Snowing up in Jasper this week. Seems these guys will be heading down for their seven months of sleeping soon if they have not already. Columbian ground squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus), Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Hermit Crab on Bathurst Island, Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, Australia
A male Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) displays its umbrella-like ruff of feathers in the snow. To encourage courtship the grouse engages in "drumming", a non-vocal acoustic display, that involves rapid wing-beating to create a low frequency sound which can be heard for over 500m. When an interested hen approaches, he then extends his feathers into a spectacular ruff as seen in this shot. Cariboo Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
