One of my favorite places to explore and photograph wildlife is the Columbia Icefields which is a 187 mile stretch between Jasper National Park and Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive without stopping. Not sure what you would be doing in this remote part of the world if you wouldn't want to stop and see Caribou, Moose, Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Grey Wolves, Coyotes, and many glaciers.
I have wonderful memories of my many visits to this area. Today I thought I would share a 30 minute experience I had once with a Coyote. You may ask what is so special about that. You see coyotes walk through your backyard all the time. It's true, even though coyotes were nearly extinct in the 1920's, they have rebounded to the point of near excess.
Even today, 500,000 coyotes are killed every year in the US. That's nearly 1400 coyotes killed every day. 90,000 are killed by our State or Federal Government. Many are killed by local ranchers. Many are killed by huntsmen. Many are killed by vehicles.
Yet their population continues to increase. They have adapted to all parts of the United States, Canada, and Mexico; from east to west, from sea level to 10,000 feet; from tropics to desert; from seasides to forests; urban, rural, and wilderness.
I'm sometimes asked, "Are coyotes dangerous?" The simple answer is "no." The last death in the US from a coyote was in 1980, when a two year old child was left by herself in the backyard of a home in a wilderness area of California. On the other hand, between 30-50 people are killed by domestic dogs each year in the US.
I'm sometimes asked, "Are coyotes dangerous?" The simple answer is "no." The last death in the US from a coyote was in 1980, when a two year old child was left by herself in the backyard of a home in a wilderness area of California. On the other hand, between 30-50 people are killed by domestic dogs each year in the US.
Cartoons always depicted coyotes as "mangy." I've never stopped to count how many coyotes I've seen, but I could count on one hand how many I'd call mangy. Coyotes have beautiful full coats; one of Mother Nature's most beautiful.
On to my story. I was driving along the Columbia Icefields Parkway, when I saw a Coyote laying down out in the middle of the Icefield. I pulled off the road and spent the next 30 minutes photographing him. At first he was content to just stay put. Then he got up and started walking parallel to the road, so I just followed him from the road. Eventually, he wanted to cross the road, so I just stopped as he walked right in front of me. It was a thrilling experience that I feel fortunate to have photographed:
On to my story. I was driving along the Columbia Icefields Parkway, when I saw a Coyote laying down out in the middle of the Icefield. I pulled off the road and spent the next 30 minutes photographing him. At first he was content to just stay put. Then he got up and started walking parallel to the road, so I just followed him from the road. Eventually, he wanted to cross the road, so I just stopped as he walked right in front of me. It was a thrilling experience that I feel fortunate to have photographed:
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