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February is one of those in-between months. The cold January temperatures are behind us, but the pre-spring temperatures of March are still a month away. By this time, the large hoofed animals are feeling the strain caused by limited winter food supplies. Fat reserves have been depleted and the animals become more vulnerable to predation. This is a time when animals become more visible in valley bottoms and this makes it critical to reduce your speed when driving on mountain roads.

Wolves, Coyotes and Fox

While coyotes are a common sight in the Rockies, wolves and foxes are more rarely spotted. Over the past year, the fifteen wolves of Banff's Fairholme Pack have expanded their hunting range to include Banff and Canmore townsites. They have been spotted on Vermillion Lakes and the Indian Grounds in Banff . In Jasper, the 8 wolves of the Decoigne Pack range from the Snaring River to Mount Robson. The Wabasso Pack has only two wolves which range from Athabasca Falls, north to the base of Signal Mountain and then south down the Maligne valley.

Researchers speculate that with the increase in Banff's wolf population, that the coyote population has been reduced. Wolves will kill coyotes given the opportunity, and an increase in wolf numbers often coincides with drops in coyote numbers. Wolves do not seem to be bothered by red foxes, but a strong coyote population will often displace these smaller competitors. Surprisingly the drop in coyote numbers has created an opening for foxes to return to the mountains and they have been occasionally spotted along the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park.

Winter Caribou Watching

In the northern Rockies, February is a great time to spot the elusive mountain woodland caribou. Winter forces the caribou down to the valley bottom to forage, and this allows increased opportunities for viewing these elusive deer. Caribou may be spotted along the Icefields Parkway north of the Columbia Icefields and along the Maligne Lake Road, both in Jasper National Park. Caribou are often confused with elk, but upon closer observation are quite different in appearance. Their body shape is more compact than elk, with shorter legs, and smaller ears. In size, they resemble a darker, stocky mule deer. The nose comes to a blunt tip, and this can be one of the more obvious ways to distinguish caribou from elk, especially when traveling in a rapidly moving vehicle.

Life under the Snows

If you live in the mountains, you better learn to enjoy winter. Once the snow flies, we expect to live in a winter world with deep snowpacks and champagne powder. It's easy to assume that there is very little activity beneath this white blanket. If you look a little closer, you can find a world of activity taking place beneath the snowpack. Mice and voles follow secret pathways under the snow, while coyotes will face first into the snow to retrieve these miniature morsels. Weasels and marten often retreat beneath the snow surface to stay warm and hunt for the secret residents of this snowy landscape.

Trees in Winter

As the temperatures drop in mid-winter, animals are not alone in their need for unique adaptations. Trees are often ignored when winter survival strategies are discussed, but nevertheless, they have developed a three stage process known as hardening. This process allows the living tissues of trees to freeze solid without suffering cell or tissue damage. In stage one, water is drawn out of the cells, allowing the non-living tissues to freeze and reducing the freezing temperature of the living tissues. As the mercury keeps dropping, stage two begins with the cells replacing water with carbohydrates. Since sugars have a lower freezing temperature, stage two protects the cells down to -30ºC. Stage three only occurs in very cold temperatures and little is known about its inner workings. Somehow it allows the cells to freeze solid without the water crystals forming the sharp crystals normally associated with frozen water. The lack of sharp crystals prevents the cells from being damaged by freezing. Trees have been known to survive temperatures as low as -80ºC in stage three of hardening.