カナダの国境に近いキントラ湖。ブリティッシュコロンビア州立公園の山々が見えています。山火事で煙が空を覆っていなければ、きっと見事な景色が広がっていた事でしょう。一生懸命 Lightroom で編集をした結果の夕暮れの風景です。 Kintla lake is located very close to the border with Canada. So we could see the mountains in the provincial park of British Columbia from there. If there weren’t the smoke from wildfires, we could have seen a gorgeous sunset view. I edited the picture below heavily in Lightroom to remove the hazy smoke.
湖の水は限りなく澄んでいて美しい。 The water in the lake looked so pure and transparent.
その湖畔に茶色い小さな鳥がいました。ただのフィンチかな？でも、フィンチより少し大きい。There, we found a little brown bird by the shore. I wondered if it was a simple finch. But it’s a little too large for a finch.
100％確かではないですが、調査をし尽くした挙句の結論は、コウウチョウの子供です。 It’s not 100% certain, but we concluded, after doing an intensive search, that it’s a juvenile Brown-headed cowbird.
コウウチョウは自分の卵を他の鳥の巣に生みつけ、孵化した後も、他の鳥に世話させる事で有名です。また、巣立ちも早く、8-13日とされています。Cowbirds are known for laying their eggs in other birds’ nests. The babies are fed by the other birds, and grow and fledge fast in 8 – 13 days.
子供の世話をしない非情な母鳥だとか非難する人もいますが、「種間托卵」と言い、体温変動が激しい鳥にはありがちだそうです。これはコウウチョウが種の保存をするために見出した方法なんですね。だから、人間の作り出した価値基準に当てはめて考えても意味がありません。そういう種類の鳥なんです。 Some people say that the cowbird mom is cold-hearted, but it’s the way they are. This type is called a “brood parasite“. No one knows yet why they behave that way, but one of the theories is that some birds who don’t have a stable body temperature are not suitable for incubating eggs. Therefore, they rely on other birds to take care of their eggs. Whatever the reason though, it’s their way of protecting the species. So, we better not judge them based on people’s value system that we created. All we can do is accept the way they are.
それにしてもです。お母さんの顔を知らず成長し、巣立ちも早くして、一人で生きていく孤児。ちょっと不憫だな。これも意味のない人間の感情からの視点なんですけどね。But still, I feel sorry for the little orphan bird who was born and raised without seeing its mom’s face not even once, and will continuously live alone. I know, I know… this is also nonsense because it’s based on human emotion.
キントラ湖畔、逞しく暮らすコウウチョウの子供を想い、湖がますます美しく見えてきました。 The view of Kintla lake from the shore where the strong little bird lives looks even more beautiful now maybe because my sentiment was added to it.
この5番目の目に会いたくて、長い旅を続けて来ました。グレイシャー国立公園内、メニーグレイシャーホテルの近くのジョセフィン湖でようやく会えました。 Because we wanted to meet the #5 eye, we traveled a long way. And finally we met her at Lake Josephine near Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park.
チャンスはいつも突然です。今回のチャンスはあまりにも突然で、あまりにも近くから急接近してきました。だから、茶色の体を見た時「グリズリ〜〜〜」と叫んで逃げ出しました。そこは流石のバンちゃん、勇敢にも怖さを堪え、よく観察してから「ムースだよ！」 A chance like this always suddenly. This time, it came so suddenly and so closely, even more than other times. So when I saw a huge brown hairy thing moving towards us among a thicket, I screamed “a grizzly!”, and I ran away. Banchan, however, bravely stood there and observed the brown object well, and said quietly but steady, “it’s a moose. Be quiet.”
近すぎたので、やっぱり顔すら収まりきらないショット。I couldn’t capture its face again because it’s too close.
背中の高さがバンちゃんより高い、巨大な体。驚かせないよう、息を潜めて見守っていました。 The shoulder height was taller than Banchan. We held our breath and observed her movement.
耳を澄ましていると、「ヒー、ヒー、」という鳴き声が時折聞こえていました。子供がお母さんの後を追いかけているんですが、山道が時々険しすぎて追いかけられないんですね。Being very still and quiet, we could hear the calf’s voice, “hee, hee~” every once in a while. The calf was trying to follow her mom, but the hill was very challenging for the calf. So he cried.
なんだかか弱すぎて、これからちゃんと生きていけるのか心配になる程。後で調べたら、子供の生存率は5割だそうです。大きくなるまでは他の動物に襲われる可能性大だということです。The calf was so helpless and fragile. I wondered if he could survive over the next few months. According to several moose websites, the survival rate for a calf is only 50%. It’s safe once it grows big enough, but until then, many other wild animals often attack them.
