Caribou
BearHead Photography has many images to showcase his expansive portfolio on mammals of North America, and here are his wild cariou photos.
Red Surroundings
The tundra is deceivingly tall. When you look out over the landscape it look nice and that you could easily walk on it. However, it is exactly the opposite and is so tall animals often disappear into it. Here, I was just tall enough to be able to see and photograph this caribou surrounded by the beautiful red tundra!
Dramatic Growth
It is hard to imagine an animal this large looking small, but that is what Mt. McKinley does. It is amazing that an animal can grow antlers this large each year, but the over powering size of the tallest mountain in North America makes them seem small.
The Great Caribou
Large bull caribou can have really strange looking antlers once they are fully grown. They roam the far north and are continuously on the move looking for food and to get away from the bugs. There is not a really large herd in Denali like there use to be, but this large guy was alone one morning and went on a small ridge to look out over the valley and up at Denali.
High Travel
Caribou love the high country to try and get away from the bugs. They love the fall even more because the bugs begin to die and they can focus more on eating than running away from bugs. This nice bull caribou was moving the ridge when he stopped and looked at us before going back to eating.
Highly Honored Image-Nature’s Best Photography, National Park Competition
Ridge Look
From a distance I knew this was a large caribou. As I slowly got closer I hoped to be able to get some shots of him because of how nice he looked. Slowly he made his way across the tundra and over the rise. When he got to the rise he stopped and looked around because he hadn’t been able to see this area before he got to the highest point.
Red Backdrop
When the fall in Alaska gets to its peak, it is one of the prettiest places anywhere. The endless miles of red tundra is a sight to see. Seeing this nice caribou in the red tundra was very exciting.
Fall Overlook
When I find large animals in a spectacular setting, I do my best to track these animals and photograph them as long as possible. With wildlife you never know when a situation like that might come around again, so I take advantage of the opportunity I currently have. After getting some nice photos of this caribou, I got very excited when it went to a little ridge and looked over the valley below!
King of Domain
There are some animals you come across that take your breath away immediately. This caribou was so large and looked so good, there was no way I was going to look for another animal this day. I tracked him for hours, and he moved around as if he knew he was the largest caribou around.
Monster Ridge
When I first saw this caribou, I thought he was a very big. As he got closer, he seemed to get even larger. As he was on his way across the valley he went on the ridge and stopped to check me out before continuing on his way. Caribou are nervous animals and he wanted to make sure I wasn’t a threat to him.
Caribou Rise
There was a rise that I could barely see over and see the antlers of a group of caribou. I couldn’t move closer as they were just over the rise. So I waited and waited hoping for a chance to photograph them Finally, this caribou led the way and walked over the rise and gave me a great shot of him in the fall colors!
High Movement
When tracking caribou high into the mountains, I don’t plan on it being a short trip. Caribou are often on the move and are difficult to photograph. Between the tough tundra and miles of walking, it makes for a long day. But the reason I go high into the mountains after caribou is for a shot like this! I love when a plan comes together and I’m able to capture an animal with the background I wanted!
Moving Together
Caribou will often travel together in small groups. It isn’t that often that. I find a caribou with no other caribou in sight. These two large caribou were on the move at the same time across the beautiful fall tundra.
Growing Landscape
I’ve spent many hours and days looking for caribou on the tundra without seeing any. I know they are there, but it is so hard to find them. When Denali is out and try even harder to find caribou because I really want to photograph them with Denali. Thankfully, I managed to find a couple of caribou and they kept coming my direction and finally they got close enough to photograph in front of Denali!
Double Shovel
I have looked for years to find a caribou with a large double shovel. What that means is that the antlers in the front both grow points and mimic each other. Most caribou have one antler and one nub of an antler for its front antlers. So when I noticed this caribou had both antlers and both were large I got very excited!
Endless Color
Following caribou is often extremely exhausting. They seem to never stop and move across the tundra effortlessly, while I struggle getting through the thick brush. At least on this occasion I was rewarded with this stunning backdrop that looked like a never ending valley of fall tundra behind this large caribou!
Wandering Alaska
Caribou can move miles and miles every day across the tundra. Tundra is not an easy terrain to travel, and they make it look easy. Caribou can be very skittish around people as well because they don't often see humans. This caribou did not mind me and continued eating the lichen around the lake as I photographed him with Wonder Lake and Denali in the background.
