The Other White Bear

On the western coast of Canada, deep in the coastal rainforest, lives a unique bear.
The Kermode, or Spirit bear, is a genetic variation of the American black bear, and found nowhere else in the world. The white coat is thought to be caused by a recessive gene, and when two black bears who carry this [...]

Cavorting Snow Kittens

No matter how hard I look, I will never find anything cuter than this! These two young snow leopard cubs are exploring their outdoor enclosure at Woodland Park Zoo for the first time. Go ahead, watch it over & over – I did!

Read more about these beautiful endangered cats on the [...]

Yogi Bear Reincarnate?

If you live or hike in bear country, you know all about keeping your food out of sniffing range. Or at least you should.
Open food left in a campsite is just an invitation for large, furry visitors with teeth & claws. There are a number of solutions available, and in the past it has been [...]

Raccoon Surprise

The wily raccoon is well known across most of the North American continent. Most, but not all.
Their population exploded in the 1940’s, with the spread of urbanization and agriculture (easy food) and the extermination of predators by man giving them a helping hand. Their expansion was somewhat limited by the terrain, as raccoons depend on [...]

Tiny Swift Foxes

Swift foxes are small members of the Canid family weighing around 5 pounds when fully grown. They come by their name naturally – they have been recorded running at speeds of up to 40 mph, although their small size can make them seem even faster.
Native to the Great Plains of North America, swift fox numbers [...]

Baby Raccoon Vid

I have a soft spot for raccoons. They’re smart, tenacious, fluffy and cute. This attitude is no doubt helped by the fact they are not native to Alberta, and I don’t have any digging through my garbage.  All indications are though, that they’re moving into this province from the west and the south, so it’s [...]

Wolves of the Coastal Rainforest

On the western coast of Canada lives a population of small wolves that are likely genetically distinct from their grey wolf cousins.
Pacific Coastal wolves are  have red-tinted hair instead of grey, exist largely on a marine diet and spend much of their time swimming between islands. This makes this wolf population unique in behaviour, looks, [...]

A Black-footed Future

A small, cat-sized carnivore with masked eyes has returned from the brink of extinction.
The black-footed ferret was once found throughout the Midwestern plains of North America. Catastrophic habitat loss and the near eradication of prairie dogs by farmers were blamed for their demise, as they eat almost nothing except prairie dogs. Fifty years ago, scientists [...]

Screwing With Ecosystems

Officials in Australia thought they had a good idea when they brought in the first cane toads. Various governments in Europe have eradicated their predators, and then complained bitterly when the rabbit population exploded.
Have we learned nothing?
States in the western USA are now contemplating the removal of the grey wolf from protection under the Endangered [...]

Little Bitty Kitty

Quick – how many of the 37 wild cat species can you name?
And how many wild cats can you name that weigh under five pounds as adults?
Although I’m tempted to stop there and make you wonder, I will tell you that the answer is two. Both the rusty spotted cat and black-footed cat weigh just [...]