Nicolas Dory: Wildlife Photography

This week, while searching for Dall Sheep in the mountains with a friend, we found instead a group of five coyotes chewing on sheep bones and probably searching for another prey. The presence of those predators in the area obviously pushed the sheep to find refuge higher in the mountain. We caught sights of some of them hiding on some very steep rocky slopes.

Since only the sun and moon made light, I have known you, I have watched you from the once vast impenetrable forest I was witness as you discovered fire and strange tools. From ridges, I watched you hunt, and envied your kills. I have eaten your scraps. You have eaten mine. I have heard your songs And watched your dancing shadows around bright fires. In a time so distance that I can barely remember, Some of us joined you to sit near those fires. We became part of your packs, ...joined in your hunts, protected our pups, helped you, feared you, loved you. We have existed together a long time. We were much alike. It is why the tame ones adopted you. Some of you, I know, respected me, the wild one. I am a good hunter. I respected you, too. You were a good hunter. I would see you hunt in a pack with the tame ones and catch meat. Then there was always plenty. Then there were few of you. Then the woods was big. We howled to the tame ones at night. Some came back to hunt with us. Some we ate, for they had become very strange. It was this way for a long time. It was a good way. Sometimes I would steal from you, as you did from me. Do you remember when you were starving and the snow was deep and you ate the meat we killed? It was a game. It was a debt. Some might call it a promise. Like many of the tame ones, most of you have become very strange. Now I do not recognize some of the tame ones. Now I do not recognize some of you. We were once so much alike. You made the meat tame, too. When I began to hunt your tame meat (they are foolish creatures and do not honor death, but the wild meat was gone), you hunted me. I do not understand. When your packs grew larger and fought amongs themselves, I saw. I watched your great battles. I feasted on those you left behind. Then you hunted me more. I do not understand. They were meat. You killed them. We wild ones are now very few. You made the woods small. You have killed many of us. But I still hunt, and I feed our hidden pups. I always will. I wonder if the tame ones who live with you made a good choice. They have lost their spirit to live in the wild. They are many, but they are strange. We are few, I still watch you, too, so I can avoid you. I do not think I know you any longer. :

Northern Lights dancing with the full moon.

An arctic ground squirrel peeking out of its burrow after a fresh snowfall. This one was definitely not ready for the long winter sleep. Did you know that to avoid the harsh weather and lack of food, they can slip into a deep sleep for up to eight months!

To all my fellow Yukonners, Don't miss out on this beautiful large 20x30 metal print of my Canadian Lynx image on the Les essentielles and Victoria Faulkner Women's Centre online auction fundraiser. Proceed from this auction will support the Yukon Women's Shelters. The goal of this campaign is to increase awareness and take action towards ending gender-based violence. ... Bid now: https://www.32auctions.com//au/92792/auction_items/2629913

A wolf pack resting on a beach in the Great Bear Rainforest. This image represents very well the animal in its environment. We watched them for a few days spend most of their daytime resting and playing on this beach. Also, see how they blend perfectly with the sand, they are not always easy to spot when you sail along the coast!

Collard Pikas have been deemed harbingers of climate change. Because they are highly sensitive to temperature changes and are restricted to high-elevation they are likely to be threatened by climate change. So it's up to us to do our part part as an individual to mitigate climate change; and to make earth-friendly consumer choices to limit our greenhouse gas emissions.

A Dall Sheep ram coming down the mountain after a busy morning courting females in heavy snow.

Found around the world, red foxes are an easy subject to capture in pictures in Canada unlike some other countries where they can be very shy of humans. I can never get bored of taking the time to watch when I see one either in the wild or simply just crossing through my backyard.