It’s a well known fact that children of all ages find it hard to resist a mud puddle. Little tots will go out of their way to be able to slosh through water, and I admit to doing the same thing myself. I guess it’s something we never outgrow!

Apparently humans aren’t the only ones who enjoy a good puddle. This young elk looks like he’s having the time of his life in this video. I just have this mental image of his mother standing out of frame, patiently waiting for her little guy…

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 gene mate, a white cub is born.

This video from The Nature Conservancy Canada tells the story of this beautiful inhabitant of the Great Bear Rainforest.

A GREAT DAY FOR SEA TURTLES!

NASSAU, Bahamas — The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources hereby announces that the Fisheries Regulations governing marine turtles have been amended to give full protection to all marine turtles found in Bahamian waters by prohibiting the harvesting, possession, purchase and sale of turtles, their parts and eggs. The new regulations also prohibits the molestation of marine turtle nests.

The regulations came into effect on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009.

The Government has engaged in intensive and extensive consultations with the public over the issue of the ban on the harvesting and sale of marine turtles for the past twelve months. The commitment to the conservation and preservation of these species while in Bahamian waters has been demonstrated by the introduction of protective measures and safeguards over the past two decades, starting with the actions taken to safeguard the hawksbill turtle in 1986.

For more great articles on ocean life, be sure and visit Thriving Oceans

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 Snow Leopard Blog

Wildlife news on the net seems to be more depressing than usual today. To counteract the negativity, we’re happy give you some good news from the prairies.

Swift Foxes Relocated

Officials in Montana plan to transplant about 30 swift foxes to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in an effort to boost fox numbers by linking populations of the small predator in Canada, South Dakota and Wyoming.

The ultimate goal of the project is to establish a wildlife corridor for the tiny foxes that will run from Canada to Texas. An ambitious goal that would save untold thousands of wildlife species – mammals, birds and plants.

Swift foxes are native to the prairies of North America but were killed off by poison intended for coyotes and wolves. Increased farming eliminated habitat for prairie dogs, ground squirrels and rabbits that the foxes prey on. They are now found in less than 40% of their historic range.

Read more here

Re-fencing for the Pronghorn

Adult male Pronghorn

North America’s fastest animal can reach speeds up to 100 km/hr. They evolved on the vast open areas of the Great Plains, where there was ample room to run. But they don’t jump fences.

As the land was increasingly parceled off for settlement, pronghorns faced increased injury and death by colliding with barbed wire fences.Mass deaths at fence lines have also been reported as pronghorn failed to find a way around or underneath the barriers.

Now a group of conservationists, hunters, landowners, government and the military are spending about $300,00 to provide pronghorn-friendly fencing in southern Alberta.

This summer, the bottom line of barbed wire was yanked off fence posts by volunteers, and replaced with a double stranded smooth wire than hangs 46 cm above the ground. More than enough room for the small pronghorn to duck under and continue on their way.

Motion cameras have already captured photos of pronghorn and deer safely ducking under the smooth wire.

This astonishingly simple solution will prevent the death of thousands of prairie animals, yet still fence in the livestock. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. Hopefully the idea will spread throughout the range of the pronghorn, giving a much-needed helping hand to these iconic symbols of the prairies.

Read more about the project

Feathers are wonderful things.

They are lightweight yet powerful enough to allow birds to soar through the air. Their bright colors, crests and plumes are vital to breeding success, as the females choose the most visually appealing mate.

It stands to reason that something that important should be regularly maintained, and in the bird world, that is done by molting or shedding of the feathers.

Over time, feathers wear out and must be replaced. Most birds lose just a few feathers at a time which are replaced by healthy, shiny new ones. The ducks and geese however, chuff off all their old feathers over a short period, leaving them unable to fly and vulnerable to predation during the summer molting period.

Ralph in his spiffy new suit.

Apparently one young Humboldt penguin in Marwell Zoo in the United Kingdom, has taken molting to a new level. Most penguins molt over a period of 4-6 weeks, but Ralph lost ALL of his feathers in one day. He’s completely healthy in all respects, and zoo staff have no idea why they ended up with a bald penguin.

Feathers also provide insulation against the sun’s harmful rays, so Ralph was in danger of severe sunburn, and would have had to be kept indoors until his feathers grew back. Not being able to swim with your buddies for three weeks just didn’t seem fair, so the zookeepers put their heads together.

The result was a rubber penguin wetsuit. Now Ralph has a spiffy new set of clothes to cover his featherless-ness and he can act like all the rest of the penguins. Apparently the flock gave his new duds a quick once over, then decided it was no big deal and lost interest.

This is yet another example of how nature is always surprising us. If Ralph lived in the wild and lost all his feathers in one day, he would not have survived. Why it happens at all is a mystery, but thanks to some very resourceful zookeepers, a new penguin fashion statement has saved the day!

• Read more about Ralph’s species

This not Yellow-Yellow, but a member of her family eating real bear food - berries.

