The dance among the lion and scavengers at an elk carcass

I'm sure that some of you remember the story of the mountain lion who killed a cow elk on my friend's land that I talked about in two posts (Post 1 and Post 2). I set up trail cameras all around the carcass to capture footage of the lion and the scavengers who ate every last bit of the elk.

I haven't had a chance to tell you about the scavengers who moved in in the mid-day hours as well as after the lion abandoned the carcass on December 17. They included magpies, ravens, a golden eagle, and coyotes. The coyotes even howled occasionally!

I put footage of the scavengers together into a video that I thought that you might enjoy seeing. I think that a fascinating aspect of it is the interactions among the scavengers and the lion.

It was interesting to see how worried the coyotes were when they dared to go near the carcass during the phase when the lion was still nearby. The first coyote clip shows an example of that behavior. No doubt, the lion would kill a coyote he found the coyote eating his hard-earned elk meat.

I also enjoyed watching the magpies and ravens brazenly continue to eat while the coyote or golden eagle was on the carcass. Seeing a Golden Eagle was really a treat!

Then, in the last clip, I loved watching and hearing the coyote howling while at the carcass!

You can watch the short video here or at Youtube.

Fly Like an Eagle

Shyla looked ready for the weekend during our sunrise snowbike ride today!

Her energy lull didn't last for long. She was on her feet scanning the forest soon thereafter. She was anxious to run again! The old song "Fly like an Eagle" flits through my mind as I watch Shyla in the forest. She's an incredible athlete in her absolute prime at two years old.

Shyla is thrilled that we are snowbiking together again. She sang with joy this morning.

It's amazing how Springtime has arrived on south-facing meadows but nowhere else in our forest. We rode through a sunny meadow near the end of our ride, and I spotted this gem! It's the first "spring color" of the year! It's not actually a blossom. Rather it's a tiny plant that has a symbiotic relationship with a yellow-gold fungus that covers its leaves, making it look like a flower. Regardless, I was thrilled to see our very first true sign of Spring.

The next photo was taken in another sunny meadow. A Golden Eagle was scavenging from a cow elk that was killed by a mountain lion. The Eagle certainly is majestic!

Happy Friday!