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  • A Blue-tongued skink mother gives birth to live young at Bonorong Wildlife Park, Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania, Australia. Its large blue tongue can startle or warn potential enemies. Blue-tongued skinks (or blue-tongued lizards, Tiliqua genus, Scincidae family) are found in Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia. The only species of blue-tongue native to Tasmania is Tiliqua nigrolutea. Most blue-tongue skinks are diurnal ground-foraging omnivores, feeding on a wide variety of insects, gastropods, flowers, fruits, and berries.
    04AUS-30189_mother-newborn-Blue-tong...jpg
  • A captive koala rests in a tree at Bonorong Wildlife Park, Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania, Australia. The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only surviving member of the family Phascolarctidae. The koala is found in coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia, from Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula, extending inland where enough moisture supports suitable woodlands. The koalas of South Australia were mostly exterminated during the early 1900s, but have been repopulated with Victorian stock. The koala is not found in Tasmania or Western Australia. The koala is one of the few mammals (other than primates) that has fingerprints. It is generally silent, but males have a very loud advertising call that can be heard from almost a kilometer away during the breeding season. The koala requires large areas of healthy, connected forest and will travel long distances along tree corridors in search of new territory and mates. Human encroachment cuts these corridors with agricultural and residential development, forestry, and road-building, marooning koala colonies in decreasing areas of bush.
    04AUS-30157_Koala-Bonorong-WP.jpg
  • A famous herd of 1500 bison freely roam Custer State Park, as seen along Wildlife Loop Road, in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. South Dakota's largest and first state park was named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
    1709US1-3284_Custer-SP-SD.jpg
  • A Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus) is shown at Bonorong Wildlife Park, Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania, Australia. Wombats are burrowing grass eaters, and can be thought of as the marsupial ecological equivalent of a bear. Wombats are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of southeast Australia including Tasmania, plus an isolated group in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland. The three living species of wombats are marsupial mammals in the Vombatidae family. They dig extensive burrow systems with rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. Their unusual backwards-facing pouch avoids gathering dirt onto its young. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, wombats also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. Wombats are herbivores, mostly eating grasses, sedges, herbs, bark and roots.
    04AUS-30203_Wombat_Bonorong-WP.jpg
  • Blue-tongued skink, Bonorong Wildlife Park, Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania, Australia. Its large blue tongue can startle or warn potential enemies. Blue-tongued skinks (or blue-tongued lizards, Tiliqua genus, Scincidae family) are found in Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia. The only species of blue-tongue native to Tasmania is Tiliqua nigrolutea. Most blue-tongue skinks are diurnal ground-foraging omnivores, feeding on a wide variety of insects, gastropods, flowers, fruits, and berries.
    04AUS-30181_Blue-tongued-Skink.jpg
  • A captive Tasmanian devil stands in a pen at Bonorong Wildlife Park, Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania, Australia. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the island state of Tasmania. The devil is an iconic symbol of Tasmania and attractor of tourists, many of whom know the Looney Tunes cartoon character, the "Tasmanian Devil." Ancient marsupials probably migrated from what is now South America to Australia tens of millions of years ago during the time of Gondwana. Tasmanian devils probably disappeared from the Australian mainland around 3000 years ago due to predation by dingoes (wild dogs probably introduced by aborigines much earlier), which are absent on Tasmania. Formerly hunted by humans, the devils became officially protected in 1941. Since the late 1990s, devil facial tumor disease has drastically reduced devil numbers, and in 2008 the species was declared endangered. Illegally introduced red foxes kill devils, and motor vehicles dispatch devils that are on the road eating other road kill. Due to export restrictions and the failure of overseas devils to breed, almost no devils live legally outside of Australia. The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It has a stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odor, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. It has an exceptionally strong bite, hunts prey, scavenges carrion, climbs trees, and swims across rivers.
