Alberta landscape full of nature’s cryptic creatures

By Tim Kalinowski on January 4, 2018.

tkalinowski@medicinehatnews.com @MHNTimKal

While Alberta’s forest-dwelling species tend to hog all the glory, prairie species have many unique and interesting qualities that make them downright cryptic, misunderstood and under-appreciated, says Alberta Conservation Association senior biologist Brad Downey.

Downey gives the example of Plains Spadefoot Toad, an ultimate prairie cryptic.

“Sometimes you won’t see or hear from these guys for two or three years, and you think there is nothing out there,” he says, explaining how they may live underground for several years at a time. “Then all of sudden you will get one of these rain events, where you get two inches or more over a few hours. The whole prairie will erupt in a noise which sounds like someone snoring.”

The small, olive-green toads are also quite bizarre to look at when observed up close.

“If you pick one of them up you will notice an interesting thing; they have what looks like cat eyes,” Downey says.

Another strange prairie creature is the Loggerhead Shrike. Also known as the Butcher Bird, it is a brutal creature unlike any other found on the prairies.

“These are little guys,” says Downey. “They are not a raptor, but they have some of the qualities of a raptor. They have really good eyesight and curved and hooked bills, but they lack talons. Basically what they do is go and catch their prey and impale them on barbed wire, thorny buffaloberry or other natural shrubs where they can then tear their meat apart.”

A species of special concern due to habitat loss, Downey says Butcher Bird remains a strangely compelling creature.

“I find it amazing what they can do,” he says. “I have heard stories from producers of having a whole 16-foot section of fence, and every one of those barbs would actually have a Plains Spadefoot Toad, which these birds love to eat, impaled on them. Kind of like toad jerky.”

Another fascinating entry among the multitude of cryptic prairie creatures is the Short-Horned Lizard.

“It’s our only lizard in Alberta,” explains Downey. “They hibernate under shrubs in loose soil about 10 cm deep. It is almost like they have anti-freeze in their blood.”

Adult lizards eventually grow to a size where they might just fit into your palm, but the young ones can be no larger than a penny. The diminutive size of the Short-Horned Lizard has forced it to rely heavily on its camouflage.

“They are very cryptic,” says Downey. “They blend into their surroundings. It doesn’t mean they are not there when you are looking for them — it just means you might not have seen them.”

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