca chase 200 dolphins into a cove and make several kills ! Orca kill dolphins by breaching and coming down on TOP of the dolphin, rather than from underneath. Quite a sight to see ! We had lunch on the boat while we listened to the Orca communicating thanks to an on board hydrophone.

The coast has a magical power that has definitely sunk its teeth into me. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

[Click all photos for a larger view... ENJOY ! ]

Bald eagle staring down at a scavenger.

Stellar sea lions groaning and moaning

Beach Bum Seals

Sunbathing Seal

More Stellars roaring

Orca

Moody Surroundings of the BC coast

Faceful of Salmon !

Skirting the rivers edge

Fishing in the River

Fresh Catch

If you follow this blog, I’m sorry for not having been very active as of late ! There have been many issues keeping me from brining you new content, unfortunately. Fortunately, those issues are now behind me and I am looking forward to a great spring full of new life. I feel like I have been renewed with new life myself.

This passed week I witnessed the tail end of a very unfortunate accident that left a cougar, or mountain lion, one of the most elusive mountain animals, dead at the side of the road. It was a sight I would rather have not seen, that I would have rather not happened in the first place ! If any of you drive at dusk and/or dawn, and anytime for that fact, especially in areas known to have abundant wildlife.. please consider slowing down. Posted limits are what you are allowed to drive at, not what you have to drive at.

Getting to the photographs from the last few days, a friend of mine and I were cruising down a stretch of road known to be home to many grizzly bear, and a new wolf pack (although the pack only stand at 2 for the time being, hopefully some pups show up in the next few weeks) We didn’t see much in the way of top level predators, but the evening was not short of surprises.

I noticed 3 white tailed deer staring straight into the trees, ears up, as well as their white tails.. which serve as a warning sign for other deer in the area that something may be worth paying attention to. I turned the car around and sat there for a minute or two, noticed some ravens in a tree that started to caw. In the tall grass I spotted something grey moving about. As I looked through the viewfinder of my long zoom lens I saw it was a coyote, sticking his head inside the ribcage of a deer kill ! We watched for several minutes to see if any top predators were around, or perhaps coming back for the rest of their meal. Unfortunately we never did see anything that night come back for the carcass, but decided to return the next morning at the crack of dawn, which meant leaving the house at 430 am ! On arrival the next morning the carcass had been picked completely clean… not even a raven was in sight. Next time hopefully I’ll be able to witness a cougar on it’s prey !

I will be making weekly updates with images from the week from now on.. Sign up on the left for an email whenever a new blog is posted !

Without further adieu… here are the images from the last few days, in which I drove over 650km ! As always, click image for a larger view. Enjoy.

Western Tanager that spent 45 minutes hanging out eating worms !

White tailed deer silhouette in the early am fog

Coyote on a grassy ridge

My favorite Coyote image, Coyote peeking back at me as he climbed a hill in the early morning fog.

Hey all !

I’ve been working on a digital painting project with several of my images. I am really happy with the final product.

I will be offering prints of the paintings in very limited quantities of 50 per image (25 8×12 & 25 16×24). Please use the contact page to reach me, should you have a print in mind, or even just to let me know what you think. All prints are signed on the rear unless asked otherwise.

“Engadine Treasure”

“Blue”

“WolfTraips”

“RundleRoad”

“EerieOwl”

“FallFeast”

“BoomStream”

“KingofEngadine”

“WolfWalk”

“DandelionDevourer”

From the NON Wild Canada vault, a couple images from a trip to Yosemite national park.

Yosemite is one of the most spectacular places I have ever visited. When I first set eyes on this valley, literally in the bright light at the end of a tunnel, my mouth just dropped. For real. The feeling of complete solitude washed over me, like I was the only person there at that moment, even though there were at least 50 other people outside their cars at the lookout.

Prior to my visit I had seen, as many of you probably have, the fantastic Yosemite images of Ansel Adams. Those images are one of the reasons I visited Yosemite. The master images by Ansel Adams are fantastic, but seeing the valley from that viewpoint, with my own eyes, was worth the entire trip.

Below- Yosemite Walls from the valley floor, Yosemite NP. -

Synonymous with Yosemite are it’s two most famous features, the El Capitan (El Cap) face, and the Half Dome face. El Cap is the 3,000ft vertical face that has challenged the strongest climbers since it was first climbed in 1958 (which took the two men 47 days !! It has since been climbed in 2 hours 36 minutes !) Half dome is less popular among climbers, but thousands of tourists climb the mountain (via the rounded east face) every year.

