Most Saturday nights we go visit with friends over on Hinkelman Road. Now that we have had the time change, it means that it is light outside, when we go. Since then, it seems like we always see something photo-worthy as we make the trip. Last time, it was the sunlight illuminating the top of Beaver Mountain. Last night we rounded the corner, and there in front of us was a big herd of elk (Wapiti) feasting on some of Terry’s hay bales.
As soon as I stopped the car, the elk became suspicious and in a line, started heading away toward the middle of the field. I grabbed my iPhone and took these photos.
Back in the 1970’s, there were no elk in the Valley, although there were some in Jasper Park. It is believed that Parks, started shipping problem elk out of the parks and depositing them in the Robson Valley. The elk found their new surroundings to their liking, with all the fields of crops, hay bales in the winter, and they really thrived and their population increased in their new home.
The elk were not welcomed by the farmers, because they causd a lot of problems, particularly in destroying the bales of hay that were stored outside over the winter.
While it is always enjoyable for me to see the big herd of elk, local farmers don’t have the same reaction upon seeing them. A friend of mine who has horses, had to continually get up in the middle of the night, after hearing her dog barking. She had to quickly dress, run out into the field, and then chase the elk away from the hay she needed for her horses.
You can view my paintings at: davidmarchant2.ca
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