During our drive along the Icefields Parkway we, and dozens of other travelers, were fortunate to see this Woodland Caribou. The caribou is identified as a 'species at risk'.
It was just standing in the middle of the Athabaska River. From the number of cars that had stopped we assumed it had been in the river a while.





Several minutes after our arrival we noticed a Parks Canada employee working his way along the riverbed towards the animal. The official clapped his hands which sent the caribou running to the opposite riverbank. We at least knew it was not injured or stuck.




However, the animal kept glancing towards the nearby woods.




It soon re-entered the river, eventually standing in the middle of one of the channels.



The reason for its behavior was soon revealed. A wolf briefly exited the woods, moving along the shoreline to get closer to the caribou. It soon disappeared from view behind the thick vegetation.

After watching for a while we had to leave to continue our journey, not knowing how the standoff ended.
Note that both animals wore tracking collars.