Category: behaviour

Photographing the Penguins of Boulders Beach, South Africa

Robin
African penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa

Boulders Beach, south of Cape Town, is an amazing spot to watch and photograph African Penguins at close quarters. Sometimes referred to as Jackass Penguins because of their donkey-like braying, African Penguins only live along the Atlantic coast of South Africa and Namibia. They are considered an endangered species, with the current population estimated to be only 10% of what it was in 1900. While… Read morePhotographing the Penguins of Boulders Beach, South Africa

Visiting Mexico’s Marvelous Monarchs

Robin
Monarch Butterflies at El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.

As soon as the morning sun warms the air, the forest and sky spring to life. Bold splashes of orange speckle the blue sky as countless monarchs take flight and land on branches, logs, the ground, and even on our heads and shoulders. The sound is unlike anything we have heard before: a gentle, whispering whir like a million pieces of confetti swirling in the… Read moreVisiting Mexico’s Marvelous Monarchs

Wonders of the Kalahari

Robin
Lion, Kalahari Desert

We’re here for an adventure, but it turns out to be more of an adventure than we had bargained for. We start with a long drive from Johannesburg to the Kalahari Desert’s most wildlife-rich region – Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, straddling the border of South Africa and Botswana. As in many wildlife parks in South Africa, you can do a self-drive wildlife safari, exploring in your… Read moreWonders of the Kalahari

Sleeping with Rhinos

Robin
Rhino, Marakele National Park, South Africa

  The two-ton monster stares at us through the front door of our tiny tent, its long, curved horn pointing like a dagger. If that’s not enough to stir us from slumber, four of its buddies have us surrounded. Without warning a scuffle breaks out between two of them, with plenty of snorting and foot stomping sending bits of dirt and gravel flying against our… Read moreSleeping with Rhinos

Snake Orgy at Fort Livingstone

Robin

  It’s almost time for one of Saskatchewan’s most unusual wildlife spectacles. As fascinating as Fort Livingstone’s annual snake orgy may be, the story behind it is just as interesting. In 1874, the North West Mounted Police made their historic March West, and established the first Mountie headquarters at Fort Livingstone on the banks of the Swan River in what is now eastern Saskatchewan. This… Read moreSnake Orgy at Fort Livingstone

The Marvelous Monarchs of Mexico

Robin
Monarch butterflies

We just got back from witnessing one of nature’s most breathtaking spectacles. High in the Sierra Madre Mountains west of Mexico City is the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where migrating Monarchs from east of the Rockies throughout North America overwinter in a mountaintop forest of oyamel fir trees. Arriving around late November and staying until March, they number in the… Read moreThe Marvelous Monarchs of Mexico