Princes Island Park is located in the Bow River,between downtown Calgary and the city's North Hill.It is covered with tall trees and crossed by a number of walking trails.In the middle part of the island there is a fashionable,upscale restaurant called The River Cafe,and at the islands west end,there is a large pavilion that plays host to a large folk music festival each summer.Not only is Princes Island a popular recreation destination,but it is traversed daily by hundreds of commuters who travel or bicycle to work.
The eastern tip of Princes Island Park is somewhat less traveled and much less developed.It includes a constructed urban wetland consisting of ponds that are home to large flocks of ducks and geese.Only a stone's throw away is Chinatown,Eau Claire,with it's trendy condos,and the office towers of Downtown.But this small patch of land can seem incredibly far from Downtown,though there is not much more than a narrow river channel in between.
Early on the morning of November 21,2012,I was attracted to this spot by a new fall of snow,thinking that it would be a good opportunity to collect some photographs for this blog.The trees,ponds and river were quite dramatic clothed as they were in winter white,while on the nearby pathways,commuters passed like specters.It was a lovely but frosty and very cold morning.
Then,as I walked eastward among the many sets of tracks in the snow,only one of them human,I noticed a movement in the bush just slightly ahead of me.A coyote stepped out into my path,glanced briefly in my direction,then,just as quickly ,and without a sound disappeared into the bushes on the other side of the path.It was not the first time I've encountered a coyote here in the city,but I'd never before seen one this close to downtown.
Like many Calgarians,I've come to know the coyote as a familiar,if not a common sight.More than once I've encountered them from only a few feet away.
You might well ask how a coyote would come to be in the heart of one of the largest and busiest urban areas on the Canadian prairies,but,in truth,they are quite common.Calgary,unlike some cities has a lot of wilderness even relatively close to it's downtown core.The Rockies are just to the west and there are two river valley systems which allow coyotes to travel about while avoiding roadways and other highly developed areas.Still,they visit urban areas in most parts of North America,in search of food and,as a species have become rather adaptive and successful.
Rabbits would seem to have been plentiful on Princes Island if the abundance of tracks was any indication,so perhaps that accounts for the coyote as well.Out on the pond,there were the shadowy forms of perhaps sixty ducks and a smaller number of Canada Geese..As the sky was lightening,I noticed that one of the ducks had a pronounced limp.Likely it had tried to land on the pond not realizing that the water was partly frozen over,and had injured itself in a collision with the ice.That might also account for the coyote,as they are known to be opportunistic hunters who will prey on injured animals.
People who are not familiar with coyotes ask me if I'm not afraid of them.The answer is,"not especially."Most of the ones around Calgary are smallish,maybe thirty five or forty pounds,though the occasional one is much bigger.They usually look a lot like a thin,hungry version of a German Shepard and,at times I suspect they are mistaken as exactly that.While I've been told that they run in packs,I've never seen more than one at a time,except of course for the very first one I ever encountered on the way to work one spring morning.
On Calgary's east side,Blackfoot Trail crosses Ogden Road,then bends around to the south,while Ogden Road runs in a generally southerly direction.Between the two roads is an industrial area,with some railroad tracks up on a ridge.Despite the factories and mills,the area is not frequented much by people,especially along the tracks.In 2001,an old rail bridge still spanned Blackfoot Trail.It was this bridge that I would taske to my job at the IKO mill,which occupied a large site just off Ogden Road.
One May morning,just after the long weekend,I was walking along the tracks as usual when I rounded the slight bend just south of the bridge.And there,standing on the tracks dead ahead was a coyote.I had no idea what this coyote would do,having never seen one so close before.Not wanting to turn back and take the meandering Ogden Road,I decided to press onward,vaguely remembering some radio show advising that if you were to see a coyote,you should stand erect and make yourself look as large as possible,thus establishing yourself as an alpha pack member.Coyotes,it seems perceive people as not humans,but as other canines.At no time should you turn and run,because that is supposed to cause coyotes to perceive you as prey.I have no idea if this is good advice because,in the end I had no need of it.