    04AUS-30166_Tasmanian-Devil_Bonorong.jpg
  • A famous herd of 1500 bison freely roam Custer State Park, as seen along Wildlife Loop Road, in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. South Dakota's largest and first state park was named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
    1709US1-3279_Custer-SP-SD.jpg
  • A Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus) is shown at Bonorong Wildlife Park, Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania, Australia. Wombats are burrowing grass eaters, and can be thought of as the marsupial ecological equivalent of a bear. Wombats are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of southeast Australia including Tasmania, plus an isolated group in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland. The three living species of wombats are marsupial mammals in the Vombatidae family. They dig extensive burrow systems with rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. Their unusual backwards-facing pouch avoids gathering dirt onto its young. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, wombats also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. Wombats are herbivores, mostly eating grasses, sedges, herbs, bark and roots. Published on Australian geocaching coin 2010, displayed in support of Wilder Foundation 2009, 2010, and exhibited at Oceanario de Lisboa, Portugal 2007. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04AUS-30201_Wombat_Bonorong-WP.jpg
  • A curious kea bites a car tire. The kea (Nestor notabilis) is the world's only alpine parrot. In 1986, it received full protection under the Wildlife Act. The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Photographed at Homer Tunnel, Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-1379.jpg
  • Blowhole and dorsal fin of humpback whale  (Megaptera novaeangliae). Cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, Alaska, USA. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4747.jpg
  • Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) live amid ice flows calved from South Sawyer Glacier. Cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, Alaska, USA. As the most widely distributed species of pinniped, harbor seals are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Baltic and North Seas. Harbor seals are brown, silvery white, tan, or gray, with distinctive V-shaped nostrils. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4414.jpg
  • The kea (Nestor notabilis) is the world's only alpine parrot. In 1986, it received full protection under the Wildlife Act. The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Photographed at Homer Tunnel, Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-1380.jpg
  • The kea (Nestor notabilis) is the world's only alpine parrot. In 1986, it received full protection under the Wildlife Act. The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Photographed at Homer Tunnel, Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-1362.jpg
  • A rarely seen and rarely photographed grey morph of the Chilean hawk, or Peuquito (Accipiter chilensis) perches on a limb of Nothofagus in forest near Hostaria Balmaceda, on Seno de Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound), Patagonia, Chile, South America. Sharon Chester, author of "A Wildlife Guide to Chile" (2008, Princeton University Press), identified this hawk based upon this web site image.
    05CHI-10042.jpg
  • Sea lions. Cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, Alaska, USA. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4757.jpg
  • Sea lions. Cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, Alaska, USA. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4752.jpg
  • Fin of Humpback whale. Cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, Alaska, USA. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4737.jpg
  • See a spout of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) from a day cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau, Alaska, USA. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4739.jpg
  • A bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) takes wing from an iceberg which was calved from South Sawyer Glacier, seen via day cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau, in the Alaska Panhandle, USA. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4733.jpg
  • Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) perch on an iceberg calved from South Sawyer Glacier, seen via day cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau, in the Alaska Panhandle, USA. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4729.jpg
  • An American black bear (Ursus americanus) forages seafood on Tracy Arm Fjord. Juneau, Alaska, USA. To visit Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, we highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4689.jpg
  • Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) live amid ice flows calved from South Sawyer Glacier. Cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, Alaska, USA. As the most widely distributed species of pinniped, harbor seals are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Baltic and North Seas. Harbor seals are brown, silvery white, tan, or gray, with distinctive V-shaped nostrils. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4531.jpg
  • Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) live amid ice flows calved from South Sawyer Glacier. Cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, Alaska, USA. As the most widely distributed species of pinniped, harbor seals are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Baltic and North Seas. Harbor seals are brown, silvery white, tan, or gray, with distinctive V-shaped nostrils. We highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4438.jpg
  • An American black bear (Ursus americanus) forages for seafood in tidal seaweed on Tracy Arm Fjord. Juneau, Alaska, USA. To visit Tracy Arm Fjord and South Sawyer Glacier from Juneau, we highly recommend the smoothly stabilized day cruise aboard the 56-foot boat Adventure Bound. This journey to the heart of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness (Tongass National Forest) rivals Norwegian fjords and adds a punchbowl of icebergs from the spectacular South Sawyer Glacier, which calved ice into the tidewater with a rumble and a splash. Whales, bears, sea lions and other wildlife showed up along the way. The fjord twists narrowly 30 miles into the coastal mountains, with peaks jutting up to a mile high, draped with tumbling waterfalls.
