As we traveled the Alaskan highway, most of which is in Canada we were always on the lookout for wildlife. When we first started the highway there were often towns, villages and farms and we had very few wildlife sightings. As we left civilization we found the roads had wide cleared swaths on either side of the highway. We were told this was to give motorists a chance to see the animals near a road, which reduced the number that were hit and killed by traffic. It made our sightings easier and many of the animals seemed to enjoy the open area along
the highway to graze. We of course wanted to see bears and were not disappointed. We enjoyed seeing several bears (often grizzlies) grazing on dandelions. Several times we came across mountain sheep that were on the road. We were told they are looking for minerals in the dirt. The sheep were losing their thick heavy winter coats and sometimes looked pretty shaggy. We found the moose very skittish; we saw several but they disappeared quickly into the brush. Apparently the cows often have calves in the spring and are very nervous. We saw very few male moose which often seemed to be hiding off in the brush. We were lucky enough to see several wood buffalo along the road in northern British Columbia.
The buffalo were also losing their heavy winter coats but seemed very at ease near the highway. We did not notice any with young which were probably hiding in the underbrush. We enjoyed the many wildlife sightings along the way, though some were small and quick so we never got a picture. One day we seemed to see only dead animals, which happens along the way. It would have been nice to see the arctic fox running in the wild. We did see a red fox dashing in and out of a rock pile and unfortunately did not get a picture. The fox was probably hoping to catch a ground squirrel off guard. At that same spot, a bald eagle came swooping through the parking lot as we were pulling out and flew alongside us briefly.
Of course that happened to be the day our new camera needed recharging and we missed that picture also. Oh well……..
As we traveled the Alaskan highway, most of which is in Canada we were always on the lookout for wildlife. When we first started the highway there were often towns, villages and farms and we had very few wildlife sightings. As we left civilization we found the roads had wide cleared swaths on either side of the highway. We were told this was to give motorists a chance to see the animals near a road, which reduced the number that were hit and killed by traffic. It made our sightings easier and many of the animals seemed to enjoy the open area along 
the highway to graze. We of course wanted to see bears and were not disappointed. We enjoyed seeing several bears (often grizzlies) grazing on dandelions. Several times we came across mountain sheep that were on the road. We were told they are looking for minerals in the dirt. The sheep were losing their thick heavy winter coats and sometimes looked pretty shaggy. We found the moose very skittish; we saw several but they disappeared quickly into the brush. Apparently the cows often have calves in the spring and are very nervous. We saw very few male moose which often seemed to be hiding off in the brush. We were lucky enough to see several wood buffalo along the road in northern British Columbia.
The buffalo were also losing their heavy winter coats but seemed very at ease near the highway. We did not notice any with young which were probably hiding in the underbrush. We enjoyed the many wildlife sightings along the way, though some were small and quick so we never got a picture. One day we seemed to see only dead animals, which happens along the way. It would have been nice to see the arctic fox running in the wild. We did see a red fox dashing in and out of a rock pile and unfortunately did not get a picture. The fox was probably hoping to catch a ground squirrel off guard. At that same spot, a bald eagle came swooping through the parking lot as we were pulling out and flew alongside us briefly. 
Of course that happened to be the day our new camera needed recharging and we missed that picture also. Oh well……..
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