The Best Part of an Ending is a New Beginning
WELCOME TO 2018! JOE GLIOZZO CAPTURED THE MOMENT WITH THIS SNOWY OWL DURING THE YEAR'S FIRST SNOW STORM AT THE NEW JERSEY SHORE.
One Final Look at the Adventures of 2017
The best part of an ending is the new beginning! But before we close the door we'll take one final look - after all, 2017 was actually the beginning for Destination: Wildlife, the start of our exploration of our Earth's wildlife and nature. What a great beginning it was!
A New Team, A New Adventure
For us at Destination: Wildlife, welcoming two new team members last autumn was one of the best parts. It means broader horizons, unique perspectives, and more extraordinary adventures for all of us in 2018!
Both men initially caught our attention through their breathtaking wildlife photography and responsible dedication to their feathered and furred subjects.
WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR! IN 2017 NEW TEAM MEMBER JOE GLIOZZO BROUGHT US TO PUFFIN PARADISE AT MACHIAS ISLAND, MAINE (CANADA??) WHERE WILL HE BRING US IN 2018? LET'S GO! IMAGE: JOE GLIOZZO
Joe Gliozzo's "beat" is mostly the northeast US. His reports, peppered with unbounded enthusiasm and humor, range from a wrong-way roseate spoonbill in New Jersey and tips on photographing the antics of eagles to a paradise of puffins on a disputed island. In 2018, Joe will bring us snowy owls and wild horses - and that is only the beginning.
ROBERT WALLACE'S BEAT IS THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. RAIN DID NOT STOP HIM FROM PHOTOGRAPHING BLACK BEAR AT CADE'S COVE. IMAGE: ROBERT WALLACE
Robert Wallace's images remind me of poetry. Robert travels mostly solo in a mysterious yet candid natural world. He finds a black bear hiding deep in the rain splashed woods; later, while kayaking through an ancient cypress grove, a single alligator becomes his unlikely companion. The road less traveled in US's southern regions is Robert's sweet spot. Robert is in Florida right now! We look forward to his discoveries.
THE BEAUTY OF PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND, ALASKA IS ONLY SURPASSED BY ITS FRIENDLY PEOPLE & EXTRAORDINARY WILDLIFE. IMAGE: THANKS TO THIS ALASKA LIFE.
Good environments for wildlife are also good for people. In 2017, we discovered a place right here in the United States where humans and wildlife have coexisted respectfully for centuries. At Prince of Wales Island, Alaska we met the indigenous Tlingit and Haida peoples and discovered where to see the wild Alexander Archipelago fishing wolves as well as black bear, delicate Sika deer, Orca, and wild salmon.
ORCA , LIKE THIS ONE SPOTTED FROM THE PORCH OF WHALE POINT CABIN, ARE JUST THE BEGINNING. PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND, ALASKA IS HOME TO WILD GREY WOLVES, DELICATE SITKA DEER, BALD EAGLES AND SO MUCH MORE! IMAGE: THANKS TO WHALE POINT CABIN, COFFMAN COVE, PRINCE OF WHALES ISLAND, ALASKA.
Migrants in New York! From Snowy Owls to Warblers.
TINY WARBLERS MIGRATE THOUSANDS OF MILES EACH SPRING AND FALL, WE FOLLOWED THEM UP NEW YORK'S HUDSON RIVER VALLEY. IMAGE: JOHN ANDERSON
We visited snowy owls in New York State last winter and spring had us watching the warblers resting in Manhattan's Central Park on their migration from as far away as Peru up the Hudson River Valley through New York State and beyond.
Alligators, Panthers, Kayaking and a Hurricane in the Everglades.
KAYAKING WITH ALLIGATORS IN THE WESTERN EVERGLADES WAS A BLAST, WE GO BACK IN 2018 TO SEE HOW THEY ARE RECOVERING AFTER IRMA. IMAGE: R. KRAVETTE
We traveled to the very western part of the Florida Everglades to track (or kayak!) the Florida Big Five: Florida panther, black bear, American alligator, Indian manatee, and roseate spoonbill. Hurricane Irma visited right after we did. We will be going back shortly to see how the restoration of habitat and humanity is progressing.
Family, Nature, Wildlife and Humanity - All at Grace Farms
MARK FOWLER HAS CONSERVATION IN HIS DNA, HE POSED THE QUESTION, "WHAT IS THE VALUE OF WILDLIFE & NATURE?" IMAGE: THANKS TO GRACE FARMS
And speaking of humanity, thanks to Mark Fowler we discovered Grace Farms in Connecticut, They work simultaneously to stop human and wildlife trafficking, halt wildlife poaching and they provide a fabulous place for families to spend the day in nature. Wow!
From Our Readers: Asiatic Lions, Mountain Gorillas - and a Tragic End
And thanks to our readers we witnessed The Last Asiatic Lions in the World, The Lions of Gir (India), we went to Uganda to Trek Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and met a lost corncrake on his tragic final days in Long Island.
THE STORY OF THE THE LAST WILD ASIATIC LIONS ON EARTH, THE LIONS OF GIR, INDIA, CAME TO US THROUGH ONE OF OUR READERS, HIREN KHAMBHAYTA, HE ALSO TOOK THE AMAZING IMAGES.
Extraordinary Adventure is on the Horizon in 2018
2018 will see Destination: Wildlife above the Arctic circle to visit the indigenous Sami people, reindeer herders in what was once called Lapland (Norway, Sweden, and Finland).
Our travel list for the New Year also includes a luxury treetop eco-lodge in Puerto Rico hard hit by 2017’s storms but back in full glory. We will explore some of the United States' wild places in New Mexico and elsewhere, now while we still can, as protection gets pulled away and we face the possible loss of much of our national heritage. We will catch up with migrating whale sharks, and head to Africa to visit endangered cheetahs in Namibia, and so much more.
So this week as we close the door to 2017, and celebrate the possibilities of this shiny new year, let's also acknowledge those "others," the people and places and lives we don't know, who share this amazing world with us.
All around fabulous travel destinations for responsible wildlife viewing, nature adventures, cultural exchange, and new friendships beckoning all around. Let's explore together!
Next stop, Destination: Wildlife!
THE ADVENTURES ARE ALREADY POURING IN FOR 2018. ROBERT WALLACE MET THESE LITTLE BANDITS WHILE KAYAKING AT CHASSAHOWITZKA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ON FLORIDA'S WEST COAST FOR THE NEW YEAR. WHO ELSE DID HE MEET? STAY TUNED, 2018 IS GOING TO BE A WILD YEAR! . IMAGE: ROBERT WALLACE.
