Reader Michael Glenister sends snapshots of a family trip in Western Canada. His notes are indented:
Young emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) at the kangaroo farm [JAC: their odd color pattern, so different from the adults, is presumed to camouflage them, but of course we don’t know for sure.]
Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) hiding at the Calgary Zoo:
Ground squirrel at Drumheller (near the Royal Tyrell Museum):
An elk (Cervus canadensis) near Jasper:
A squirrel near our campsite in Jasper:
Delightful critters. When I see shots like this, the road beckons.
I like the juxtaposition of the human legs with emu legs. It makes our hairless ape bodies seem so unnecessarily bulky. That being said I am still evolutionarily determined to be more attracted to the human legs.
And look at the size of those elk antlers!
Very nice pictures. The elk reminds me of encounters with these beasts when I lived for a time in Arizona.
I love Drumheller’s cute ground squirrels who always ask for food.
The striped appearance of young emus reminds me of young wild pigs. But they live in very different habitats.