Bull elk bugles in the early morning, Jasper National Park, Canada.

Cervus Elaphus

Bull elk with his band of cows, standing before the forest, Jasper National Park, Canada.

Cervus Elaphus

The forest echoes with the amazing call of a bull elk's bugle.

Cervus Elaphus

A young bull elk on the run, Jasper NP, Canada.

Cervus Elaphus

Bull elk at the forest's edge, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Cervus Elaphus

2 Dall Sheep Rams nearly touch heads as they pass on a narrow ledge, Denali National Park, Alaska

Ovis Dalli Dalli

Full furl Dall Sheep ram photo, flehmen, testing the air for scent of a female coming into season. Denali National Park, Alaska.

Ovis Dalli Dalli

A mature dall sheep ram stands on the lookout, surveying his territory, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Ovis Dalli Dalli

A full curl dall sheep ram comes within a few feet of me, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Ovis Dalli Dalli

Dall sheep ram runs right by this photographer, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Ovis Dalli Dalli

Mature Dall sheep ram stands on his mountain top, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Ovis Dalli Dalli

A Dall sheep ram, in his prime, caught in the last of the sun's rays on a high mountain, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Ovis Dalli Dalli

13 lined squirrel, Black Hills, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Spermophilus tridecemlineatus

Pronghorn, running, Black Hills, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn, resting, Black Hills, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn, Black Hills, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Antilocapra americana

Praire dog, Custer State Park, South Dakota

Cynomys ludovicianus

Praire dog, Black Hills, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Cynomys ludovicianus

Pronghorn on a ridge, Black Hills, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Antilocapra americana

Young pronghorn portrait, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Antilocapra americana

Female Argiope with prey, Chattahoochee River, Georgia.

Argiope aurantia

American Plains Bison, flehmen behaviour, Black Hills, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

bison bison

American Plains Bison, nice and close! Custer State Park, South Dakota.

bison bison

Bison calf, being somewhat cheeky, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

bison bison

Mature bull, American Plains Bison, rubbing himself on a boulder, Black Hills, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

bison bison

large mature bull bison, resting on the prairie, Custer State Park, South Dakota.

bison bison

2 bison and a calf, the prairie, Black Hills, Custer State Parl, South Dakota.

bison bison

Mature bison bull, resting in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Bison bison

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money." -- Cree proverb.

In my photography of wild animals, I try to represent the species as I exerience it. Unfortunately, I'm not able to experience the immeasurable herds of Plains bison, the colonies of prairie dogs covering an area of 25 000 square miles and home to over 400 million animals that once were a part of this environment. The pronghorn antelope herds of the American West no longer number in the millions. Mountain sheep, both Dall sheep and the various species of bighorns, are restricted to the most rugged and harsh mountain reaches available, and it seems much of the 'wild' in wilderness is gone. Aldo leopold wrote that "wilderness is the raw material out of which man has hammered the artifact called civilization". Truer words were never spoken. Unfortunately, today we have 'conservation programs', and 'ecological management' and preservation societies', as if the natural world has become a museum of sorts, a remnant of some distant past and unable to remain without our interference. It is precisely our interference that has caused the colonies of Great Auks to disappear, the salmon runs of the Pacific Northwest to disappear; the eastern Mountain Lion, Elk, the deep forests, the long grass prairies, the list becomes endless. Is it our intereference that has eradicated the great predators, the wolves, mountain lions, the grizzlies, and allowed 'game' animals such as elk or deer, to hence over-populate and over-browse their remaining habitat, requiring further interference in the way of hunting surplus animals, requiring more roads and intrusions into the already dying forests and prairies.

We have now created small pockets of 'scenery', a few acres here and there of esthetic wilderness, enough to give the casual passer-by a sense of the wilderness. Wilderness systems have been constructed to allow us a nice look at some lakes and snow-capped mountains and pine trees. We give weight to the magnifence of the bison, but not the spotted owl, or the millenia of small reptiles, insects and birds that similarily require habitat, and are as much a part of the cycle of life as any other. Areas devoid of economic potential for 'development' may be left untouched until such times arrive that their potential dollar return on investment surpasses some arbitrary threshold. Ever diminishing expanses of 'virgin country' remain today in Alaska and Canada, and it is only due their remoteness that they have remained so far. Economic ideals sway us to value a landbase by it's 'economic opportunity'. The REAL opportunity lies in the wilderness itself, in what we can learn, what we can absorb, what we can experience, what we can return to if we can somehow alter our perception of the landbase. Whether that happens sooner or later will be anybody's guess.

Through my photography I have learned a great deal about animals, about plants, about the land, about myself, and about our culture. I would like to hope that in viewing my images, some sense of the vitality of the essence of life comes through, and my audience can begin to somehow develop a deeper appreciation for the plants and animals and landbase we share this experience of life with.Thank you. -- Carl Donohue, Nov, 2004.

I'm constantly working towards furthering my stock lists, and improving my portfolio. These images are all of wild subjects, in their natural environment. Each photo is available for stock use, and photographic prints, screensavers, note cards or calendars are also available. To order any of these pictures, or for complete stock photo lists, drop an email.

This gallery of images is a collection of photographs taken by Carl Donohue. All images on this site remain the property of Carl Donohue Photography, and are fully protected by federal and international copyright laws. Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited, and any reproduction copying, manipulation, alteration, saving or distribution of these images will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. All images are available for licensed use; to do so, please contact Carl via email or phone # (770) 952 4549.