BACKGROUND - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 510

one has sighted them for many years.) Today, your best chance of viewing these shaggy
beasts is in Waterton Lakes National Park, where a small herd is contained in the buffalo
paddock.
SMALL MAMMALS
Beavers
One of the animal kingdom's most industrious mammals is the beaver. Growing to a length
of 50 centimeters (20 inches) and tipping the scales at around 20 kilograms (44 pounds), it
has a flat, rudderlike tail and webbed back feet that enable it to swim at speeds up to 10 kph
(6 mph). The exploration of western Canada can be directly attributed to the beaver, whose
pelt was in high demand in fashion-conscious Europe in the early 1800s. The beaver was
never entirely wiped out from the mountains, and today the animals can be found in almost
any forested valley with flowing water. Beavers build their dam walls and lodges of twigs,
branches, sticks of felled trees, and mud. They eat the bark and smaller twigs of deciduous
plants and store branches under water, near the lodge, as a winter food supply.
Squirrels
Several species of squirrel are common in the Canadian Rockies. The golden-mantled
ground squirrel, found in rocky outcrops of subalpine and alpine regions, has black
stripes along its sides and looks like an oversized chipmunk. Most common is the
Columbian ground squirrel, which lives in burrows, often in open grassland. It is recog-
nizable by its reddish legs, face, and underside, and a flecked, grayish back. The bushy-
tailed red squirrel, the bold chatterbox of the forest, leaves telltale shelled cones at the
base of conifers. Another member of the species, the nocturnal northern flying fox, glides
through the montane forests of mountain valleys but is rarely seen.
Hoary Marmots
High in the mountains, above the tree line, hoary marmots are often seen sunning them-
selves on boulders in rocky areas or meadows. They are stocky creatures, weighing
4-9 kilograms (9-19 pounds). When danger approaches, these large rodents emit a shrill
whistle to warn their colony. Marmots are active only for a few months each summer,
spending up to nine months a year in hibernation.
Porcupines
This small, squat animal is easily recognized by its thick coat of quills. It eats roots and
leaves but is also known as being destructive around wooden buildings and vehicle tires.