Species at risk need our help
Harbour seal (Photo by Ryan Murphy)
As an animal lover, I pride myself on my knowledge of all creatures furry, feathery and scaly. But when the federal government announced that it was adding nine more animals for protection under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), I was surprised to...
A chance meeting with an iconic Canadian mammal
Moose and her calf (Photo courtesy of Wild for Wildlife and Nature)
Moose are an iconic part of Canada's wildlife. Growing up to six and a half feet tall at their shoulders and weighing up to 1,400 pounds, they are the largest species of deer in the world and one of the largest land mammals in Canada.Crossing...
Nature's most dedicated dads
Red foxes (Photo by GDallimore/Wikimedia Commons)
Across the world, millions of animal fathers strive to ensure their offspring’s survival. In honour of Father’s Day, learn about 10 of the animal kingdom’s most devoted dads and the fascinating ways they look after their...
An ode to narwhal (Part One)
Narwhal (Illustration by David Scheirer)
a pod of magic /breaks through the floe /what a peculiar way / (Inspired by Moby Dick) The whale series returns with Ishmael’s nostril whale, a.k.a. the narwhal. Whether you pronounce its name nar-wall or nar-whale, this creature’s...
Cracker Jack and caribou: Are we failing Canada’s species at risk?
Black-footed ferret (Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Mountain Prairie)
I lost my Cracker Jack wildlife cards sometime in the 1980s, but the images printed on the cards are still vivid in my mind. The small cards came wrapped in clear plastic and featured a holographic image of a wildlife species in danger. I can...
True North: A look at the NCC Magazine Winter 2017 issue
NCC Magazine Winter 2017
The winter 2017 edition of the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Magazine — the cover adorned with a mother polar bear rambling toward the camera, with two cubs trailing behind — arrived in my mailbox on one of the...
Ten of nature's strangest mating strategies
Angler fish (Photo by David Shale)
During my final year of university, I took a course called Evolution and Reproduction, which explored various animal mating strategies. It was one of my most fascinating classes; the material was mind blowing, the professor was a hoot and the...
Uncovering the magic of winter wildlife
Meeting Lake 03, SK (Photo by NCC)
While attending college in Winnipeg, my classmate and I used to walk north from the campus at the corner of Shaftesbury and Grant streets to explore the different sections of Assiniboine Park. As the school year was between September and April,...
12 tweetable facts about Chinese zodiac animals
Sable Island horses (Photo by Bill Freedman)
Lunar New Year is a celebration of the first day of the first month in the lunisolar calendar. The tradition, believed to have started as early as 2300 BC, is based on a 12-year-long cycle, with each year in the cycle corresponding to a particular...
Canada's bats in crisis
Little brown myotis (Photo by Brock Fenton)
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a cloud of little brown myotis bats flying in broad daylight at the coldest time of the year in January. There was something vaguely disturbing and peculiar about seeing them fluttering around against a...
