In this episode we start off with a look at some mountain related news stories. From there we head to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth – The Calgary Stampede to try some of this year’s new food items. Finally we discuss the rapid melting of our mountain
Story 1 – Mountain News Items
Parks Increasing Prosecutions for Feeding Wildlife
This has been a difficult year for wildlife in the Rockies. We’ve had numerous bears killed along highways but we’ve also had a growing problem with visitors giving handouts to wildlife. It all came to a head recently when the alpha female of the Bow Valley Wolf Pack had to be euthanized after becoming aggressive as a result of being fed repeatedly. Let’s help keep the wild in wildlife.
Colorado Black Bear Locks Itself In Subaru
The mountains are Subaru country and in Colorado a lady woke up to learn that a black bear had opened the door of her car and then somehow locked itself inside. Needless to say the distressed animal spent the whole night trying to get out and in the meantime trashed the interior of the car. Wildlife officials released the bear without incident.
White Water Rafters Cry Foul
Rafting companies in British Columbia have been blocked from accessing the Lower Canyon of the Kicking Horse River, one of the classic rafting trips in western Canada. The legal wrangling will continue for some time but as of this writing it is still blocked by a metal gate.
Story 2 – Eating Bugs at the Calgary Stampede
Every year the Stampede introduces a long list of new foods for the midway food booths. This year was no exception. We headed into Calgary to try a few of these delightful snacks, in particular the Sticky Toffee Bug Balls, the Golden Grasshopper Pie Pop, the Big Pickle Dog and finally the Bacon Beer Battered Corn Dog. You can see a full listing of the new foods here: http://blog.calgarystampede.com/2016/05/03/34-new-foods-hit-the-stampede-midway-in-2016/
Story 3 – Disappearing Glaciers
In this story we look at the rapid rate that glaciers are disappearing from the western mountain landscape. According to some scientists, by 2100 70-90% of all of our glaciers could disappear. We look at a few of the implications of this rapid melt.