Ten of nature's weirdest courtship rituals
![Greater prairie chicken (Photo by Ron Knight/Wikimedia Commons)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/bird/Greater-prairie-chicken-Ron-Knight-Wikimedia-Commons-thumb.jpg)
Greater prairie chicken (Photo by Ron Knight/Wikimedia Commons)
Much like humans, other animals have evolved ways of wooing or courting potential mates, whether it’s singing a love song, doing a sensual dance or giving a thoughtful gift. With love in the air this Valentine’s Day, here are 10...
Top 10 blog posts of 2017
![Bunchberry Meadows Conservation Area, AB (Photo by Kyle Marquardt)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/land/ab/Bunchberry-Meadows-Conservation-Area-photo-by-Kyle-smMarquardt-thumb.jpg)
Bunchberry Meadows Conservation Area, AB (Photo by Kyle Marquardt)
Every year, Land Lines is filled with submissions from across the country, with tales touching on a variety of topics — from the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) stewardship work, to heartwarming accounts of conservation...
Identifying bats by their distinctive voices
![Big brown bat (Photo by Brock Fenton)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/mammal/Big-brown-bat-Brock-Fenton-thumb.jpg)
Big brown bat (Photo by Brock Fenton)
Having studied bats for more than a decade, I have been fortunate to be able talk to students in their classrooms while doing bat presentations, or to landowners while I trapped bats on their properties. Everyone has a bat story. Everyone loves...
A soft spot for the infamous predator: Wolves
![Gray wolf (Photo by Mike Dembeck)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/mammal/Gray-Wolf-2-by-Mike-Dembeck-thumb.jpg)
Gray wolf (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
The timber wolf, also known as the gray wolf, is common in northwestern Ontario, where I have worked and lived for nearly 40 years. Common, but not always safe. I have a soft spot for predators such as wolves. In part because they are beautiful...
On a quest for the alluring swift fox
![Swift fox cub and its mum (Photo by Catriona Matheson, Cochrane Ecological Institute)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/blog/cub-and-mum_Catriona-Matheson-Clio_Cochrane-Ecological-Institute-thumb.jpg)
Swift fox cub and its mum (Photo by Catriona Matheson, Cochrane Ecological Institute)
My unsuccessful search for the elusive swift fox has spanned nearly a decade.It was 2008, the winter semester of my first year at Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alberta, when I first learned about the history of swift foxes in Canada. The smallest...
The elusive wolverine: Beyond the X-Men character
![The elusive wolverine. This individual was caught on camera making off from the bait station with a large piece of beaver carcass. (Photo by InnoTech Alberta and Alberta Environment & Parks)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/blog/Wolverine-Banner-1-web.jpg)
The elusive wolverine. This individual was caught on camera making off from the bait station with a large piece of beaver carcass. (Photo by InnoTech Alberta and Alberta Environment & Parks)
When you think of a wolverine, do you think of an elusive, almost mythical creature with superpowers, or do you think of the comic book character? Most people have heard of X-Men, either through the movies or the comic book series, but few people...
Keeping my distance from a gentle giant
![Moose on Mount Hereford, QC (Photo by MRC de Coaticook)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/mammal/moose_MB_Mont-Hereford_MRC-Coaticook_QC_thumb.jpg)
Moose on Mount Hereford, QC (Photo by MRC de Coaticook)
I have had a great respect for moose ever since a misadventure at Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, more than 20 years ago. While hiking along the popular Skyline Trail, my boyfriend and I came across several moose grazing on low...
Badgered into respecting the wild
![American badger (Photo by Max Allen/Shutterstock)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/mammal/American-badger-Photo-by-Max-Allen_Shutterstock-thumb.jpg)
American badger (Photo by Max Allen/Shutterstock)
It was my co-worker Emily's and my first day out in the field without a manager — the training wheels were off. We were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to impress the property land managers with a thorough property inspection. This...
10 species protected thanks to Conservation Volunteers, coast to coast
![Juvenile burrowing owls (Photo by Lauren Meads)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/bird/juvenile-burrowing-owls-lauren-mead-thumb.jpg)
Juvenile burrowing owls (Photo by Lauren Meads)
So far this year, hundreds of volunteers from across the country have gathered to lend a hand for nature at events hosted by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Whether it was removing invasive species wreaking havoc on a delicate forest, or...
Parasitism: The dark side of symbiosis
![Sand steenbras infected with tongue-eating louse (Photo by Marco Vinci/Wikimedia Commons)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/aquatic/Sand-steenbras-cymothoa-exigua-Marco-Vinci-Wikimedia-Commons-thumb.jpg)
Sand steenbras infected with tongue-eating louse (Photo by Marco Vinci/Wikimedia Commons)
In nature, when two individuals of different species often live in close association with each other, this leads to a phenomenon called symbiosis. There are three types of symbiosis: Mutualism is a win-win situation for both organisms because...