    1906AKH-4185.jpg
  • The kea (Nestor notabilis) is the world's only alpine parrot. In 1986, it received full protection under the Wildlife Act. The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Photographed at Homer Tunnel, Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-1375.jpg
  • The kea (Nestor notabilis) is the world's only alpine parrot. In 1986, it received full protection under the Wildlife Act. The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Photographed at Homer Tunnel, Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-1364.jpg
  • The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is a carnivorous bird in the Kingfisher family (Halcyonidae). It is native to eastern mainland Australia and has also been introduced to Tasmania, Flinders Island, and Kangaroo Island. Kookaburra is a loanword "guuguubarra" (from the now extinct Aboriginal language Wiradjuri). Kookaburras (genus Dacelo) include four known species of large terrestrial kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea, best known for their unmistakable call, like loud echoing, hysterical human laughter. They can be found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savanna, but also in suburban and residential areas near running water and food. Wilson's Promontory National Park (or "the Prom"), in Victoria, Australia, offers magnificent and secluded beaches, cool fern gullies, great views, spectacular rock formations and an abundance of wildlife. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04AUS-11263_Kookaburra_Wilson's-Prom...jpg
  • A sea bird reflects in Tidal River at Wilson’s Promontory National Park in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Natural tannins leach from decomposing vegetation and turn the water brown. “The Prom” offers natural estuaries, cool fern gullies, magnificent and secluded beaches, striking rock formations, and abundant wildlife. Drive two hours from Melbourne to reach Wilson’s Promontory. Renting a camper van is a great way to see Australia with “no worries” about booking a bed. One night in the campground, our camper van rocked us awake in what we though was an earthquake. The rocking soon stopped and the dark shape of a wombat (a marsupial “bear”) wandered off into the night from underneath the van, where he had been licking our tasty sink drain! Around the campground, we were also delighted to see wallabies and the Common Brushtail Possum. Visitors also commonly see echidnas, koalas, bats and sugar-gliders. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04AUS-20006_Tidal-River_Wilsons-Prom...jpg
  • A yellow highway sign warns drivers to watch out for kangaroos, koalas, cows, and birds "NEXT 12 KM" on Cape Otway in Great Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia.
    04AUS-20105_wildlife-sign_Cape-Otway...jpg
  • Yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) in Granite Park in John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, Eastern Sierra, California, USA. From Pine Creek Pass Trailhead, we backpacked to Honeymoon Lake and Granite Park. Day 1: backpack 6.2 miles with 2900 feet gain to Honeymoon Lake. Day 2: backpack 3.1 miles with 1300 ft gain to Granite Park. Day 3: backpack 2.7 miles with 1300 ft descent to Honeymoon Lake to set up tents; then day hike 4.4 miles round trip with 900 ft gain to Pine Creek Pass. Day 4: backpack 6.2 miles with 2900 ft descent to the trailhead.
    2108CA2-0267.jpg
  • Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), a few miles upstream of Lava Falls. 31 years after I last rafted the Grand Canyon in 1990, I noticed lots more (dozens of) native bighorn sheep in 2021, a healthy sign for this fascinating ecosystem, which is gradually recovering since nonnative wild burros were removed in the 1960s. Since Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1966, floods no longer scour the vegetation or deposit as much sand on the diminishing beaches (which affects rafters). Aggressive nonnative species such as tamarisk trees continue to threaten native riparian biodiversity. Day 13 of 16 days rafting 226 miles down the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA.
    2103SW-B1249.jpg
  • A crayfish at Secret Lake. We hiked Leavitt Meadows Loop clockwise (8.9 miles with 1570 ft gain with ridge extension above Lane Lake) in Hoover Wilderness, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, California, USA. Trailhead is at Leavitt Meadows Campground, 38.33401 N, 119.55177 W. Staying below 8000 ft elevation, this makes a good training hike. The best ambiance is at Secret Lake. Roosevelt and Lane Lakes provide pleasant views.
    2007CA-1021.jpg
  • Deer. Dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2470.jpg
  • Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos, or North American brown bear) in Denali National Park, Alaska, USA.
    1906AKH-2300.jpg
  • The moose (Alces alces) is the largest species of the deer family. Denali National Park, Alaska, USA.
    1906AKH-2052.jpg
  • The American Scimitar Cat (Homotherium serum) lived in the Yukon and Beringia 80,000–20,000 years ago, and other areas on earth from 4 million–12,000 years ago. (The Scimitar Cat's fangs, or maxillary canine teeth, are shorter than those of the head shown below of a Sabre-toothed Cat, a close relative which has never been found in Beringia.) Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, in Whitehorse, capital and largest city of the Yukon, Canada. During the ice ages, Beringia's climate alternated between warm interglacial and cold glacial periods. During glacial periods, sea levels dropped 120 meters, exposing a land bridge that was up to 1000 kilometers (620 miles) wide. Beringia, like most of Siberia and all of North and Northeast China, was a grassland steppe. Fossils found on both sides of the Bering Land Bridge show that since the time of the dinosaurs, it was a major route for the exchange of plants and animals between Asia and North America. Swedish botanist Eric Hultén coined the term Beringia in 1937. Beringia is the land and ocean area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It includes the Chukchi Sea, the Bering Sea, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi and Kamchatka Peninsulas in Russia plus Alaska in the United States.
