Lasting Impressions

After spending a week working with leatherback sea turtles on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, I was surprised that the largest impact for me was not the scenery, but two dedicated young girls that I met along the way. This image was taken as they finished rescuing an entire nest of recently hatched leatherback sea turtles from overheating in the intense equatorial sun, calmly looking after the last one as it made its arduous trek to the ocean.

This family spent their vacation volunteering to help save sea turtles and enthusiastically represent the next generation of wildlife conservationists. Their excitement around wildlife and willingness to help in any way they could was infectious. It also serves as a reminder of some of the positive things that are happening in the world of conservation.

It is easy to become disheartened with all of the negative news that surrounds the field of wildlife conservation today, but it is important to hold moments like this close if we are to ensure a future for wildlife and support the herculean efforts of those who seek to protect it.

This article was first published on Wild View via the Wildlife Conservation Society. Click here to view the original post.

A Brief Encounter

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flicker of movement through the office window. Waiting and watching for a moment, the small blur reappeared and was gone again in a matter of seconds. Ruby-throated hummingbirds had finally returned to Eastern Nebraska after their long winter absence, and I ran to grab my camera, hoping that this brave female would make another appearance. Waiting patiently for several minutes, I was rewarded with a split second of her standing still, perched just inches away from my camera before once again disappearing like a figment of my imagination.

Returning Home

I had walked this trail many times over the past year, watching a family of Bald Eagles raise three chicks in their massive nest. Growing faster than seemed possible, the chicks quickly fledged and the family left for the remainder of the year. Their absence was short lived, though, as they graced me with their presence on this late January walk, repeatedly flying low over the water of the Missouri river while rebuilding their nest. They had returned to this same location to start the child rearing process all over, and it felt like greeting old friends once again.

Icelandic Leviathans

It took us only an hour on the turbulent North Atlantic water to reach the herring boats. Having just left the city of Grindavík, it was a downright beautiful winter day in southern Iceland (a rare occurrence, from what I’m told). As we neared the large fishing vessels on the horizon we began scanning in all directions, looking for telltale signs of life breaking the surface of the water. Several humpback whales had been seen in this area just the day before, so it came as a surprise when we saw something entirely different.

Like a knife cutting through the wake, a tall black fin emerged in the distance, gliding for a moment then disappearing. Another, slightly closer, then another, until two pods of orca adding up to eight individuals could be seen at the same time. Coming within 20 feet of the boat, they seemed indifferent to our presence, carrying on as if we were just another feature of the landscape. When they surfaced I could see and hear the blast of their breath escaping through the blowhole at the top of their head.

Killer whales, as they are commonly called, are in fact not whales at all. They belong to the same family as oceanic dolphins. This was the first sighting of orca in this region for quite some time, due to their tendency of roaming great distances seasonally to keep their food close by. While some orca feed upon marine mammals such as seals, other groups indulge in copious amounts of smaller fish as their main food source. It just so happens that Iceland has plenty of herring. For long periods of time the orca will disappear, following these masses of herring for an easy meal. As the fish migrate back to the coastal region of Iceland the orca will follow, hunting in close proximity to the herring boats that supply Iceland with this economic staple.

 

This article was first published on Wild View via the Wildlife Conservation Society. Click here to view the original post.

Because They Matter

White-lined Leaf Frog (Phyllomedusa vaillanti) - Peruvian Amazon

Amphibian species throughout the world are at risk of extinction from a variety of causes. Pollution, habitat loss, and killer fungus, just to name a few. Why should we care? Because an amphibian population's health is an indicator of how healthy any given ecosystem is as a whole. Because they consume many of the insects we label as pests. Because many other animals rely on them as a food source. Because they're just so darn cool.

Amplexus: A Love Story

Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii)

Spring is in full swing, and the toads know it. As soon as the time is right, they make their appearance en masse and waste no time making use of newly-formed pools that come with the rain. These pools are known as vernal pools, and they are characterized by the fact that they don’t last forever, drying up as the year progresses. These temporary toad havens are necessary for the breeding process of many species, including these Woodhouse’s toads in Eastern Nebraska. Permanent bodies of water contain fish that eat their eggs and fast flowing water that can overpower them, so the toads seek these temporary shallow refuges and use them as nurseries while they last.

