A nice summer day to visit the Parc to see the usual animals and look for changes since last month.
One noticeable change were the elks in the process of losing their winter coats. Some had shed the extra layer, others still in the process.
This elk was shedding his coat in chunks. The closer photo shows the fresh, thick velvet on the new (very large) antlers
The next two females were in different stages of shedding
Spring is the time for newborns to appear. But it seemed to be too early for this year's elk, fallow deer and red deer arrivals to have come out of the woods as none were seen.
The buffalo/bison herd had two new borns, one was more in the open
The cinnamon bears on the other hand had at least two families with a total of 5 cubs. Each year, these cinnamon bears seem to have largish families. Frequently there is a darker cub in with the lighter cinnamon coloured ones.
The cubs are very agile at climbing trees
Three cinnamon bears in a nearby enclosure were enjoying the long fresh grass. One co-operated and stayed above the fence line to enable decent photos.
The raccoons were enjoying the provided food at the various feeding platforms
While a red squirrel chattered away over head
Elsewhere, some boars were relaxing at the homestead and an adult ibex was relaxing at the roadside which was unusual as they normally look for handouts (while scratching cars from time to time -but that is another story😊)
At a nearby pond, a snapping turtle had hauled herself up on to island. Likely to lay her eggs
