Photos and text copyright Romping and Rolling in the Rockies 2009-2017.

All photographs and text within this blog are copyrighted.

You may not copy or repost any photos or text without specific permission from the author of this blog. When in doubt, please ask.

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

A parade of wildlife ended by an elk's antlers

Even in winter, I've been continuing to explore the Lab Valley area. I am particularly curious about the routes used by our mountain lions as they hunt and mark their territory. Prior to the onset of winter, I found a few scrapes but they are very difficult to get to now due to drifted snow. I will wait until spring to check them again.

One area that I've targeted is the edge of a meadow. The meadow is pocked with deer and elk tracks - they forage for food in the meadow. On the first occasion that I visited the spot, I found the tracks of a female mountain lion. She'd patrolled the meadow from the cover of a forest, probably searching for prey.

I set up a cam in that spot, and I waited a couple of weeks before going back to check it. See what I found! There's a funny ending to the video courtesy of a bull elk with a big set of antlers.

 

21 comments:

  1. has an elk touched the cam as that noise appeared? it is wonderful to watch your videos... it's like being there too ;O)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hari OM
    Well it sure looks like there is going to be plenty of entertainment in Labrador Valley!!! YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOW KB...what a most interesting video. There in the beginning one of the deer only had one antler...never seen one with just one antler. The skunk waddle was funny. The elk at the end must not have like the angle of the trail cam
    Hugs Cecilia

    ReplyDelete
  4. That looks like it will be a great place for your cam, especially now that it's anchored to a tree.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've been hearing from a few of you who note a potentially upsetting advertiser on this and other videos. I don't control who buys ads for my videos. If an advertiser upsets you, I am so sorry. My thought is that they've misjudged the audience for my videos so their advertising budget is being wasted. I will make a donation to a conservation organization to offset it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, thanks a lot. Glad you reset the camera. Amazing the critters that come and go. Beautiful.

    Have a fabulous day. Scritches to the pups. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wonderful footage! It's amazing the parade of animals and the curiousity of the elk was funny.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We always laugh at skunks and the fox is so beautiful! We loved the video and all of your videos, KB.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The fox and his tail is amazing, then the antler debacle, he was determined to cause a problem. They all seem to be unaware of the cold or the falling snow.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That fox was absolutely gorgeous! What an incredibly beautiful creature. Mr. Elk just must have thought you needed a field assistant. 😊

    ReplyDelete
  11. The skunk, the fox, the coyote, they all look beautiful and well-fed and healthy. I'm so glad to see they look like they've got plenty of food and they're doing well. Does two bucks a really pretty putting their horns together antlers together

    ReplyDelete
  12. HA! The Elk was saying that's all folks! Hey, that fox and our Simon do have a tail in common.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice to see all the different animals. We were pleased to see that they all look pretty healthy, even the skunk had a very full coat and quite the fluffy tail:)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Winter is a great time to see who's out and about. I'm surprised to see a skunk out wandering in early January. Do the Colorado Rockies have snowshoe hares?

    Chris from Boise

    PS I never see advertisers on your videos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Chris! Yes, we have snowshoe hares. Our old place is a tiny bit too low for them but I've captured some footage of them at our new place. I'm looking forward to including it in a video. I'd love to photograph them with a real camera but I haven't seen them in person yet.

      Delete
    2. I saw my first ever snowy-winter one a couple of weeks ago, when the dogs unwittingly spooked it during a snowshoe hike. They never saw it, but I caught a glimpse as it crossed the trail, backlit against a bluebird sky. Spectacular beauty. We see tracks all winter long at 6,000 feet.

      The truly first winter sighting I had was on the Maine coast, one winter when the snowfall was very late. The hares had changed color, and had no idea that they stuck out like sore thumbs against the winter browns. I walked right up to within 5 feet of one; it never moved. Fun for me, but predation was probably higher than normal.

      Good luck spotting one in person!

      Delete
  15. Such great images of the wildlife. The skunk made us laugh. It probably takes some trial and error to find the best spot for the trail cam.

    ReplyDelete
  16. That's a beautiful fox. It's good to know that there's still wildlife on this earth. Climate change and the resulting fires and other issues are so worrisome. Your videos make me feel better, always.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so glad to hear that you like them, Inger!

      Delete
  17. It's amazing how clear the video is, such a long way from the old game cameras (except for the extreme close-up at the end - LOL)! I thought skunks hibernated in the winter? Or are they just not quite as active maybe?

    ReplyDelete

If you are a Blogger registered user, you can skip the step asking you to verify that you are not a spammer. For posts older than 5 days, I have comment moderation turned on.

Thanks for your comments!!!!!