Vanderhoff, British Columbia: Wildlife Extravaganza

For the last two days we have had an amazing view of wildlife. Earlier this week we were very close to six mountain sheep and a coyote. Yesterday we saw our first grizzly right along the road from Banff to Jasper; shortly thereafter we saw an incredibly white mountain goat. I got some great pictures of the mountain goat but not the grizzly. I'll tell you why in a minute....

Today we saw two black bears, two caribuo, another grizzly, lots of deer 

and elk and a moose. OMG! Moose 

are huge! Plus numerous hawks, falcons, eagles and the ever present 

ravens. Lots of smaller varmits, mostly ground squirrels or tree squirrels. 

Some of the wildlife you see for only a short time as you pass by. Sometimes the shoulder is not wide enough to pull over. That happens a lot especially in the mountains where the sides of the roads drop off steeply. Sometimes the wildlife is 'spooked' by your vehicle and trots/bolts back into the woods. Sometimes, especially with the deer and the elk, they bolt across the road into your path and you have to quickly hit the brakes to avoid them.

Let me tell you more about the grizzly we saw yesterday. As we drove north from Banff to Jasper i saw a few cars pulled to the side of the road. Whenever I see one or more vehicles stopped by the side of the road I start slowing down as that's usually a sign people are watching some sort of wildlife. 

In this case theres a huge grizzly feeding alongside the road, no more than 10 feet from us as we drive by him. Of course, pandemonium broke out in our RV when Mary Lynn and I see the grizzly. I'm trying to get out of the RV's drivers seat, put the RV in park, set the brake, turn off the RV and take off my seat belt, all while leaning down to grab my camera, take off the lens cover, check the settings, etc.

MLA is screaming like a schoolgirl, jumping out of her seat and running to our RV's side door. I'm yelling to her not to open the door until we confirm the grizzly is still a safe distance behind us. We are about 50 yards past the bear so I open the door and grab a few shots with the camera before the bear decides to cross the road.

Even from a safe distance it is easy to see the grizzly is huge although, from the number of ribs visible, he looks undernourished. Probably came out of hibernation just a short while ago. 

Every thing's fine for a few seconds as all of the tourists, including MLA & I, are keeping a safe distance from the bear. Then, out of nowhere, some moron in a Mercedes pulls over right in front of the grizzly. The guy jumps partially out of his car and a starts shooting pictures. The bear immediately bolts into the woods and is gone, just like that.

What is this guy thinking? One, he and or his passenger could have been seriously injured or worse. Two, how inconsiderate can you be? Blocking everyone else's view plus scaring the grizzly into the woods.

Oh well, at least MLA and I had a chance to observe the grizzly for a couple of minutes.

Today we only had a few seconds to see the grizzly and moose however one of the black bears spent a few minutes casually eating verge and enjoying the sporadic sunshine before he ambled back into the woods. Probably for a nap. Unlike yesterday's grizzly, he looked healthy and plump with a shiny black coat.

Canada is beautiful and the wildlife is plentiful -- who knows what we'll see tomorrow...

See Ya!