Flehmen Moose
January 10, 2020
•
8 Comments
The flehmen response.
The fleh.. what?
The animal behavior called a "flehmen response" is recognized when an animal lifts up its head and curls back its upper lip exposing its front teeth. As you can see in the below picture, moose are one of the species that perform this behavior.
How?
The technical explanation is that this behavior helps scen...
Read the Full Post »
Threesome
January 04, 2020
•
2 Comments
After the moose's mating season comes to an end in late October, the first snow is usually already on the ground in Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
The males quiet down from their violent hormone-driven fights and hang out in groups during the wintertime; supposedly in peace and quiet. Males will be males however and the odd 'practice fight' is never...
Read the Full Post »
Happy New Year!
December 31, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
Do you want to learn how to take better wildlife pictures?
Here's my book to get you started
Happy New Year!
Somewhere in the National Forest outside of Grand Teton National Park lives a grizzly bear mom and a very brave cub.
When the mom (known as Felicia or #863) woke up from hibernation this spring, she found two tiny cubs by her side. D...
Read the Full Post »
Bugling Bull
December 27, 2019
•
1 Comment
One of the most amazing sounds in nature for me is the bugling of a bull elk.
The first time I ever heard bugling was when I visited - of all places - California's Redwood National park. When you're looking to photograph elk, Redwood probably won't make it onto many lists.
The National Park is famous for its tall redwood trees. In fact, the talle...
Read the Full Post »
Looking Back On 2019
December 21, 2019
•
2 Comments
With the holidays upon us and 2020 - and an entire new decade - just around the corner, I thought it was a good time to look back on 2019.
After leaving my "real office job", this was the first year of my new venture as a wildlife photographer. A lot comes to mind, including valuable lessons learned. I hope you enjoyed watching some of the new ima...
Read the Full Post »
Coming Through!
December 17, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
This is one of the big bull moose in Grand Teton National Park.
It was a snowy afternoon when a few bulls were hanging out near the campground at Gros Ventre.
I was setup in a sage brush field with my long lens on a tripod. Animals this big don't seem to mind you standing there: if he wants to walk where you're standing, he's going to.
I got out...
Read the Full Post »
Cool
December 12, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
While spending days and weeks in a rain forest in SE Alaska, life suddenly gets a lot more interesting when a grizzly appears out of the forest and starts swimming in your direction.
This image was made with a 600mm lens on a crop body so the bear was much further away than it may appear. Additionally I was standing on the (relative) safety of a w...
Read the Full Post »
Surprise
December 11, 2019
•
2 Comments
It was late June as I was out exploring Yellowstone's Lamar Valley, looking for wildlife.
A bull bison grazed just across the Lamar river and showed an interest in crossing the river. I pulled over and sat myself down along the river bank hoping for the best. Patience paid off about 15 minutes later when he entered the river and started crossing o...
Read the Full Post »
Bull Moose Crossing
December 08, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
Late September is a great time to be in Jackson Hole. Moose mating season is in full swing and the big bulls fight each other over the right to mate with the females.
One afternoon, I observed a big bull moose for a few hours as he stood guard over a cow moose. All was well until another bull moose showed up.
This big bull left his female; crosse...
Read the Full Post »
K Country Dandelions
December 05, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
When you're in Canada's Rocky Mountains, one of the lesser known gems is called "K Country".
Home to grizzlies, wolves and other big wildlife, it is - at least where most foreigners are concerned - an unknown place. Not hard to understand if you consider its location: it is located next to Banff and Jasper National Parks which get all the visitors...
Read the Full Post »
Salmon Swing
December 03, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
What appears to be a violent life-or-death encounter is actually a grizzly playing with his food.
This young male was full - at least for a little while - from eating lots of salmon. As he swam across a lagoon in SE Alaska, he used his paws to 'fish' for dead salmon carcasses.
He brought up this carcass, sat up in the water and started playing. H...
Read the Full Post »
Eye to Eye
December 01, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
Ever wonder what it looks and feels like to come eye to eye with a big bull moose while hiking in the forest?
Even though they are large animals, it is amazing how quickly a bull moose can blend into the surrounding foliage, especially when bedded down.
This bull stood up; seemed to understand I wanted to take its picture and smiled for the camer...
Read the Full Post »
Side Charge!
November 29, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
Two bull moose spar in Grand Teton National Park. This looks like a violent scene but they are just 'playing', or so that's what they should be doing this time of year.
Actual fights over females during the mating season can be very sudden and violent. Once mating season is over however, the males quiet down and hang out in groups.
These two were...
Read the Full Post »
Great Gray Owl
November 26, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
The Great Gray Owl is one elusive bird!
Nicknamed the "Phantom of the North", this majestic bird is on many bird watchers list but few ever have the chance to see one. The world's largest owl species (by length), they like the cold and their habitat doesn't stretch far south of the Tetons.
Even though I spent a considerable amount of time in Gran...
Read the Full Post »
Salmon & Bears (Video)
November 22, 2019
•
Leave a Comment
Ever wonder what happens when we're not watching?
Here's footage from a camera trap along a deserted stretch of a salmon-filled creek in Southeast Alaska, recorded this past summer.
I spent a couple of months in Southeast Alaska this summer to photograph the wildlife that relies on the annual salmon runs. For a few weeks, I hung a motion camera a...
Read the Full Post »
VangoPhotos