Hey Folks,
Well, I was going to post another little note about ANWR, but I haven’t finished it yet and I want to go to bed. So I looked through my folder of images for the blog, and had a cool kayaking photo all picked out when I saw this one and chose it instead. This photo was taken in Denali National Park. I spent the whole day up on this ridge with a band of Dall sheep rams, it was awesome. They’re pretty used to people approaching them up there, so they let me get reasonably close. Mid-morning they all lay down in the shade and took a nap, so I did the same. A couple of hours later, one woke up, rose and walked around the area a little. I tried to get in position for some shots, and he ended up on this little outcrop here. I was lying on the ground, and before ya know it, he walked right up to me. I lay as still as I could and he ended up nearly stepping right over me. It was pretty cool.
I’d love to get some images of rams like these over in the Wrangells, where the sheep tend to be bigger, but because they get hunted quite a bit, they’re WAY more skittish. Also, because Denali is so much more heavily visited, the sheep are very used to people. In Wrangell-St. Elias NP, even where the sheep are not hunted, they so rarely encounter people, especially the rams who stay up very high, that they’re pretty wary. Maybe this summer I’ll have some more luck with them. Until then, Denali is the place for rams.
Happy Easter!
Cheers
Carl
Hey Carl – It has always amazed me when i see video footage of rams how agile they are across the craziest rock faces. The perspective you captured in this shot, with the ram overpowering the mountain, shows so clearly their dominance in such a harsh habitat. Sweet.
Hey Mark
Thanks man. Yeah, I got pretty lucky with this one .. I wish the light was a little better, but I didn’t mind lazing about on a mtn top on a nice warm sunny day at the time. 🙂
These guys are something else, but if you really wanna see cool mtn action, check out mtn goats – they make the sheep look like they’re on training wheels. 😉
Cheers
Carl
I have always thought this is a great photo Carl – the wide-angle perspective makes the image!
Ron
Hey Ron,
Thanks bud.
Cheers
Carl
MAJESTIC!!!!
dang Carl. I’d give anything to have a similar experience.
Hey Beth,
Thanks.
Hey Richard
Thanks man. It really is pretty awesome to have a wild animal allow you to be a part of it’s existence, even if just for a few hours. In some ways I lament the popularity of places like Denali or Jasper NP, in Canada), over wilder places like Wrangell-St. Elias, but I also remember it’s mostly because of that popularity and heavy visitation from tourists that the animals are so habituated to the presence of humans and they allow us to be up close like this. I’ve never got anywhere near this close to a Dall sheep in the Wrangells, try as I might.
Cheers
Carl
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