A beautiful, orange smile!
The porcupine is North America’s second-largest rodent (after the beaver). Like most rodents, they have one particularly fascinating feature: their teeth!
In common with most rodents, porcupines have teeth that never stop growing. Somewhat more unique is the colour: if you look closely at this picture, you’ll notice a pair of bright orange teeth....
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Journey back to the ice age
You might not think it to look at them, but pronghorn are really quite remarkable. They seem a little out of place in their modern environment, but that’s to be expected since their story is millions of years old.
Throughout the last ice age, North America teemed with megafauna (aka really really big animals). If you’d taken a casual afternoon str...
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Bison bison bison
Three quick facts about the plains bison:
1. Their scientific name is Bison bison bison.
2. There were once over 40 million of them. As a result of hunting and eradication, there were fewer than 1,000 left at the turn of the 20th century. Today - as a result of extensive conservation efforts - there are around 20,000 in the wild.
3. In 2006, bis...
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Constant Vigilance!
Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan is a true wilderness, boasting almost 1000km² of rolling native prairie. Such a unique landscape deserves a watchful guardian, and fortunately the park is home to huge colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs. You can always count on them to spot mischief before it gets out of hand (and scurry back to...
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Meet my teacher
Twelve years ago, I had a lot to learn about photography (still do, of course). My camera was good enough for me, but not really a “good” camera. I didn’t know anything about processing or editing images. I just knew that I liked travelling and taking nice pictures.
And as far as I knew, “taking nice pictures” meant capturing what was right in fro...
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Leopards always change their spots
Despite the old saying, leopards are nothing if not adaptable. Their historic range is larger than that of any other wild cat, covering areas from sub-Saharan Africa, across western Asia and the Indian subcontinent, all the way to South East Asia. They can live in rainforests, mountains and wide-open plains. I met this one in northern Namibia in 20...
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Into the heart of Borneo
Borneo is one of the most fascinating places on Earth. It is home to some of the world’s oldest rainforests as well as mangrove forests and peat swamps. These unique habitats are home to an eye-watering diversity of plant and animal life, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet.
The proboscis monkey is one such species. Found only on th...
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Meet the Family
A glimpse into the family tree: here’s your cousin, the Bornean Orangutan.
Humans belong to the family Hominidae, also known as the great apes. So, if anyone ever calls you “a stupid ape”, you can at least reply “Hey! I’m not stupid!”.
Our family is made up of four sub-groups, each of which is called a genus. These are: gorilla, pan, homo, and po...
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A Bridge Too Far?
Related to otters, pine martens are an even rarer sight in these parts. It is thought they first made it to the island when the Skye Bridge opened in the nineties. An animal in the wrong place, perhaps. It's always important to think of the big picture and the impact our conveniences have on the natural world.
But with all that said....I don't thi...
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The Rut
Autumn can be a noisy time in the Scottish hills.
The end of September through to the beginning of November is rut season for red deer – the UK’s biggest land mammal. Stags compete for the attentions of the females by, well, showing off. They will roar, strut and (on very rare occasions) fight.
This stag was not put off by the relentless rain: he...
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© Kathleen Macdonald