For a few paces,maybe a hundred or so yards,the coyote just walked on ahead of me,maintaining a distance of about a hundred and fifty feet.Then she slipped down the steep bank into a gully,allowing me to pass.But,just as soon as I did,she came back up the slope and began following me,not seeming in the least disturbed.She remained at exactly the same distance as she had when I had been following her.It did not seem that she was stalking me,as I'm certain that we both knew of each others presence,and moreover,were aware of each others awareness.
For the next quarter mile a nervous sort of a dance took place.I walked on,but occasionally turned back to keep track of my canine companion.Each time I would stop,she would stop as well.If I took one step toward her,she took one step back.When I took a step away from her,she took one toward me.Always and only one exactly measured step.
Farther down the track there is a second rail bridge.When I crossed it I walked on for maybe another hundred yards.To my left was a small truck depot where I normally stepped off the tracks and headed toward the back part of the IKO property where I worked.taking a final look at my companion,and wondering what she would do I stepped down from the tracks to my left.As I did,she likewise stepped down,only she departed to the right,leaving me to wonder what had really happened.What was the point to her very precise choreography?
The very next morning,my companion was waiting at exactly the same time and in exactly the same place.And the dance continued exactly as before,step for step,ending exactly as it had the day before.Measuring me up.I'm sure that's what she was doing.I had no intentions of doing her harm,and in fact was starting to enjoy her company.But I'm sure she didn't know this.It took her a few days to become convinced,and convinced I hope she was.
It wasn't long until I discovered the reason for this creatures behavior-following,not stalking.Just at the point where we had been parting ways each morning,there is a small ,bowl shaped valley,where the tracks and a road meet at a right angle.In the middle of this little hollow,in some tall prairie grass were a couple of large metal oil drums.It was inside one of these drums that she was hiding her family of four,or perhaps five pups.By this time she had stopped following me.For a few days I would set off for work a half hour early so I could stop and watch the pups frolic in the grass.Mama lay at the entrance of her metal den,pretending to rest,while keeping a watchful eye on her young.
Then one morning they were gone.Coyote mothers are known to maintain more than one den,and will often move the pups from one den to another.Perhaps she did this in response to my watching,or perhaps someone else disturbed her.I prefer to think it is just the coyote way of doing things,but,either way I never saw her or her family again
To Be Continued.
The eastern tip of Princes Island Park is somewhat less traveled and much less developed.It includes a constructed urban wetland consisting of ponds that are home to large flocks of ducks and geese.Only a stone's throw away is Chinatown,Eau Claire,with it's trendy condos,and the office towers of Downtown.But this small patch of land can seem incredibly far from Downtown,though there is not much more than a narrow river channel in between.
Early on the morning of November 21,2012,I was attracted to this spot by a new fall of snow,thinking that it would be a good opportunity to collect some photographs for this blog.The trees,ponds and river were quite dramatic clothed as they were in winter white,while on the nearby pathways,commuters passed like specters.It was a lovely but frosty and very cold morning.
Then,as I walked eastward among the many sets of tracks in the snow,only one of them human,I noticed a movement in the bush just slightly ahead of me.A coyote stepped out into my path,glanced briefly in my direction,then,just as quickly ,and without a sound disappeared into the bushes on the other side of the path.It was not the first time I've encountered a coyote here in the city,but I'd never before seen one this close to downtown.
Like many Calgarians,I've come to know the coyote as a familiar,if not a common sight.More than once I've encountered them from only a few feet away.
You might well ask how a coyote would come to be in the heart of one of the largest and busiest urban areas on the Canadian prairies,but,in truth,they are quite common.Calgary,unlike some cities has a lot of wilderness even relatively close to it's downtown core.The Rockies are just to the west and there are two river valley systems which allow coyotes to travel about while avoiding roadways and other highly developed areas.Still,they visit urban areas in most parts of North America,in search of food and,as a species have become rather adaptive and successful.
