RED LODGE — Spring is here but it still looks a lot like winter in communities in the Red Lodge area, thanks to a winter storm that dumped feet of snow on March 25.
And when there's feet of snow in April, one can only imagine the potential challenges that it poses for wildlife.
"It's definitely harder for them. In my mind's eye, I see bears poking their heads out of their dens and saying 'nope' and going back to bed," said Red Lodge resident John Potter on Wednesday.
Potter lives in Red Lodge and has all sorts of regular visitors to his yard throughout the year including these turkeys photographed Wednesday.
And many while animals don’t seem built for snow, ZooMontana Director Jeff Ewelt says not to worry too much about our four-legged friends.
"Animals in Montana and really across the globe obviously have adaptations to handle heavy snow. So, think of lynx and their big giant feet that act as snowshoes, talk about wolverines that have a specialized tooth that’s rotated in their mouth that helps them eat frozen meat," said Ewelt.
Those animals who don’t look built for Montana winters often will their way through them.
"One of my favorite photos that I see every year (is) usually of a wild nest. In fact, it’s happening here at ZooMontana this year. When the female eagles— and it can be any bird— are sitting on a nest of eggs and a snowstorm comes like this, they will not move, and they will stay on those eggs and literally snow will pile on top of them, and the male will come in and brush what he can away," added Ewelt.
In fact, Ewelt said worrying too much about animals can be one of our biggest mistakes.
"During the wintertime, we as humans tend to feel bad for wildlife that’s out there. But you got to remember, that’s what they’re built for, and they don’t need the handout. In fact, feeding an animal during the winter can be one of the worst things you can do for an animal because they become reliant on that. And that can be devastating to an animal species," Ewelt added.
And being able to observe so many species right outside his backdoor, it’s a statement Potter knows to be true.
"They’re built for it. They’ve been doing this for millions of years before humans came along. They got a lot of stuff figured out," Potter added.
