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| the hind end of the black bear |
Our tally is: a variety of large ground hogs, a mother duck and her 5 ducklings crossing the road, donkeys and mules (ok, farm animals, but they were unique to us), one black bear, 6 bighorn sheep, 2 elk, 3 moose and one calf (a mom and her baby only seen by our friend Sheldon and Matthew), harlequin wood ducks, chipmunks, 7 raccoons, squirrels, eagles, deer (sometimes over 25 in a day... and some of that's in town!), and a camel.
The camel was funny and timely, because earlier on the morning that we saw it, I had jokingly told the kids to look out for camels since we were entering historical gold mining territory. I explained how over 150 years ago camels were brought in by miners in the hopes that the hardy desert creatures would do well as cargo carriers throughout the BC mountains. Sadly, no camel is reported to have adapted in any way to being a pack animal in the British Columbia wilds. According to the history I learned, camels were much too stubborn and ornery and in no way cooperative, and in the end miners and gold diggers released their camels into the wild. Imagine never having seen a photo of nor heard of a camel, and then seeing one wandering through a BC forest! I'm sure there were a few stories told around campfires about strange, evil creatures wandering as 4-legged ghosts around the area. A few hours after I told them this tidbit of history, we saw a camel in the distance. It was in a cage, however, and probably wasn't related in any way to the sad creatures that are a short part of BC history.
The camel was funny and timely, because earlier on the morning that we saw it, I had jokingly told the kids to look out for camels since we were entering historical gold mining territory. I explained how over 150 years ago camels were brought in by miners in the hopes that the hardy desert creatures would do well as cargo carriers throughout the BC mountains. Sadly, no camel is reported to have adapted in any way to being a pack animal in the British Columbia wilds. According to the history I learned, camels were much too stubborn and ornery and in no way cooperative, and in the end miners and gold diggers released their camels into the wild. Imagine never having seen a photo of nor heard of a camel, and then seeing one wandering through a BC forest! I'm sure there were a few stories told around campfires about strange, evil creatures wandering as 4-legged ghosts around the area. A few hours after I told them this tidbit of history, we saw a camel in the distance. It was in a cage, however, and probably wasn't related in any way to the sad creatures that are a short part of BC history.
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