Rabbits would seem to have been plentiful on Princes Island if the abundance of tracks was any indication,so perhaps that accounts for the coyote as well.Out on the pond,there were the shadowy forms of perhaps sixty ducks and a smaller number of Canada Geese..As the sky was lightening,I noticed that one of the ducks had a pronounced limp.Likely it had tried to land on the pond not realizing that the water was partly frozen over,and had injured itself in a collision with the ice.That might also account for the coyote,as they are known to be opportunistic hunters who will prey on injured animals.
People who are not familiar with coyotes ask me if I'm not afraid of them.The answer is,"not especially."Most of the ones around Calgary are smallish,maybe thirty five or forty pounds,though the occasional one is much bigger.They usually look a lot like a thin,hungry version of a German Shepard and,at times I suspect they are mistaken as exactly that.While I've been told that they run in packs,I've never seen more than one at a time,except of course for the very first one I ever encountered on the way to work one spring morning.
On Calgary's east side,Blackfoot Trail crosses Ogden Road,then bends around to the south,while Ogden Road runs in a generally southerly direction.Between the two roads is an industrial area,with some railroad tracks up on a ridge.Despite the factories and mills,the area is not frequented much by people,especially along the tracks.In 2001,an old rail bridge still spanned Blackfoot Trail.It was this bridge that I would taske to my job at the IKO mill,which occupied a large site just off Ogden Road.
One May morning,just after the long weekend,I was walking along the tracks as usual when I rounded the slight bend just south of the bridge.And there,standing on the tracks dead ahead was a coyote.I had no idea what this coyote would do,having never seen one so close before.Not wanting to turn back and take the meandering Ogden Road,I decided to press onward,vaguely remembering some radio show advising that if you were to see a coyote,you should stand erect and make yourself look as large as possible,thus establishing yourself as an alpha pack member.Coyotes,it seems perceive people as not humans,but as other canines.At no time should you turn and run,because that is supposed to cause coyotes to perceive you as prey.I have no idea if this is good advice because,in the end I had no need of it.
For a few paces,maybe a hundred or so yards,the coyote just walked on ahead of me,maintaining a distance of about a hundred and fifty feet.Then she slipped down the steep bank into a gully,allowing me to pass.But,just as soon as I did,she came back up the slope and began following me,not seeming in the least disturbed.She remained at exactly the same distance as she had when I had been following her.It did not seem that she was stalking me,as I'm certain that we both knew of each others presence,and moreover,were aware of each others awareness.
For the next quarter mile a nervous sort of a dance took place.I walked on,but occasionally turned back to keep track of my canine companion.Each time I would stop,she would stop as well.If I took one step toward her,she took one step back.When I took a step away from her,she took one toward me.Always and only one exactly measured step.
Farther down the track there is a second rail bridge.When I crossed it I walked on for maybe another hundred yards.To my left was a small truck depot where I normally stepped off the tracks and headed toward the back part of the IKO property where I worked.taking a final look at my companion,and wondering what she would do I stepped down from the tracks to my left.As I did,she likewise stepped down,only she departed to the right,leaving me to wonder what had really happened.What was the point to her very precise choreography?
The very next morning,my companion was waiting at exactly the same time and in exactly the same place.And the dance continued exactly as before,step for step,ending exactly as it had the day before.Measuring me up.I'm sure that's what she was doing.I had no intentions of doing her harm,and in fact was starting to enjoy her company.But I'm sure she didn't know this.It took her a few days to become convinced,and convinced I hope she was.
It wasn't long until I discovered the reason for this creatures behavior-following,not stalking.Just at the point where we had been parting ways each morning,there is a small ,bowl shaped valley,where the tracks and a road meet at a right angle.In the middle of this little hollow,in some tall prairie grass were a couple of large metal oil drums.It was inside one of these drums that she was hiding her family of four,or perhaps five pups.By this time she had stopped following me.For a few days I would set off for work a half hour early so I could stop and watch the pups frolic in the grass.Mama lay at the entrance of her metal den,pretending to rest,while keeping a watchful eye on her young.
Then one morning they were gone.Coyote mothers are known to maintain more than one den,and will often move the pups from one den to another.Perhaps she did this in response to my watching,or perhaps someone else disturbed her.I prefer to think it is just the coyote way of doing things,but,either way I never saw her or her family again
To Be Continued.
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