Wild Montana

By Donald M. Jones | October 05, 2018

Don writes in the Preface: Pulling images for this book was no easy chore, as there are only so many pages—and my publisher wasn’t really interested in publishing a 10-volume set!

I tried my best to cover all four corners of our beautiful state, and at times, crossed its borders to neighboring states for a few images of Montana wildlife that don’t observe state boundaries.

Order Wild Montana from Farcountry Press in Helena or your favorite bookstore. It might very well be the best book of Montana wildlife photography you’ll see.

Mountain Lion

I’ve seen a dozen mountain lions in the wild but this was the first and only opportunity I ever had to get a photo. I was so excited to get that shot that the first twenty-five images were out of focus. Thankfully, I had the foresight to look at a shot and was able to refocus and shoot again before the cat disappeared.

Pronghorn Antelope

This pronghorn buck runs blinded by a head full of grass. During the rut, bucks will often rub against grass or small brush, and in this case, his head became entangled in grass.

Wild Horses

Three wild horses in unison in the Pryor Mountains. These free-roaming mustangs are direct descendants of the horses of the Spanish conquistadors.

Canada Goose

My friend Bonnie lives in the Yaak and has Canada geese that return every year to nest. She tells me when they start to incubate so I’ll know within a day or two when they’ll hatch. Having those extra eyes out there has been so valuable to me over the years.

Snowshoe Hare

It took me over twenty years before I finally saw, let alone photographed a snowshoe hare in its white winter coat. This beautiful hare paused to snack on a fallen Douglas-fir limb before hopping away.

Burrowing owls

Burrowing owls always look like they have such personalities!

Common Redpoll

An infrequent visitor to my backyard in the winter, the common redpoll is a small finch that has been known to spend time sitting on my head, shoulder, and trigger finger while I waited for it to land on a natural perch.