This topic piqued my curiosity because I have seen a lot of animals in a lot of places. Bears, elk, moose. Beavers, deer, prong horned antelope. Whales, dolphins. Porcupine, grizzlies.

A lot of animals, all in their natural homes. So how do you pick just one?

Well, if you’ve read my site a while, you’ll know I have goals. I want to see a caribou. They are endangered and their habitat is shrinking. The Canadian Federal government is working on this, in Jasper National Park. They had built a (not so secret, but not but well advertised) breeding facility in the park. However, in the massive forest fire in 2024, it was damaged. Thankfully, and due to dedicated efforts, it was quickly rebuilt so as to not impede the plans to continue conservation efforts. More can be found out here.

However, until the herd is reestablished, I am unlikely to find a caribou.

I also want to see a cougar but have yet to see one of them either. Which, from what I am always told, isn’t a bad thing either. I even went looking for one once when my Mom’s old neighbours called and said one was headed our way when a cougar crossed their property back in 2019 when my Mom was still out in Edson. J-Dog and I went out with snacks and called for Steve French for nearly an hour, but that cougar was not showing himself for our Scooby Snacks!

So, I must pick an animal from the list I have, which, by all accounts, is impressive!

The whales didn’t breech, so I am striking them from the list. If they had, they would have won, hands down. The dolphins were cool, but I didn’t get to ride one so… (No, I really would not have ridden a dolphin, that’s stupid and mean).

Elk are cool. I had one cross so close to me, I could have petted it. I was sitting under a tree, reading a book. Next thing I know, one is literally less than a foot from me. I don’t know if she didn’t see me or what the story was, but she and the rest of the ladies (and babies) were out strolling through the campground that lovely afternoon, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine, just like I was.

I was moderately terrified. Weighing in around 225kg (500 pounds), she could have easily trampled me, had she been startled. While I was fascinated and enthralled by the encounter, I don’t know if it was the most awe inspiring.

Then there was the day of bears.

Yes, day of bears.

It was June – I want to say 2011? We were camping with my Dad and Step Mom and my husband and Dad had been out the day before taking pictures. They encountered several black bears. Like eighteen bears. Yes, 18. There are a lot of black bears in Jasper National Park and if you are there are the right time of year, you are likely to encounter them, however, since the fire, things are likely different.

The next day, we decided to take our son out to look for bears, all observed safely from our 1995 Jeep YJ – with the windows removed, for optimal viewing.

That is, however, until my husband decided to take our son out for a better look! Now, the rule in the park is you must remain in your car and have at least 100 metres (10 bus lengths) between you and the animal. We were stopped at the top of meadow (with about 20 other people). There was probably at least 150 to 200 metres between us and the bear – and her two cubs.

I quickly followed my husband and son out of the Jeep, protesting the idea! But then I saw my son’s face when he saw the sow and her cubs rolling around in the field and my heart melted.

That was awe-inspiring. His little arms hung onto his Dad and he called to me “Mama! Mama! Look!” He was awe-struck and so was I. His first glimpse of a black bear and the from the safe distance of the cliff above the meadow, we watched the Mama bear play with her little cubs. Roll and tumble, tumble and roll. They sat on their little round bums and fumbled with their little paws, cute as cute could be.

Seeing something so sweet and innocent through the eyes of my son reminded me of all that was good in the world that warm early summer afternoon. I think we saw eleven or twelve bears that day, all shapes and sizes (all black bears), but none so sweet as that Mama and her cubs.