Below- Half Dome, Yosemite NP. -

If you are ever in the vicinity of YNP, I would definitely recommend making the trip into the park !

Enjoy ! – Brandon.

Here is the newest photograph from my winter long quest to observe, learn from, and capture wild wolves on camera. With a stroke of luck this wolf came right down the embankment adjacent to me, while the rest of the pack moved parallel to me through the dense trees.

50 meters ahead, in the direction the wolves were heading, a cow and calf moose were lying in the snow. I managed to move into a position that would allow me to photograph the encounter just as the cow and calf got up and started to move away with a recognizable sense of urgency. The wolves followed the moose up into the deeper bush, away from my vantage point.

That, my friends, was the whole encounter. As usual with wolves on the move, the encounter did not last much longer than a few minutes (and that’s lucky !)

Exif: f/4,  640th, ISO 500

ENJOY !

Hello to all the new subscribers ! I hope you all enjoy the blog and take a second to navigate the rest of the site. The gallery section holds some of my all time favorite WILD shots.

Today’s entry may not be as exhilarating as the Chasing Ghosts series, but if you’ve read those over you know that I won’t be able to keep a very active blog if I only speak about the wolves. I will however speak a little about COUGARS.

In Banff national park, just outside the townsite, there is a road that I like to call Bighorn Loop (actual name Minnewanka Loop). When driving Bighorn loop travelers are usually greeted by bighorn sheep at the side of the road, quite often right on the road, and sometimes nearly in the passenger seat. The loop winds to and fro up the mountain side before eventually passing Two Jack, and Minnewanka lakes.

Bighorn Sheep on Minnewanka loop, shot Feb 26/11 -click image to view larger

Minnewanka lake is where my story ends, where it begins is two years ago in my Banff living room. I was sitting on my couch when a friend dropped by with a copy of the Crag and Canyon, Banffs weekly newspaper. Dropping the newspaper on the coffee table in front of me, “You gotta see this” my friend said. “Boaters Watch Cougar Attack” was the headline of the article. I sprung up from my slouched lazy afternoon posture, jaw dropping as I laid eyes on the photographs of the incredibly lucky bunch who witnessed this extremely rare sight. The sighting of a cougar is extremely rare, never mind witnessing a cougar prey on, attack, kill, and drag it’s victim away. As a wildlife enthusiast and photographer, I was jealous, really jealous.

Minnewanka lake – click image to view larger

I have never seen a cougar, although I have come into contact with one. Just a few months prior to reading the article in the Crag and Canyon, I was hiking up Tunnel mountain on an early fall afternoon, two of us, chatting the whole way up. As we neared the summit I heard an unusual noise, not very loud, but I thought it may have been a growl. I was worried. My girlfriend dismissed the sound, “probably just an elk bugle”. I scoured the ground before us, trying to pick up some movement, some form of confirmation she was right. Although I never did see the source of the peculiar noise, her seeming certainty was slightly reassuring, so we continued walking. Not five paces later, we received what I now know was our second warning. LEAVE NOW it said, in a big growl that could only possibly be made by a cat. I had a lump in my throat, similar to one you would get when your deeply upset, this lump was one of pure fear. We retreated cautiously, walking backwards the way we came. Once we had put a comfortable amount of distance between us and the cougar, who was likely perched in a tree not further than 10 yards from us, we finally turned our backs and began to descend the mountain in rather quick fashion.

To this day I get goosebumps thinking about the encounter, one I would be happy not to experience again !

Below are links to the photographs, and the original article from the Banff Crag and Canyon newspaper

http://www.banffcragandcanyon.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=1107509

http://www.travelooce.com/cougar-attacks-bighorn-ram.html

I’ve been having some luck lately with a great deal of help from a couple of the wolves friends.

Although still a far cry from certainty, I feel really positive about the possibilities each time my alarm rings at 630 am on my day off. It’s not easy to get out of a warm bed in the early morning, when its -28 degrees out and the alternator on your car is no longer providing enough energy to produce even the slightest bit of warmth.

Sitting in my little mazda igloo on the side of the road one morning, after receiving a tip of an approximate location of the wolf pack, I was rewarded with a great encounter.

