January 2022 - 33
insulates the ground against the most bitter
mornings like this one, maintaining a ground
temperature just below freezing. Tucked away
in a dry spot sheltered by a large, flat boulder is
a curious collection of grass, leaves, stems and
flowers large enough to fill a large kitchen sink.
It's the haypile of a nearby pika, who survives
on the stored greens throughout winter, not
missing a moment of this severe, yet meditative
season. When storms rage, pikas are safe and
warm beneath the snow. When calm is restored
they may break the surface and scamper to
exposed rocks, enjoying the strong, alpine rays
that seep through their fluffy pelts and bearing
witness to the light show illuminating the vast
white snow fields. A tranquil scene unwitnessed
by some small alpine mammals, like marmots
and chipmunks, who enter long bouts of
torpor, their body temperatures creep down
near freezing during a nine-month hibernation.
The sun continues its gradual march across
the southern sky, penetrating the bitterly-cold
air and incrementally elevating the temperature.
In an open meadow on the valley floor bordered
by a forest of tall pines and leafless aspen trees,
the world above the surface of the snow appears
entirely still and serene. But three feet down,
an exhilarating chase invisible to the outside
world is underway. An ermine has caught the
scent of a foraging vole. The thin, lithe body
of the small weasel allows it to slip into the
labyrinth of tunnels that stretch across the
meadow beneath the snow. Like the pika in the
alpine, many nonhibernating, small mammals
Even when snow is on the ground, Barrow's Goldeneye ducks can be found on lakes and ponds in western Wyoming.
and the critters settle into their various winter
ranges before heavy snow makes travel nearly
impossible. Deciduous trees stand bare and
skeletal; conifers cease their growth and bend
their limbs to heavy snow loads, and grasses
are frozen flat beneath layers of snow. This
is not a season of surplus and growth, but
one of maintenance and stillness. The wildlife
have their own strategy for withstanding the
frigid conditions and scarcity of food. Some
burrow deep beneath the snow in the high
country. Some band together as great herds
in the lowlands and some choose to forego
the season altogether through hibernation or
long-distance migration.
Four thousand feet above the valley floor
and slow-moving bison, the high alpine is
buried beneath several feet of snow. The snow
A pika grabs a mouthful of vegetation it had stockpiled for winter in the Wyoming Range near Bondurant.
Wyoming Wildlife | 33
January 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2022
January 2022 - 1
January 2022 - 2
January 2022 - 3
January 2022 - 4
January 2022 - 5
January 2022 - 6
January 2022 - 7
January 2022 - 8
January 2022 - 9
January 2022 - 10
January 2022 - 11
January 2022 - 12
January 2022 - 13
January 2022 - 14
January 2022 - 15
January 2022 - 16
January 2022 - 17
January 2022 - 18
January 2022 - 19
January 2022 - 20
January 2022 - 21
January 2022 - 22
January 2022 - 23
January 2022 - 24
January 2022 - 25
January 2022 - 26
January 2022 - 27
January 2022 - 28
January 2022 - 29
January 2022 - 30
January 2022 - 31
January 2022 - 32
January 2022 - 33
January 2022 - 34
January 2022 - 35
January 2022 - 36
January 2022 - 37
January 2022 - 38
January 2022 - 39
January 2022 - 40
January 2022 - 41
January 2022 - 42
January 2022 - 43
January 2022 - 44
January 2022 - 45
January 2022 - 46
January 2022 - 47
January 2022 - 48
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