Shirasi Moose (Alces alces shirasi)

Shirasi Moose (Alces alces shirasi) - female

This moose was seen near the Rawah Wilderness in Colorado on the afternoon of July 3rd, 2011. There was a calf present with this cow, but it is not in the picture. Hopefully I can get more of the pictures that were taken and add them here, but for now this is what there is. We were backpacking in the Rawah Wilderness for the holiday weekend when we were met with minimal success- we encountered snow drifts that were impassable even in July. We decided to relocate to another area, and on the way out of the wilderness I saw these moose as we were driving by so of course we stopped to take pictures. This area is where the moose were reintroduced to Colorado in the 1970's, and as such contains the largest population of moose in the state. It is a shame that a male wasn't seen, because their antlers are pretty cool. Apparently the male will drop his antlers after mating season to conserve energy. You can read more about the moose here, more about their reintroduction to Colorado here, and more about the Rawah Wilderness here.

Uinta Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus armatus)

Uinta ground squirrel (Urocitellus armatus)

This ground squirrel was seen hanging out on a boulder with some lichens on the Cub Lake Trail in the Rocky Mountain National Park on the afternoon of June 11th. This squirrel was crawling around where the yellow-bellied marmot and the Cassin's finch were located. You can read more about these ground squirrels here.

Least Chipmunk (Neotamias minimus)

Least Chipmunk (Neotamias minimus) 

Least Chipmunk (Neotamias minimus) 

This chipmunk was seen at Cub Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park, on the afternoon of June 11th. While I was enjoying a lunch of homemade sunflower nut butter and some bread, this chipmunk came right up to me. I didn't notice it until it crawled under my legs and touched my ankle before it proceeded to eat some of my sunflower nut butter off the lid of the container. You can read more about these chipmunks here.

Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)

Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)

Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)

Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)

This marmot was seen on the Cub Lake Trail in the Rocky Mountain National Park on the afternoon of June 11th. I was really excited to see this ground squirrel because I have been trying to see once since I moved to Colorado. Even though they are considered a ground squirrel, don't let it fool you- they can get up to 11 pounds. This one was seen engaging in conspicuous behavior, staring me down as seen in the pictures. This is because there were babies also under the boulder. I didn't see them, but my hiking buddy Randi did. She is lucky, I would have loved to have seen them. These marmots are usually only found over 6500 feet, and they also hibernate over the winter. You can read more about them here, and more about hibernation here.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis)

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis)

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis)

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis)

These sheep were seen in the Rocky Mountain National Park in the afternoon of June 11th. There was a herd of these sheep near a lake somewhere in the park. The pictures aren't that great, but neither is the zoom on an iPhone. I've never seen bighorn sheep in the wild- check another one off the list of ungulates only found in the Rocky Mountains (this subspecies anyway). This sheep is the state animal of Colorado, and you can read more about them here.

Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni)

Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni)

A herd of elk was spotted in the Rocky Mountain National Park on the afternoon of June 11th. There were several elk in the area, but this is the only picture that turned out decent enough to put on here. Elk in the rocky mountains are interesting because of their issues with chronic wasting disease- a transmissible prion disease. You can read more about elk here, and more about prion diseases here, and more about chronic wasting disease here.

Pronghorn Antelope (Antilocapra americana)

Male and Female Pronghorn Antelope (Antilocapra americana)

Female Pronghorn Antelope (Antilocapra americana)

Pronghorn Antelope (Antilocapra americana)

I saw these pronghorns on January 14, 2011 at about 2:30PM near the entrance to Wind Cave, about 10 miles from Hot Springs, South Dakota. Technically the pronghorn isn't an antelope, and obviously these don't fear cars. Clearly they don't know that the night before I ate pronghorn for the first time. You can read more about the pronghorn here, and more about Wind Cave and it's awesome boxwork here.

Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus)

Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus)

Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus)

Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus)

These mountain goats were spotted near and at the summit of Mount Evans yesterday afternoon.  Even though the trip up the mountain was mostly driven, I did hike up to the 14,264 feet summit with my sister.  I've always thought mountain goats have such noble faces, but they can't be bothered to show them because apparently they are hungry sorts also.  An interesting side note: after having spent over an hour above 14.000 feet my mind was a little loopy and I spotted some sort of raptor bird on the trip down.  I struggled to get my camera in time to take a picture, and missed the opportunity.  At which point I said, "Man!  I really wanted a picture of that bird but I don't have my homework."  Altitude is fun.  I will have more posts later featuring the vegetation up above the tree line, and really I could do a whole blog dedicated to subalpine tundra vegetation alone, it is so fascinating.  You can read more about mountain goats here.

Deer

I don't know what kind of deer this is, but I just had to post it right away.  I just spotted this mama and her two fawns on the way home from the garden, somewhere in Fort Collins near Timnath.  The fawns still had their white spots, and even though you can't make out the second one, there are two.  You can read more about deer here.

Rambouillet Sheep (Ovis aries)

Rambouillet Sheep (Ovis aries)

I saw this Colorado State University mascot, CAM the ram, at the farmer's market in Old Town Fort Collins this morning. I actually walk past the pen where CAM lives on campus to get to most of my classes, and so I have seen this particular ram on a weekly basis for over a year.  For me the interesting thing about rams is that you can tell their age sort of like you tell the age of a tree- you count the rings on the horns.  I am not sure how many rings equals a year of age, and I think that when rams are older they don't grow in their horns every year, but I am sure there are people out there who know these things and could tell how old CAM is.  You can read more about the history of breeding this type of sheep here.

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

I saw this fox, complete with squirrel in its mouth, while walking down Howes Street in Fort Collins, Colorado one May morning in 2010.  The interesting thing about this sighting is that the fox was walking down the sidewalk seen in the picture straight towards me.  When it reached the driveway it made an approximate 90º turn, then another, then another, then another (making a square around me), and then continued down the sidewalk behind me.  You can read more about the red fox here.