Large Looks
The mountains in the area where this caribou was were very large. I wanted to try and show off their size, because this caribou was also very large. I saw he was heading to this ridge and tried to get in position to get him coming over the ridge, and managed to get him as he crested and show off just how big he and the mountains were.
Anter Shine
As I was hiking along and the sun was beginning to fade, an outline caught my attention. I looked closer and sure enough it was a set of caribou antlers. I got closer and saw the caribou was bedded, but just his antlers were catching the last light and really outlining the curves of his antlers.
Vibrant Run
When you see the tundra from a distance it all looks like it is the same color. However, once you get in it their are many different hues to the red. The red of this tundra was extremely vibrant and made a great contrast to the caribou as it ran through it.
Three Trees
After tracking this caribous tracks along a river, we eventually lost the tracks in the tundra. We looked and looked for him, but finally decided we weren’t going to find him. As we were walking away I took one look back and there we was on the ridge! It was very exciting to see him on the ridge after the work we had put in to find him
Fall Running
As I was photographing a different caribou, I knew other caribou were around. I kept my eye on this caribou as it was moving around a lot. It finally ran my way and ran close to me as it went to where the other caribou was.
Spectacular Tundra
Seeing the fall at its peak in the interior of Alaska is a sight to behold! It seems as if the entire landscape turns red. I try especially hard once the fall turns peak to find animals in this spectacular landscape. Here a large caribou looks around for where it wants to go next in the beautiful tundra.
Caribou Glow
In the backcountry of Denali, there are a lot of animals, but the space is so expansive you don't always see animals. Caribou can look like little dots moving on the tundra because the area is so large. We were going after a moose, when this large caribou came over the ridge unexpectedly. He was unsure of us, but stopped and looked at us on the ridge a couple of minutes before moving on.
Caribou Paddle
When I first saw this caribou in the woods I thought it was a moose because I only saw the top of the antlers and they were very wide. Caribou antlers usually are skinny all the way through and don’t spread out like a paddle of a moose. When I realized it was a caribou I knew he was a monster and I couldn’t wait to photograph him. I waited a while, but when he went on this hillside to eat I got the shot I was looking for.
A High Look
It is amazing how much ground a caribou can cover in one day. It seems as if they are continuously on the move. A caribou pauses to look back to see if other caribou are following him before he crests the ridge and continues on.
A Caribou Landscape
The tundra in interior Alaska looks at times as if it goes on forever. It is such a large landscape, that animals easily disappear into the landscape. The group of nice caribou slowly made their way across the tundra and came just close enough to show them off in the peak of the fall colors!
Antler Frames
While in the tundra, it is amazing how different the heights can be of the bushes. Where I was standing was short, but where this caribou was it was obviously very tall. I was thankful his head was just above the tundra and he was able to show off his large antlers.
Rolling Light
When the evening light gets perfect, finding an animal becomes very important. I don't even know how far we searched and how long we searched to find an animal because we knew the light was going to be good. Caribou are skittish animals, so we had to be careful to not spook it as well. We did everything right and this caribou went around the hill and posed in front of the beautiful distant mountains with the clouds rolling over them.
Red Look
When caribou first shed their velvet, their antlers will be red before fading and turning brown. The red is because there are blood vessels in the velvet, and when the velvet sheds there is blood on the antlers before fading away. It does not hurt the caribou, it is just a progression in its development of its antlers. I really liked how the tundra color and his antlers complimented each other and made him almost look a part of the tundra.
Caribou Line
When I saw a number of male caribou together off in the distance, I decided to wait and see if they would come my way. They did end up coming my way and as they got closer they spread out a little to eat and lined up perfectly for me!
Red Movement
It’s always fun seeing a small group of caribou together. They aren’t often close to each other though. Here they decided all at once to get on the move and go check out some other caribou that were in the vicinity.
Mountain Backdrop
This was a large caribou that I found tended to stay in one general area instead of traveling miles like lots of caribou do. This gave me a chance to photograph him in different situations because I saw him a few different times. I captured him here as he came up a ridge with the mountains as his backdrop.
