Elk Island National Park

The national parks in the Canadian Rockies get most of the publicity, but Alberta also has another cool park just 50 kilometers east of downtown Edmonton...Elk Island National Park. The park is located where the open prairie meets the northern forest, and is home to over 800 bison. These guys used to live here, were killed off in the 19th century, and reintroduced in 1906. The herd has been quite successful; this spring there are many new calves, and buffalo from this herd have been introduced into many other areas all over North America. They tend to be ornery critters, so I stayed in my car to take pictures. Yes, they're that close to the road!

There are many other animals in the park. Beaver are plentiful; you don't see them much, but their lodges and dams are certainly in evidence, as well as large open areas where the beavers have gnawed down all the trees. There are also many birds; in particular, I saw several loons, so the park has the Canadian 5 cent and 1 dollar coins covered. There are also elk and moose, but I didn't see any.