    1906AKH-1125.jpg
  • New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) colonize Long Reef Point on the Tasman Sea near Martins Bay Hut, on the Hollyford Track, in Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. After the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand, hunting reduced the seal population near to extinction. This mammal is known as kekeno in Maori language. Some call it Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal.  In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-2170.jpg
  • Bighorn Sheep / Ovis canadensis at Radium Hot Springs village, British Columbia, Canada.
    1807CAN-622.jpg
  • Bison family on the road near Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA.
    1709US1-4494_Yellowstone-NP-WY.jpg
  • Prairie dog (genus Cynomys) in Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, USA. Prairie dogs, a type of ground squirrel, are herbivorous burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America.
    1709US1-3424.jpg
  • An adult pair of nene birds guard their chick (not visible) by a fence in Princeville, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, USA. The nene (Branta sandvicensis, or Hawaiian goose) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and is the official state bird. Nenes are found in the wild on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Hawaii (the Big Island). Nene DNA indicates that the species evolved from the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) which likely arrived here about 500,000 years ago, shortly after the volcanic Big Island emerged from the sea.
    1701HAW-0867.jpg
  • Grey whale seen in the breakers at Ebey's Landing beach, Washington, USA.
    1604WHI-688.jpg
  • Butterfly on Edelweiss flower, in Trift Valley in the Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe. Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) is in the Asteraceae/daisy/sunflower family. Ideal for hiking in a natural setting, Trift is the only Valley in Zermatt free of railways, lifts or ski runs.
    16SWI-7988.jpg
  • Hike the dramatic Sentier des Chamois from Verbier, in Switzerland, the Alps, Europe. The Chamois Path starts at La Chaux ski lift and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay (640 m up, 1415 m down in 8.5 hours). Along the way, we admired a group fighting of Hérens cows, ibex with huge horns, and the glaciers of Grand Combins. Optionally stay overnight in dorms Cabane de Louvie.
    16SWI-7420.jpg
  • Six-spot Burnet moths (Zygaena filipendulae, a black insect with 6 red wing spots, in the Zygaenidae family) sip nectar from a Knapweed (Centaurea) flower. Hike the dramatic Sentier des Chamois from Verbier, in Switzerland, the Alps, Europe.
    16SWI-7413.jpg
  • Alpine ibex males carry big horns above Lake Louvie, near Verbier, in the Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat native to the European Alps. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups (shown here), female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate.
    16SWI-7264.jpg
  • Alpine ibex males carry big horns above Lake Louvie, near Verbier, in the Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat native to the European Alps. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups (shown here), female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate.
    16SWI-7243.jpg
  • Young ibex on steep snow slope. Alpine ibex gather at Rotsteinpass (2120 m) in the Alpstein limestone mountain range, Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat of the European Alps. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups, female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's most traditional and smallest-population canton (second smallest by area).
    16SWI-2013.jpg
  • Young ibex on steep snow slope. Alpine ibex gather at Rotsteinpass (2120 m) in the Alpstein limestone mountain range, Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat of the European Alps. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups, female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's most traditional and smallest-population canton (second smallest by area).
    16SWI-2012.jpg
  • Alpine ibex gather at Rotsteinpass (2120 m) in the Alpstein limestone mountain range, Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat of the European Alps. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups, female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's most traditional and smallest-population canton (second smallest by area).
    16SWI-1990.jpg
  • Alpine ibex gather at Rotsteinpass (2120 m) in the Alpstein limestone mountain range, Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat of the European Alps. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups, female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's most traditional and smallest-population canton (second smallest by area).
    16SWI-1955.jpg
  • Alpine ibex gather at Rotsteinpass (2120 m) in the Alpstein limestone mountain range, Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat of the European Alps. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups, female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's most traditional and smallest-population canton (second smallest by area).
    16SWI-1953.jpg
  • Alpine ibex gather at Rotsteinpass (2120 m) in the Alpstein limestone mountain range, Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat of the European Alps. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups, female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's most traditional and smallest-population canton (second smallest by area).
    16SWI-1939.jpg
  • Mule deer on McKittrick Canyon Trail. Hike some of the most scenic trails in Texas in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, in the Chihuahuan Desert, near El Paso, USA. Hiking the ecologically-diverse McKittrick Canyon in Guadalupe Mountains NP is best when fall foliage turns color.
