This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
I checked this badger den for the better part of two weeks in May of 2009. For a couple of days one of the cubs was often seen with this bit of fur or skin in its mouth. I don’t think I ever saw them more than about 10 feet from the mouth of the den. Yet, a coyote managed to capture and kill one of the cubs. I don’t think they had learned to fear anything up to that point. Some of life’s lessons come at a steep price.
Several photographers, including myself, waited for an hour or more for this mother badger to return to her den. It was close to sundown when she returned with this live ground squirrel. She was moving through the sagebrush at a fast pace. The conversation going on got me distracted from what I was doing. I hadn’t increased the ISO as it got darker. The result was that I shot this at 1/320th of a second. The badger is just bordering on being blurred.
In the spring of 2009 this mother badger and her three cubs were very popular photo subjects in Yellowstone. Her den was fairly close to the road. She crossed the road often and I worried that she’d get hit. I don’t think she ever did get hit, at least at that den site, but an awful lot of wildlife is killed on Yellowstone’s roads each year.
I can’t believe my luck. Yesterday I found a second badger den in the last 7 days at Point Reyes National Seashore. There are two cubs and this one is the more aggressive. Here it’s enjoying a roll on the entrance mound.
A friend and I were driving toward the Point Reyes Lighthouse last week when we saw this sow badger and her two cubs. They were very close to the edge of the road. For some reason she decided to build her den there. I hope she moves. If they stay there the chances are that one or more of them will be killed by a vehicle.
This coyote was photographed hunting gophers on ranch land in Point Reyes National Seashore. The ranch lands provide good habitat for gophers. A healthy population of gophers (and other rodents) means a good food supply for predators that feed on gophers, such as coyotes, bobcats and badgers. When I drive through these lands, most other drivers are intent on getting by me and getting to their destinations as quickly as possible. They seem oblivious to the wildlife they pass by. If you would like to purchase a print of this image click here.
I saw this bobcat for the first time a couple of days ago. He’s very well-marked. I’m used to seeing bobcats in Point Reyes National Seashore with little or no distinctive markings on the torso. This guy has very pronounced spots and stripes on his trunk. I think I’ll remember him as “Handsome Bob.” Unfortunately, Handsome Bob didn’t stop in the prettiest place. It looks like a badger has been through here shortly before Bob and really tore the place up. I saw a coyote stop here and hunt a couple of weeks ago. It must be (or was) a good spot for gophers and/or other rodents. Click here to purchase a print of this image.