Closer than ever, the whole pack emerged from the crowded trees by the road. As usual, Faith (lead female) and Spirit (lead male) emerged, followed by the newly collared Blizzard (almost 2 yrs old), Then Chester, Meadow, and Lillian (all pups from spring 2010). Once again the young male Chester was first to approach my igloo, my hands trembling more than usual when a wolf is in sight, sniffing the tire tracks I had left in the snow behind me. Chester came close, very close, albeit very cautiously. He lifted his nose to the wind, blowing in his direction, sniffing me out even though I was in plain view. Perhaps he was looking for Utah (my dog) , since he had met her on a previous occasion.

A few days later, this one not so cold, I was lucky enough to observe half the pack sleeping in the snow not far from the road. Curled tightly into a ball, noses tucked under their bent hind legs, shielded from the wind blown snow. When Meadow woke she took a nice stretch and tiptoed back into the trees. Notice the definitive line on her forehead, seperating the area that was protected from the wind and the area that wasn’t !

Lillian looks back towards me before following Meadow into the trees.

Lately I have been out searching more than I had all winter. Every  feasible chance I get, I am out.

It is mating season for the wolves, which means a lot of their habits take the back seat in favor of copulation.  One tell tale sign that has occurred in the last week or so was the alpha male and female, Spirit and Faith, leaving the pack. I guess even wolves like their privacy !  The dominant pair are usually the only ones to mate, depending on several factors. In the case of the Bow Valley pack, it is only the dominant pair.

Unfortunately, The exciting news of new life came only a few weeks after the dismal news of death. On Jan 18th a lone wolf, visiting the valley, was struck by a train just outside the town of Banff. When I was informed of the news by a fellow photographer, John, I was upset to say the least. I assumed the deceased wolf was one of the local pack, maybe even Chester. I asked John when the last time was that someone had seen the pack together, had anyone seen all 6 of them ? Fortunately for the Bow Valley pack, they were all accounted for.

In the days following the news, I was out scouring for signs of the pack. I was driving toward a rendez-vous point that had been used fairly often in the last few days when I glanced through the trees onto the river. I spotted two black shapes trotting along. The trees resumed their dense presence along the roadside and I lost sight of the wolves. I figured i could get ahead of them and get into position down by the river that would allow me to photograph the two wolves as they passed on the other side. Adrenaline rushing through me like Bow falls in June, i jumped out of my car and raced down a small hill to get into position. I sat there, in less than appropriate clothing, in the snow. Several minutes pass. Did i go that far ahead ? Did they cross the river and continue westward on the train tracks ? The train tracks are behind me, they could be coming up behind me ! That’s when i heard the train. Coming closer, horn blowing. Oh please don’t let the wolves be on the tracks ! HORN HORN HORN, something was on the tracks. As the train passed i took one last peek out onto the river to see if the wolves were approaching. Nothing. I ran up the hill, in 2 feet of snow, looked both ways on the train tracks, and continued up towards my vehicle. I figured that the horn of the train would have scared the wolves off from wherever they were and that i wouldn’t see them again. Boy was i wrong.

As I walked along the road toward the car i saw two shapes in the field on the other side of the river, this time one black and one silver. Wait, there is TWO black, AND one silver ! I started running to a gap in the trees overlooking the river and the field that the wolves were crossing. By the time i got to the gap all six of the wolves had materialized out of the trees. I had finally seen the whole pack together ! Alpha male Spirit was leading the way, followed by alpha female Faith. In tow was the yearling female Blizzard, and the 3 pups from spring, Meadow, Chester and Lillian. The young were all jumping on each other, wrestling and then running to catch up to mom and dad. Spirit even joined in the shenanigans for a few nips at one of the pups ! It was great to observe the wolves in their natural habitat, playing with each other and enjoying their time together.

Above: The whole pack walking across the meadow, about 300 yards away !

Below: Blizzard, Chester, Meadow and Lillian rough house while Spirit leads with Faith close behind.

Here’s a little something I captured yesterday while out looking for signs of the wolf pack.

It was a tough day after witnessing parks canada chasing down the wolves in an effort to collar one of them. The stress the wolves were under was clearly visible as they scattered in separate directions with the helicopter hovering above. I watched the helicopter pursue one of the wolves and heard a shot a few minutes later. The shot would have been, I imagine, parks shooting out a net to capture the targeted wolf. I can’t imagine this is any good for the stress levels of a breeding female who has just rejoined the pack after mating.

Enjoy the image !