Journal — Destination: Wildlife™

9 Reasons You Will Love the Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park, in Saskatewan, Canada may be everything a nature lover wants in a park: Camera-ready landscapes, extraordinary topography, photogenic wildlife, endangered species, and no crowds!

The Park preserves one of North America’s largest remaining expanses of native grasslands and supports a wide variety of plains wildlife – including a surprising number of endangered species. To stand in the endless plains is to feel both incredibly small and at one with nature. But if that is not enough, here are nine more reasons to visit Grasslands National Park. New, updated information and images included

Roberta KravetteJuly 20, 2022 Comments

The Killing of Grizzly 1057

Why Did Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department kill newly weaned grizzly cub 1057? When grizzly 399 weaned her four cubs earlier this spring, two of the cubs went north. The other two cubs headed southeast into the Green River Valley where they had found human food in the past. One of these was the young grizzly 1057. A fed bear is a dead bear.

Jorn VangoidtsenhovenJuly 20, 2022 Comments

Catching Up With the Grand Teton's Famous Bears

The grizzly bears of the Grand Tetons have gained fans across the globe. Wildlife photographer, Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven, catches up with grizzly 399, 610, Felicia and all their cubs.

Jorn VangoidtsenhovenJune 14, 2022 Comments

Close Encounter at Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge

The Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge turned out to be the perfect place for a wildlife photographer to escape from the winter cold. A slim refuge on the Rio Grande in New Mexico, the Bosque del Apache is a famous sanctuary for sandhill cranes, snow geese, and many other birds. But mammals such as coyotes and bobcats live there, too - and then there is the javelina! Tips on finding and photographing javelina and where to stay in the Bosque del Apache area.

Jorn VangoidtsenhovenMay 9, 2022 Comments

Saving Whale Sharks with the Gordon Primary School in Australia

The kids in Mr. Waghchoure’s class of 3rd and 4th graders in Canberra, Australia have a mission – they want to save the largest fish on the planet: whale shark. It's a tall order for a group of young primary school students, but these caring kids have enthusiasm and ideas they want to share. And that is where sustainable change begins.

Roberta KravetteMay 7, 2022 Comments

Our Winter Week With the Wolves of Yellowstone

The best time to study wolves is deep in winter when most of Yellowstone National Park is closed. Follow five women and their wildlife biologist guide as they braved the cold for The Exploring Women’s Winter Wolf trek.

Roberta KravetteMarch 29, 2022yellowstone, Yellowstone NP, Grey wolf, wolf Comments

Notes From Africa, A New York Photographer Follows His Heart

Neither COVID nor a hip replacement could keep this photographer from following his heart to Africa and the mountain gorilla’s of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Larry Blau found elephants, lions, rhinos and birds, discovered the gerenuk, and met a silverback. And he found time to write home about it all.

Why Are We Killing (Yellowstone’s) Wolves?

When federal Endangered Species protection was removed from grey wolves, five states immediately reinstated seasonal wolf hunts. By February 2021, less than halfway through the hunting season, 24 Yellowstone wolves had been killed. In the same month, a judge reinstated protection, but exempted Yellowstone’s home state and three border states, exactly where the wolves are being killed. Why are wolves being hunted and what can we do to stop the killing?

Jorn VangoidtsenhovenFebruary 10, 2022 Comments

Searching for Wildflowers, the Secret Treasure in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons

Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Teton Mountains have a secret treasure: wildflowers. Hundreds of varieties of flowers bloom along the roads and paths, and among the trees and in the clearings and grasslands creating great swaths of jewels-tone blossoms. Wildflower lover Jovial Lewis introduces us to a few of her favorite wildflowers in the Yellowstone - Grand Teton ecosystem.

Jovial LewisJanuary 24, 2022Yellowstone, wildflowers, Grand Tetons Comments

Warning, You Can Only See These Birds In Puerto Rico

Kissed by both the Atlantic Ocean and by the Caribbean Sea, it is the beaches on the island’s 300 miles of beautiful coastline that usually bring visitors. But Puerto Rico is more than sunbathing and mega-resorts. Puerto Rico has 17 endemic bird species, eighteen if you count the Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) about whom debate rages. Plus another 330+ species migrants, introductions, and accidentals. This is a birder's paradise. Hurricane Maria made a mess of Puerto Rico in 2017, flattening the vegetation as well as the buildings. But nature is amazing. The rainforest and wildlife are rebounding in miraculous ways.

Roberta KravetteJanuary 5, 2022Puerto Rico, Birdwatching Comments

55 Reasons Why the Florida Everglades are Special

Before there was an Everglades National Park, there was Everglades, the ecosystem. This Everglades has been around for 5,000 years! The Greater Everglades Ecosystem is a region of tropical wetlands beginning at the headwaters of the Kissimmee River, draining into Lake Okeechobee, and finally spilling fresh water to Florida Bay. This once vast, shallow, and free-flowing river of grass has been exploited, polluted, and drained for decades, threatening Florida’s water supply and its amazing biodiversity. The Everglades are home to the highly endangered Florida panther and Florida mink, to black bear and bob cat, to both alligator and crocodile, and a plethora of migratory and resident birds. Today, Floridian’s are fighting to restore the Everglades. Unique in the world, there is no other place on Earth like the Everglades. The Everglades is a place not to miss.

An Uncertain Future for the Grand Teton's Grizzlies

The charismatic grizzly bears of the Grand Teton are beloved worldwide, but feeding and other irresponsible behavior by humans are putting them at risk for euthanasia. Can grizzly 399, and Felicia and their offspring survive human bad behavior? An interview with Friends of the Grand Teton by wildlife photographer, Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven.

Jorn VangoidtsenhovenNovember 16, 2021 Comments