9.11.15
A Walk Around Calgary
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| Bison statue outside of Fort Calgary |
The American bison is commonly and historically referred to as a buffalo, however it's only distantly related to the true buffalo - which lives in Africa.
About 2 hours away from Calgary is a UNESCO World Heritage site called Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. The buffalo jump was used for over 5000 years by Blackfoot indigenous peoples, who would dress up as coyotes and wolves and drive the bison from their grazing area to the edge of the 36 foot high cliff. Due to the weight of the herd behind them, when the bison reached the edge of the cliff they would fall, breaking their legs.
Legend states that the buffalo jump got its name because a young Blackfoot wanted to watch from below as the bison fell. He was found dead underneath the pile of carcasses, with his head smashed in.
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| St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Church |
In 2011, Canada's ninth largest ethnic group was Ukrainian, giving Canada the third largest Ukrainian population in the world behind Ukraine itself, and Russia.
Canada Geese are a common sight, with at least 7 million of them in North America. 55 years ago there were parts of Southern Canada where the species was considered locally extinct. 25 years later this changed to the species being considered uncommon, and now they appear in large numbers. This helps to reflect a successful wildlife protection programme, as well as the adaptability of the species to human influenced environments - increasing their food sources and reducing their predators.
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