After a few missed months we were back at the Parc. The rut is over, but there were a few bellows and lots of antlers still.
Despite construction of a bear den under the deck of the Parc restaurant/store/office, the arctic foxes were still out and about.
We arrived a few minutes after opening. It was very strange not to see any gatekeepers/tolltakers at the entrance gates
There had been a light fall of snow the night before that dusted the evergreens and the thin ice on the lakes and ponds
Despite the thin ice, a small group of elk had formed around an open spot in the ice allowing them a drink of water. Some of the first year juveniles were out testing the ice.
One of the elk came up from the lake and entered into a staring contest with me - Who is going to blink first?
An example of the size of a this year's "fawn" and a mature male elk
There were still lots of big antlers....
Two big elk stags, and on the right a bull who likely was too aggressive in the rut and had his antlers removed. They are growing back, but will fall off during the the winter
A red deer and a white-tailed deer. The red deer's antlers are wearing white around the tips.
Male fallow deer with great sets of antlers
I was hoping this fellow was going to let out a bellow, but all he did was yawn. However I got lucky in the video. This one bellowed three times, I managed to catch one on the video
This elk, when he discovered we had no carrots, wanted a skritch, and a chance to grab my jacket sleeve..
Some of this year's red deer had gathered together, some were lying in the snow, while two young bucks were having a bit of a squabble
One red deer obviously had something bothering it. It had found a mud puddle, rolled in it. Then shaking off, rang about and then came back to the puddle.
One fallow deer posed nicely, while another was hoping for some carrots
Another fallow deer was scraping the ground looking for food. At the Trout Pond, some juvenile fallow deer were complaining about not being fed. First time I have heard a fallow deer vocalize.
A family of boars were also scraping through the snow for food
There were two quite young buffalo/bison calves sleeping by the hay station while another calf, born in the spring, was in with the adults
The Przewalski horses were in their "corral" and filling up at the hay station. One of them seemed to have acquired a lot of mud in its tail and it was now a solid mass right down to the ground.
Compared to other visits today seemed to be moose day.
Tiko and his friend were both quite close to the road. Through the magic of Photoshop, I was able to remove the fence they were very close to.
One of the three moose that spend their time deep in the woods was out front for all to see. One of the staff brought over fresh evergreen cuttings for them to chew on,
The Corsican mouflon were up high in their enclosure and behind bushes....
The Big Horn Sheep are certainly not camera shy.
The Rocky Mountain Goats had acquired thick wooly coats for winter
The wolves seemed well relaxed as per normal
The coyotes were rather animated in their enclosure.
Several silver foxes stayed in view (above the fence line😊)
A red fox decided to settle down in full view
The bears have not gone into hibernation yet, the cubs were having fun in the fresh hay.
There were a few birds around.
Blue jays were checking out the hay. A raven was interested in buffalo droppings. A few geese and ducks were in the trout pond hoping to pick up some food when people fed the trout
Over at the bird feeder table wild turkeys, chickadees and red squirrels were going through yesterday's leftovers
