Silver Fox And Timber Wolf Made Our Day
On only our second full day in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, seeing a Silver Fox and Timber Wolf made for a banner day. It was after an afternoon hike on the Valleyview Trails in search of Bison that a rarely seen Silver Fox crossed our paths.
The day started off slowly with a cruise up Kingsmere Road to Kingsmere Lake. Several stops were made to appreciate and photograph the various Elk that grazed on lush grass along the paved road.
Elk were a common sight in most areas of the Park during our stay. On this morning, one Elk with an impressive rack was quick to duck beneath the evergreens, so we missed a photo of him.
Kingsmere Road is an extension of Highway 264 that follows the north shore of Waskesiu Lake. Given its length of 32.5 kilometres, there was ample opportunity for spotting wildlife as we covered the distance. A day earlier, a Black Bear strolled down the centre of the road.
Once Kingsmere Road turns to gravel, it feels more remote and seems less travelled at least during the early morning hours. Not to be overlooked was the beauty of wildflowers populating the wide ditches such as these Mountain Indian Paintbrush.
I love that the indigenous culture reveres this species as a sacred emblem by weaving it into their stories and beliefs.
The First Peoples see Mountain Indian Paintbrush flowers as a brush in the hands of the Great Spirit, and indeed, vast swaths of these pretty perennials painted the shoulders of the road in a brilliant shade of pink.
As we poked along in our rental vehicle, Bob and I scrutinized the forest edges and scanned to the right and left of our car. It was with disbelief that we spotted a Timber Wolf loping along in the distance. We crept along slowly behind it taking photographs through the windshield.
Larger mammals such as wolves and elk are strong indicators of a healthy forest ecosystem. Given the number of elk that we had already seen, there obviously was plenty of food for a wolf to hunt.
The Timber Wolves or Grey Wolves within Prince Albert National Park are monitored through GPS tracking systems. Bob and I could not see a GPS collar on this individual.
We gave the Wolf a wide berth knowing that the females of the pack would have given birth to pups around the beginning of April. Our sighting was on June 28 so perhaps this Wolf was hunting for prey to take to the den.
In the afternoon, Bob and I decided to go hiking, but first we had to drive a little further afield towards the West Gate of the Park. Chances are we might get to see some Plains Bison on the Valleyview Trail system, but alas, no Bison were sighted.
As we neared the West Gate when driving back towards Prince Albert National Park, Bob spotted in the distance a small, black animal on the dirt road. We were pretty sure that it was a fox. The creature darted into the long grass and out of sight leaving us feeling disappointed.
Within moments, a Ruffed Grouse erupted out of the shrubs along the road giving us a start.
A quick stop to snap a photo of the Grouse where it landed at the edge of the road, and then we continued on our way. The West Gate was within sight.
Lined up at the entrance as we awaited clearance to enter the Park, Bob and I were taken by surprise when a Silver Fox appeared and leisurely scoped out the grassy surrounds for prey.
This was the same Silver Fox that we had seen just down the road. A Silver Fox occupies a territory roughly between four and eight square kilometres in size around a den site.
As we looked on, the Silver Fox focused intently on something stirring near the Park office. Try as we might, neither Bob nor I could discern the subject of its interest.
Silver Foxes are melanistic Red Foxes. This means that they have higher levels of melanin in their genetic makeup. This creates a black or bluish-black colour of fur that led to Silver Foxes being referred to as Black Foxes or Blue Foxes.
The variation in the colour of Silver Foxes’ fur resulted in a high demand for their pelts during the height of the fur trade. Strict controls during breeding programs of captive Silver Foxes guaranteed the much desired colour of fur. In the wild, however, a Silver Fox’s fur may have some brown or reddish colour because they sometimes mate with the more common Red Fox.
Bob and I have had our fair share of seeing Red Foxes everywhere from Algonquin Park in Ontario to Quirpon Island in Newfoundland & Labrador. Much to our delight, we have even had a pair of Red Foxes visit our own backyard in Toronto, Ontario.
Bob and I remained at the Park Gate for about 20 minutes as we watched the wanderings of this Silver Fox. Being exposed to Park visitors frequently, it showed little fear of humans and mingled among the vehicles passing through the entrance gate.
I was relieved to observe that no one offered food to the Fox although I’m certain that had happened in the past. The Silver Fox soon took its leave of the immediate area and we made haste back to the hamlet of Waskesiu.
Bob and I arrived back in the village as daylight was fading. The golden hour was upon us.
As we relaxed and admired the beautiful sunset over Waskesiu Lake, Bob and I agreed that seeing a Silver Fox and Timber Wolf made for a banner day of wildlife viewing. We wondered what the next day had in store for us.
Frame to Frame – Bob and Jean