Elk Island National Park.

A dear friend of mine, Jamie, is in the midst of creating a documentary series showcasing some of the fantastic and diverse animal life we have here in Alberta. The other day, I went with her to Elk Island National Park, to do some filming for a web-isode on buffalo. (Her website is due up in about a week - I'll let you know when you can see the fruits of our labor!)

Most of the neat Plains Bison behavior moments were caught on video camera, but I managed to sneak a few shots in of my own...

There are two subspecies of Bison in Elk Island... Plains Bison are kept on the north side of the park, while Wood Bison are kept on the south side.

We spent all our time with the Plains Bison, because it was more convenient... clearly we will need to go back another day!




Plains Bison have one of my favorite latin names...
Bison bison bison (to distinguish them from the Wood Bison, which is Bison bison athabascae).

Also right up there are Gorilla gorilla, Naja naja (Indian Cobra) and Bufo bufo (European Toad).




Since Jamie and I were filming, we were the only people brave enough foolish enough to get out of the car in a field surrounded by bison. My job was to attempt to hold the camera still and attempt to keep an eye on the bison at the same time. We were very careful to not approach them, and stay very close to the car just in case. While the bison may look big and slow, they are quite dangerous and unpredictable. In fact, more people have been injured by the bison in Yellowstone National Park than bears.

Don't be decieved by their cute antics! This could be a lethal killing machine! (Awww look! He's scratching!)