Stop-Look-Listen. The best game to teach kids to ‘see’ and connect with nature also creates special memories for the kids, parents and grandparents. It’s a game all ages can play and is great way to get tech-focused kids away from the screen. The author’s granddad played it with him first when he was a super-active 6-year old, when they played their last game, the child was 30 and granddad was slowing down.
Read MoreWildlife photographer Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven and a few good friend take us on a tour of the best places to see and photograph brown or grizzly bear, in Alaska and western Canada. Discover the places where the iconic bears gather, sometimes in amazing numbers, to fish and feast on salmon, teach their cubs, and fatten up for winter - from “ghost” towns where the bears outnumber people to some of the most magnificent wilderness on the planet.
Read MoreA safari to see mountain gorillas is like no other trip. These endangered primates are found in only one small corner of the world, high in the rainforest of the the Virunga Mountains. These mountain range across the borders of three countries, Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is home to nearly half the total population of 1000 individuals. Come trek with Jeff Daum as he experiences mountain gorillas for the first time.
Read MoreYuquiyú Farm and Garden in Puerto Rico is an oasis of nature, birds, coqui song, and vegan cooking, and in case you want to add a little island exploration, it is close to El Yunque National Forest and Old San Juan, too. At just a fast four-hour flight from New York, this is the perfect destination for a weekend get-away. Or bring your passion. Yuquiyú was imagined as a retreat for writers and artists. Four treehouses only, single or double occupancy only. No children.
Read MoreThe beautiful Sea of Cortez, barely a 90-minute car-drive from the United States border south on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, is a warm world away from most of North America’s December freeze. The Sea of Cortez, earth’s youngest Sea, is a long, thin strip framed by Mexico on three sides and home to a fantastic array of marine life and birds. Uninhabited islands, perfect for breeding shorebirds, dot the Sea, initially and sometimes still called The Gulf of California. We explored the coastline and estuaries in Baja’s northern half finding a few still-secret places with good birdwatching and photography opportunities. We especially recommend two, San Carlos on Baja’s Pacific coast side and Bahia de Los Angeles on the shores of the Sea of Cortez.
Read MoreWhere is the perfect place for your first African Safari? Namibia has it all, welcoming people, fabulous climate, an amazing array of wildlife including elephant, lion, black and white rhino, zebra (mountain and plains), and so many amazing others all wrapped in a clean, friendly, stable county with (so far) no crowds. But I fell in love with Namibia one morning at the edge of dawn.
Read MoreWhen a gentoo penguin pair selects a site for nest building in the frozen Antarctic, is that affection between them? Storyteller and poet, Mark Seth Lender, shares in words and photography what he witnessed as he watched a pair gentoo penguins select the site for this year’s family home.
Read MoreThe best tip for safety in bear country is “prepare.” Know your bear species and understand its behavior. After wildlife photographer Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven had a very close encounter with a grizzly, he spoke with wildlife biologist, Jason Wilmot of the National Forestry Service. Learn the difference between a charge and an predation attack, how to avoid and if necessary, to defend against each. Bears and humans can share the same territory. Learn how.
Read MoreThe first rule of safety in grizzly country is: Don’t startle a bear! Recently on a beautiful autumn morning, wildlife photographer Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven and Sarah, his dog, were out for a hike in a National Forest just beyond Grand Teton National Park. Spotting some crows behaving oddly, they walked through the trees and into a clearing for a better look. What they accidentally stumbled upon could have ended their lives. Would you know how to react to a mother grizzly defending her cub and their moose carcass? Would you be able to remain calm on the second charge?
Read MoreBubble-net feeding humpback whales. My first day on Prince of Wales Island, in Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago. was filled with wildlife, rafts of sea otters floated and played, seals lounged on the rocks, island hopping grey wolves appeared in camera traps, I explored my first tide pools full of tiny marine creatures, and there were birds, lots of birds. But it was the brilliant white gulls bobbing on the water’s surface that held the greatest surprise. It seems these smart birds know a thing or two about humpback whales and a free lunch. Watch the birds, Michael said. They point the way to bubble-net feeding humpback whales.
Read MoreThe Big Bend National Park in Texas is a place of many surprises. Along its southern-most border, where the Chihuahuan Desert meets the Rio Grande, a myriad of plant and animal, bird and fish species can be found, including some that are threatened or endangered. But there is one species doing especially well, and although it may be adorable, it is not welcome. Nutria were brought to this country for use in the fur trade, and abandoned to the wild when fashion taste changed. Today, they are a ravenous invasive species, chomping away at vegetation, destroying habitat and further stressing threatened and endangered native species. What to do with this new neighbor is becoming a nation-wide challenge.
Read MoreNamibia is not only the perfect place for a Big-5 wildlife safari, it is also a fabulous place for birdwatching. Namibia is a land of contrasts and surprises, from the red sand deserts to the lush Caprivi Strip. These ecologically diverse areas provide habitat for over 670 different bird species, from raptor to waders, bee-eaters to larks with 14 near endemic species rarely found elsewhere. Come, discover the rare birds of Namibia!
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