Look Back
When the color starts to change on the tundra, everything seems to come to life. It also lets animals know that winter is not far around the corner. This caribou did a quick look back as it crossed the ridge and went over to a spot where it fed for a long time.
Caribou Battle
Towards the end of fall is when the caribou rut starts. The caribou at first more test each other than full out battle. But once the rut really gets going the battles become much more fierce.
Strong Ridge
Trying to spot caribou is fun for me. I enjoy scanning the landscape and trying to find small dots I may or may not hike too. Seeing this guy in an area not far away, I decided to hike to him. By the timeI got to him he had moved to the ridge and was looking over the area that I had spotted him from. I really liked the ridge he was on and how strong and in command he looked up there.
Mountain Rest
Caribou can traverse tens of miles a day over very uneven terrain. And on this large of a landscape they can look like tiny dots in the distance. After finally getting close to this caribou, he paused and rested in an area, which allowed me to get some photos of him with the mountain behind him.
Ridge Walker
Being on the tundra is where I love to be. It is a very difficult terrain to walk in, but I love the challenge of it. Caribou make it seem like nothing and can cover the ground so much faster than I can. This caribou paused for just a moment as it continued up the ridge and on its way to the next ridge.
Sky Antlers
Denali is a fun, but difficult, place to photograph because there are so many rolling hills. It makes it tough to find animals, but at the same time you can be close to an animal and not know it. This caribou came over the ridge and was just as surprised to see me as I was to see it.
Light Walk
I love capturing the beauty of natural light. The best light can come and go so fast, and having an animal in the right spot when the light is good is rare. It's those moments that we spend all the time in the wild looking for animals. This caribou decided to walk the ridge, which was where the sun was lighting while the mountains were covered in a dark cloud. The contrast was awesome and created a very moody scene.
Moving Territory
The amount of land a caribou can cover daily is incredible. They can move and move, which is why they need so much territory. I really like this shot because it shows a lot of the territory this large caribou has as he is running down the hill.
Stream Crosser
Trekking with this caribou across the tundra was exceedingly hard. He crossed so many little stream and swampy areas in the tundra, that it was exhausting trying to stay dry. I eventually misstepped and fell into a little pond, but thankfully saved the camera. I continued on soaking wet and was rewarded with him crossing a larger stream and nice scene behind him.
Peak Caribou
Peak color in Alaska only last a couple of days before the leaves start to fall off. It is very important to find animals in those couple of days, but it is also very hard to find them in a good spot. After hanging with this caribou for a while it moved our way and through a spectacular area of the fall tundra!
Tundra Traversing
It really is stunning when the entire landscape turns red. There are places in the tundra where the bushes are not as high, and that makes for much easier traversing. This caribou pauses to look where it wants to head next.
Mountain Snow
As fall was starting to end, the mountains above were already becoming fully covered in snow. This caribou was on the move looking for anymore easy food it could find before the snow covered the valley.
Double Look
I have not encountered many caribou that have we call a double shovel. What that means is that both of their front antlers grow, and not just one grow and the other be a nub. A majority of caribou really do only have one antler in the front. So I spent a little more time trying to capture him, and he finally moved to the ridge to overlook the valley and I got a nice shot of him and his double shovel.
Two Seasons
I love being in Denali no matter the season. Often times the season it currently is in doesn’t feel right for what the weather is in the park. It was still fall, but nothing looked or felt like it was still fall. I’m sure this caribou was confused and maybe started moving to its winter grounds after this large snowfall.
Above the Ridge
I was trying hard to track this caribou, but it was difficult because of the undulating terrain. I’d see him one moment, and then he was gone the next. I finally saw his large antlers coming over the ridge and he stopped and gave me a nice head shot.
Remote Wilderness
Being off the grid and off the road is a good time. The further you get away from civilization the wilder nature becomes. Tracking caribou is difficult because they can cover so many miles so quickly. But I found an area they seemed to move through often and I found this caribou as he moved in the valleys beneath the mountains.
Fall Portait
Caribou are fun, but difficult to photograph. They always seem on edge and ready to run at any moment. Curiosity got the best of this caribou and he walked over to see what we were.
Caribou Light
Keeping up with caribou is difficult as they can cover miles in the blink of an eye, it seems like. I was tired from a long day on foot, but the light started to get good and I knew I couldn’t stop. I was rewarded with some evening light hitting the caribou while the mountains in the distance were covered up by a cloud.
