perfect time to witness the bison rutting season, which runs mid-July into August, says Elk Island National Park Visitor Experience Officer Leah Huber. “We have a Bison Loop road that you can
drive along, where bison graze,” she says. “You’ll see and hear the males while they make a low, deep growl and stick their tongues out.”
Experience Roaming Herd Te territory is mostly protected aspen
parkland. Watch for little brown-headed cowbirds that sit on the bison’s back and head, cleaning fur. “All our animals roam freely throughout
the park,” says Huber. “Te open tracts of land remind me of Africa; the open fields and animals roaming - it’s almost like a mini-Serengeti.”
How to Photograph Bison In the early morning, thick dew and mist
clings to the grass, trees and underbrush in the park, and that makes for a great bison photo, says Huber. “If the day before was hot and the night humid, the bison will literally be steaming, along with the ground, when you photograph them.” Huber suggests staying about three yellow
school buses of distance away from the bison, with something between you and the bison. Photographers usually shoot from behind their vehicles. “Elk Island is a huge birding park as well, and we have
more than a hundred and fiſty species,” she adds. “We have a big migratory flock of trumpeter swans that nest.”
Try Interpretive Learning Adventures Te park includes a lake area, campgrounds, a nine-
hole golf course, day use areas, beach, and a living waters floating boardwalk. Te Park was essentially founded
55
more than 100 years ago as a fenced enclosure to protect a resident herd of elk and other wildlife, and became Canada’s first wildlife sanctuary. If you seek learning adventures, you can participate
in one of the park’s summer interpretive programs. Elk Island is part of the Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve for nighttime stargazing, and there is an astronomy program, among others.
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