この日は驚くことに2度ムースを見ることができました。1度目は5-6mの至近距離、2度目は湖の反対側で約600ｍぐらい離れていたので、豆粒みたいな大きさでしたが、カメラレンズを通して水草を食べているところを見ることが出来ました。We were lucky on that day because we could witness the moose twice. The first encounter was only 10-15 feet away, and the second time was on the other side of the lake about 2,000 feet way. So the figures were like rice grains, but we could see the way they eat water plants through our camera lenses.
再びビデオを作りました。子供の長いまつ毛の長さに驚きます。I made another video. You will be amazed how long the calf’s eyelashes are.
夜明け前、ドスドスっという音で目が覚めた。いつもは開けてあるシェイドを開けてみると、ボブキャットの子供が窓のすぐ外をウロウロしていた。Thump Thump, the sound came from right outside our bedroom and woke me up. I raised the shades on the windows, and there I found a Bobcat cub going back and forth less than two feet away from me.
お母さんは朝ごはんのウサギを咥えていた。「カメラ〜！」と叫んでいる間にさっさと塀を飛び越えて行ってしまった。The cub’s mother had a rabbit in her mouth for their breakfast. It was so unexpected, that I shouted “Camera, Lenses~!” Of course, that’s exactly I shouldn’t have done. While I was running around like a crazy person, they hopped onto the backyard fence, and disappeared.
が、話はここで終わらない。 But, the story didn’t end there!
バスルームの窓の外、なんと、お母さんがまだウロウロしていた。という事は、子供がまだいるはず！Right outside of the bathroom window, the mother was still there with a concerned face. Does this mean what we hope? The cub should still be there.
右側が裏庭の塀。The backyard fence is on the right.
もしかして、また裏庭に入ってくるのかな？ Is she coming into the backyard again?
と、思ったら、木の上を見てる。But then, she is looking up into the tree.
という事は、子供は木の上？ Does this mean that the cub is on the tree somewhere? But where?
いた！勝手にボビィと命名した。Found him! I named him as Bobby then.
なんとまあ、夜明け前からこの騒動。もう、太陽の光が山上方をてらし始めてる。This all happened before dawn. Now the sunrise began and a strong sun started to illuminate the red rock hill.
お母さん、どうする？ボビィは木から降りられなくなったらしい。もう2時間も経ってるよ。What do you do, Bobby’s mom? It seems that Bobby can’t come down from the tree. It’s been two hours since he first climbed up.
窓の中から見ていた私たちですが、だんだん疲れてきたボビィの様子に、何とかしないとまずいと思い立つ。で、外に出てみることにしたら前庭でお母さんと出くわしてしまった。Bobby looked so tired. Shouldn’t we do something to rescue Bobby? We observed all these movements from inside windows but we decided to go out. But then, we encountered his mom right there at the front yard.
まずい！お母さんは一瞬も目を離さず私を凝視している。この距離、まずい！Oh no… She was staring at me without blinking. This doesn’t look good.
ソロリソロリと歩いて家の中に逃げ込んだ。さらに1時間が経過。状況に変化なし。バンちゃんは勇敢にも長い板を梯子の上に乗せて木に繋いだ。ボビィ、これで降りやすくなったかな？ Ever so slowly, and quietly, I returned to the house to take refuge. Banchan was so brave then. He carried out a ladder and wooden long board and set up a slope near the branch where Bobby was sitting. We hoped this will help Bobby to go down easily.
それでも何の進展もなっく4時間も経過したので、ユタ州の野生保護課に助けを求めることにした。こちらに向かっているレスキュー部隊と電話で話しているまさにその最中、「一人で降りて茂みの中に走って行ったよ！」というバンちゃんの声。Still, the situation didn’t change for four hours. I finally decided to call Utah’s Wildlife Rescue Division. I explained all the details to the person who was driving over to our house. But then, Banchan shouted, “the cub is down by himself!” while I was talking to the rescue person.
ボビィの足。やっぱり猫みたいにフカフカ。Bobby’s foot. It looks soft like a cat’s foot.
慌てて再確認をするために木の上を見に行ったらもうボビィはいなかった。I ran to the bathroom window and looked at the tree. And I found nothing there. Bobby had gone.
木の上から落ちそうになった時。小さい爪がフカフカの足から見えてる。これで必死に落ちるのを防いだのね。A shot when Bobby nearly fell down from the tree. Can you see his tiny claws? He held on to the tree so hard with those claws.
ボビィは木の上から降りられなくなったのか。それとも休憩してただけなのか。答えはボビィとお母さんだけが知っている。Here is a question. Was he in trouble and he really couldn’t come down, or was he simply resting there on the tree branches? No one knows the answer to this question but Bobby and his mother.
そんな早朝のサファリだった。It was a great safari adventure early in the morning.
aomi3 now 