Male calling

The males emerge first, getting prepared and calling their little hearts out in an attempt to impress the ladies that follow shortly thereafter. Upon hearing this ensemble, the egg-heavy females make their way to the water and the frenzied competition begins. Males wrestle each other to claim prime real estate and call with as much passion as they can muster, hoping to catch the eye of a potential mate and draw the females closer with these displays of bravado. As soon as the female gets close enough the male makes his move, jumping on her back and holding on for dear life. Even if the female doesn't put up a fight, the surrounding males will try their hardest to displace him and take his place.

Amplexus over egg strands

Once firmly in place, the male will hold tight for hours on end. This position is known as amplexus and stimulates the female to start laying her eggs. Toad eggs are very distinct from frog eggs, as they are laid in a long string encased in a tube of jelly, instead of a large mass as seen with many frogs. This pearl-like string of eggs wraps around the vegetation in the shallow pools, which helps keep them close to the surface where it is warm and there is sunlight. Like fish, the male fertilizes the eggs externally, gradually releasing sperm as the female deposits her line of eggs. After waiting all year for this big moment, the deed is done and the toads part ways, looking for food and getting in shape for the competition next year.

Toad eggs

Shedding Light

It was long and tedious journey getting to Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland. Maintaining our ever-present spirit of frugality, we decided to find the cheapest way to our destination, not the shortest. This included several layovers and somewhere around 36 hours of no sleep (it’s hard to keep track when covering that many time zones). We eventually touched ground on the land of fire and ice in the early hours before sunrise and hit the ground running. There was a whole day’s worth of exploration ahead of us, and I was so excited that I cast aside the fatigue I had gained from travel.

Throughout the day we managed to explore some of the capital city, make our way to a UNESCO world heritage site, visit a traditional Viking long house, and even meet some of the famed Icelandic ponies. While each of these experiences are worthy of their own individual accounts, there was one common theme to conversation that lead to even greater anticipation amongst the people we met along the way. Tonight was shaping up to be a perfect blend of circumstances to see the aurora borealis, better known as the northern lights. To see the lights, one must travel far to the north (check) and escape the light pollution of civilization (check) on a cloudless night (check) with high solar

activity (check). It had been a long and rough winter, according to the locals, and this meant that there were very few opportunities to catch a glimpse of this naturally occurring phenomenon. By some chance of fate we found ourselves in the right place at the right time and even the residents seemed excited about our prospects.

The drive to Þingvellir National Park was hushed and dark. We were getting as far from the city as we could for the night. Along the way, our guide spoke of the stories the Vikings held that explained the lights as reflections of Valkyrie shields as they flew across the sky to Valhalla. His stories were very eloquent and lent a sense of perspective beyond the scientific explanations that I’m accustomed to. It didn't take long, though, for the lights to make an appearance and interrupt his dialogue.

At first it was only a tiny sliver, not yet even a discernible color. I stared at it for a while, thinking it was only a wisp of a cloud in the night sky. There was something about its movement, though, something that made it seem alive. Undulating and twisting, it grew in size and vibrancy until it was draped across the entire sky, going beyond my field of vision. Fluid-like tendrils were in a constant state of change, like a drop of oil swirled in water. Grey turned into green, green into purple, and they blended together on a black backdrop of the night sky sporadically punctured by the flicker of stars.

The show lasted for slightly over an hour. It seemed as though someone flipped the off switch and then they were gone, slowly dissipating like smoke from a blown-out candle. We piled back into our vehicle and everyone was silent, most likely trying to comprehend what they had just seen (like myself). An experience such as this goes beyond a simple check mark on a list. While they are easily explained by science, the northern lights possess an ethereal quality that make it almost impossible to avoid reflecting on oneself, expanding our perception of ourselves and the world around us.