Hidden Beauty
I was determined on this day to find a caribou, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. I can go days without seeing a caribou or moose, even though I know they are around. I was amazed I found this caribou as he was in a small valley between two larger hills. But I liked how he looked in the landscape with the hills around him showing how well he was hidden.
Hanging Large
Caribou can have very large and very different antlers than any other caribou. Their antlers are not uniform in shape like elk and deer. Finding two larger caribou hanging out and then them moving together on a ridge made for a terrific Alaskan tundra photograph.
Wide Rack
With the way caribou antlers are all different, it always excites me finding them because I never know what the antlers will look like. This caribou had a large, wide rack that was symmetrical and very nice.
Caribou Look
Caribou have very different and interesting antlers. I enjoy photographing caribou because you never know what their antlers will look like. This caribou had big, similar antlers on both sides which made him nice to photograph.
Two Looks
These two large caribou were in the same group but rarely close to each other. It seemed like one wanted to go one way and the other wanted to go the other way. After finally agreeing to go the same way, the lead caribou paused after crossing a ravine and they stood together deciding where to go next.
Rising High
Denali mountain is such an impressive mountain. For days in a row it had been hidden behind clouds, which is often the case. When I saw the mountain out I was really hoping to find an animal to be able to photograph it with Denali. Thankfully I found this caribou and he went on a ridge with Denali behind him!
Changing Antlers
Every year, caribou regrow their antlers. Once they are done growing, they will shed the velvet, a soft protective layer that helps the antlers grow, and then they will have a hard antler. The antlers aren't hurt, but they turn red for a few days after shedding the velvet because there were blood vessels in the velvet.
Valley Mood
The valleys in Alaska are so large its often hard to find caribou because they look like little dots in the landscape. I watched this small herd of female caribou slowly making its way toward me, and slowly they got larger. I liked the mood of what the low clouds and tundra color created as the caribou walked along the valley floor.
Seasonal Look
In the fall the caribou will shed their velvet and reveal a hard antler ready for the mating season. Only one of these three caribou had shed, but the other two I’m sure were about to. Another group of caribou had their attention here as they were heading across the tundra.
Group Running
Caribou are one the most skittish animals there are. They just seem jittery and not trusting of anything. This group was calm and eating, and then one caribou all of a sudden started running. I don’t even think the rest of the caribou knew why the one was running, but they followed and were soon over the next ridge.
Early Snow
In the fall caribou will lose their velvet and reveal a hard antler underneath. A very early snow came and covered the tundra in white. This caribou was just about ready to shed his velvet, and I’m sure the early snow made him want to have his velvet off yesterday.
Antler Difference
Caribou are a species that can very different antlers from one animal to the next. Moose, elk, and deer don’t exactly match others animals, but they look similar for the most part. You never know what the antlers will look like for a caribou, and you could tell with these guys so close to one another that the guy on the right was a huge caribou.
Caribou Pond
As I was tracking this caribou across the tundra in the morning, it was cloudy and dark. The sun slowly started to come out and I knew I was going to get some better light. It paused in front of the pond as the sun came out and brought the caribou and water to life.
Antler's Everywhere
Both of these caribou were a couple of the largest caribou I have ever seen. They would spread apart and then get close to each other again. Here it looks as if the one caribou is trying to head wrestle with the other caribou, and there are antlers everywhere.
Higher Look
Trekking over the terrain of Alaska is fun but challenging. One of the neat things about it, is that it can change very quickly from difficult to easy. I finally got high enough that the tundra turned more into rock and I was able to keep up with the caribou much easier.
Lake Caribou
One of the neat features of the terrain in Denali is the amount of lakes and ponds. There are so many out there that I have no idea when I will encounter one. This caribou was hanging out near this lake and looked to have found a great place to live.
Jump Start
Caribou are a very excitable animal. They seem to be on edge and always leery of what’s around them. This caribou herd something in the bushes below him and turned and jumped to start running the other way.
Calm Caribou
Photographing this caribou was fun. He saw us from a distance and then fell asleep standing up. We slowly were able to get closer and he kept sleeping. When he woke up we were closer, and he looked surprised, but then he just started eating and let us watch him from a close distance.