2506_1251 Summer Coat, Winter Coat
Seasons of the Badger: here's a wild prairie critter that definitely looks better by the fall. I shot the top photo in June, on a rainy day when the master digger was excavating at the edge of the road, where ground squirrels had dug their burrows. I was able to get out of the car, stay low, slowly maneuver for an unobstructed view. It looked pretty bedraggled, though.
Rewind to last November and the bottom photo, made from the rolling red Toyota blind. All decked out in its finest winter coat, this badger is ready to deal with the harshest imaginable conditions. Of course, it will sleep away much of the winter underground - a comfortable, cozy sleep, no doubt.
Prairie mammals look their best in the fall, so I'm looking forward to the transition to cooler weather and the quickening that accompanies it. The sense of urgency. Moose, pronghorn, and deer going into the rut; predators and prey alike doing their best to pack on some extra layers of fat to get through the lean season. All of them looking almost svelte, and brimming with good health.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2506_1251 Summer Coat, Winter Coat
Seasons of the Badger: here's a wild prairie critter that definitely looks better by the fall. I shot the top photo in June, on a rainy day when the master digger was excavating at the edge of the road, where ground squirrels had dug their burrows. I was able to get out of the car, stay low, slowly maneuver for an unobstructed view. It looked pretty bedraggled, though.
Rewind to last November and the bottom photo, made from the rolling red Toyota blind. All decked out in its finest winter coat, this badger is ready to deal with the harshest imaginable conditions. Of course, it will sleep away much of the winter underground - a comfortable, cozy sleep, no doubt.
Prairie mammals look their best in the fall, so I'm looking forward to the transition to cooler weather and the quickening that accompanies it. The sense of urgency. Moose, pronghorn, and deer going into the rut; predators and prey alike doing their best to pack on some extra layers of fat to get through the lean season. All of them looking almost svelte, and brimming with good health.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.