Seeing Through a Wolf's Eyes
If you’re lucky enough to come face-to-face with a wolf, it’s hard not to be captivated by those striking eyes.
Like other canines, wolves only have blue and yellow photoreceptors (the eye cells that detect colour). That compares with our three, which gives us our red-green-blue colour vision. This means that wolves cannot see as broad a range of...
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A Sense of Place
It’s a quiet afternoon on the Chobe river. The iconic call of the African fish eagle drifts across the warm air. In the distance, you hear a pod of hippos stumble lazily through the water. A pied kingfisher dives head-first into the still water, with such precision that the splash barely makes a sound. And from among the reeds comes a gentle sound:...
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Meet the Joker
There’s an old joke about the prairies: “it’s so flat, you can watch your dog run away for three days”. That certainly seems true when it comes to coyotes. They are a common sight here, but they never seem to stop moving. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched a coyote run off far across the prairies, almost impossible to photograph....
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We’re clammin’, clammin’, and I hope you like clammin’ too…
The coastal grizzly bears of the Khutzeymateen have many sources of food. In the spring, they rely on protein-dense sedge grass to bulk up for the mating season. During the fall they feast on salmon as they begin to prepare for hibernation. Throughout the year, they have another steady source of calories: clams.
The bears can be found at low tide...
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A Poem for a Rainy Day
When the rain pours on the prairie
You peek outside, meek and wary
"There's just no use, it's far too wet"
"What pictures would I even get?"
But venture out, it's worth a go
Your prize might be a bright rainbow
And with some luck, you'll stumble on
A golden prairie leprechaun
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Crow Tools
If you’ve ever spent much time looking for wildlife, you may have found yourself (like I do) saying “just” very often. “Oh, never mind, it’s just a squirrel”, “nah, it was just a seal” or “it was just another crow”.
I always end up feeling guilty for ignoring these “just” animals. They are “just” as fascinating as anyone else, and always worth the...
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It’s always worth going out
My first day on Vancouver Island can only be described as very, very rainy. One of those days where you really should just stay inside. But I only had a few days, and there’s too much to see! I ventured out to the beach to take in the scenery, which must be beautiful in any weather: lush rainforest pouring all the way down to white sandy shores, cu...
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A visit to another world
Along the northern coast of British Columbia lies the Khutzeymateen Conservancy – the first area in Canada to be preserved specifically for the protection of grizzly bears and their habitat. Each year, a few lucky humans like me have the privilege of visiting this remote wilderness to explore by boat, but walking on the land is strictly prohibited.
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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Crocodiles haven’t changed much in the past 100 million years or so. After all that time to evolve, there are fewer than 30 species of crocodilian; compare that with birds, who have evolved into almost 10,000 extant species in just 65 million years.
The crocs have clearly hit on a winning formula. These strong, conical teeth sink deep into flesh,...
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Like water off a darter's back
How often have you watched ducks preening themselves, throwing their beak back towards their tail and then rubbing their head all over their feathers? This isn’t just for fun – they’re coating their feathers with oil from their preen gland, to improve waterproofing. This is a characteristic shared between many water birds.
Not the African dart...
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© Kathleen Macdonald