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 popular to encase your food in a tarp or canvas sack, and tie it up in a tree. The bears soon learned that if they chewed on the ropes, they received a nice dinner from above.

Then came the invention of tougher breeds of bear canisters, which proved effective for most bears. Most – but not all.

A clever little female black bear in the Adirondacks of New York State has wildlife officers and bear canister designers scratching their heads.

Named Yellow Yellow for the tags in her ears, this little bruin has managed to defeat not only the childproof top on previously invulnerable polycarbonate vaults, but also new, two-lock systems.

Jamie Hogan, the owner of the California based BearVault, said the designer side of him is very impressed by her actions.

And if one clever bear can pick apart his locks — which include single and double push-tabs to open the twist top — he wonders how soon before others learn the same trick.

Hogan has been told to just sell his canisters for use everywhere else, since it’s only in Yellow-Yellow’s backyard the BearVaults, and other brands, are being defeated. But as a designer, he just can’t give up when bested by a bear.

A new and once again improved locking system is in the works, and will be set out to tempt and test the otherwise shy 125-pound thief.

“She’s a female, and I just see her having babies and passing on the knowledge,” BearVault designer Hogan now frets.

I for one am very impressed with Yellow Yellow’s talent. Based on personal experience, I can’t even open child-proof locks, and I have opposable thumbs. Or possibly too many thumbs, now that I think of it.

As amusing as this story is, let us not forget what happens to problem bears. I sincerely hope they manage to curb her lock-picking proclivities, or her days may be numbered.

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 vertical structures to climb when they feel threatened. They avoid open areas that don’t provide trees to climb for safety.

Since the 1950’s, their range expanded north to the forested regions of south eastern Canada, and the western Rocky Mountains in British Columbia.

The province of Alberta has traditionally been raccoon-free. To enter from the south or east, raccoons would have had to cross the broad, flat prairie landscape. To enter from the west, they would have to traverse the high peaks of the Rocky Mountains. There is no official literature listing them as an Alberta wildlife species.

I live in southern Alberta, tucked up against the prairie and the mountains. Imagine my surprise then, when I looked out the window on the front of our house and saw this little critter in our tree.

Raccoon surprise

What are you looking at?!

There had been rumours among the local naturalist community about raccoons being spotted here and there. They were  thought to be making their way along the treed banks of the Bow River. We live a block from said river.

As an avid bird watcher, I have several bird feeders in my yard. What a happy raccoon I had that morning. After several tries, he figured out that if he held this feeder with one hand, he could shovel the sunflower seeds into his mouth with the other one and it wouldn’t swing out of reach. He kept yanking on the feeder though, wanting to take it away with him.

Almost got it...

Yes! Food!

The squirrels in the tree were somewhat underwhelmed by his presence. My cat in the house was fascinated, and kept making these strange noises in the back of his throat while keeping a close eye on the intruder.

What the hell are you?

Look at the size of that thing!

This young raccoon hung around the tree for about 3 hours. I went ballistic taking photos and video through the window. Whenever I moved, he paused in his feeding for a few seconds, then casually resumed what he was doing.

I admit to being totally in love with raccoons. Yes, I know they get into your garbage and eat the food put out for the birds. I don’t care. If this little guy comes back on a regular basis, I’ll likely be putting dry dog food in the bird feeders. Or perhaps buying specialized raccoon food.

I wouldn’t put anything past me when it comes to raccoons.

There is nothing I can say to add to the absolute delight of watching this video! This backyard visit took place in Alaska, and all I can say is that I would love visitors like this in my yard.

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 dropped drastically as the prairies were developed. Habitat fragmentation, persecution and poisoning of their main prey species – ground squirrels – reached a point where the little foxes were struggling to survive. The last wild swift fox recorded in Canada was seen in 1938.

Swift foxes in the USA fared a bit better.  From 1983 to 1997, swift foxes were brought from areas of the United States and reintroduced in south-eastern Alberta as well as in Montana. Since that time, a unique population has also been established in south-western Saskatchewan.

As part of this reintroduction program, swift foxes were reared in captivity in both countries, and their offspring released into the wild. I had the privilege of volunteering for the swift fox project – pulling the pups out of a den, weighing, tagging and trying to hold them while the vet gave them their shots is an experience that will long be remembered.

Thanks to the actions of concerned conservationists, these little foxes are now roaming the Great Plains in ever larger numbers. Captive breeding, reintroduction and preserved habitat throughout Canada and the USA combined to allow them to once again fly across the prairies.

Results from the 2000/2001 and 2005/2006 censuses of the Canadian population of swift fox show that this is the most successful recovery of a nationally extirpated carnivore in the world.

In the past, the Calgary Zoo was one of the institutions propagating the swift fox for release to the wild, Now that this species has been successfully re-introduced, breeding at the zoo is restricted to certain individuals with valuable genetics.

Those genetics took a grand leap forward this spring, with the birth of four swift fox cubs. Meet the newest swift foxes on the block!