    1404TX-1109_Guadalupe-Mountains_Texa...jpg
  • Deer cross Kolob Terrace Road at entrance to Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, USA. The North Fork of the Virgin River carved spectacular Zion Canyon through reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone up to half a mile (800 m) deep and 15 miles (24 km) long. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet (3000 m) starting 13 million years ago. Zion and Kolob canyon geology includes 9 formations covering 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation, from warm, shallow seas, streams, lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments. Mormons discovered the canyon in 1858 and settled in the early 1860s. U.S. President Taft declared it Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. In 1918, the name changed to Zion (an ancient Hebrew name for Jerusalem), which became a National Park in 1919. The Kolob section (a 1937 National Monument) was added to Zion National Park in 1956. Unusually diverse plants and animals congregate here where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert meet.
    1303UT-1118.jpg
  • The Russian River drains Sonoma and Mendocino counties  in Northern California, USA and flows into the Pacific Ocean at Russian River State Marine Conservation area and Sonoma Coast State Park near Jenner.
    1212CA-2085.jpg
  • The Pudu of South America is the world's smallest deer genus. This photo shows a captive Southern Pudu (Pudu puda) living in a fenced area in Vilches nature reserve, near Talca in the Maule Region, Chile. Historically, the Maule river marked the southern limits of the Inca Empire.
    93CHI-03-08_Pudu-deer_Vilches-Natura...jpg
  • The endemic Galápagos Dove (Zenaida galapagoensis, Columbidae family) lives at Suaraz Point, a wet landing location on Española (Hood) Island, the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, South America. Galápagos Dove habitats include subtropical or tropical dry forests and dry shrubland. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-5403.jpg
  • Wild guanacos (Lama guanicoe, related to camels) graze in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, South America. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards.
    05CHI-10132-Guanacos_Torres-del-Pain...jpg
  • Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua) raise chicks in the snow on an Antarctic island. In 2005, the M/S Explorer cruise ship visited this remote wilderness. An adult Gentoo Penguin has a bright orange-red bill and a wide white stripe extending across the top of its head. Chicks have grey backs with white fronts. Of all penguins, Gentoos have the most prominent tail, which sweeps from side to side as they waddle on land, hence the scientific name Pygoscelis, "rump-tailed." As the the third largest species of penguin, adult Gentoos reach 51 to 90 cm (20-36 in) high. They are the fastest underwater swimming penguin, reaching speeds of 36 km per hour.
    05ANT-20115.jpg
  • Offshore from the Antarctic Peninsula, a Crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) rests sea ice floes which clog passage south to the Antarctic Circle in February, southern summer. A masted ship cruises through ghostly fog in the distance, a reminder of Shackleton's historic sailing of the Endurance expedition. Crabeater seals are the most numerous large species of mammal on Earth, after humans and cattle. Contrary to their name, Crabeater seals primarily eat krill, using  finely-lobed teeth adapted to filtering their tiny crustacean prey. In February 2005, the M/S Explorer carried us as far south as 65 degrees 41 minutes 67 seconds of South latitude before pack ice stopped progress 40 miles north of the Antarctic Circle. Every place south of the Antarctic Circle experiences a period of twenty-four hours continuous daylight (without sunset) at least once per year, and a period of twenty-four hours continuous night time at least once per year (without sunrise). This happens because the Earth's axis is tilted by about 23.5 degrees relative to ecliptic (the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun). At the southern winter solstice, the southern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun to its maximum extent, and the region of permanent darkness reaches its northern limit; at the southern summer solstice, the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent, and the region of permanent sunlight reaches its northern limit. As of 2012, the Antarctic Circle is the parallel of latitude that runs 66.5622 degrees (66 degrees 33 minutes 44 seconds) south of the Equator. The Antarctic Circle is slowly moving due to gradual changes in the tilt of the Earth's axis: the main long-term cycle causes axial tilt to fluctuate between about 22.1 degrees and 24.5 degrees with a period of 41,000 years.
    05ANT-20070-1484.jpg
  • Offshore from the Antarctic Peninsula, a Crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) rests sea ice floes which clog passage south to the Antarctic Circle in February, southern summer. Crabeater seals are the most numerous large species of mammal on Earth, after humans and cattle. Contrary to their name, Crabeater seals primarily eat krill, using  finely-lobed teeth adapted to filtering their tiny crustacean prey. In February 2005, the M/S Explorer carried us as far south as 65 degrees 41 minutes 67 seconds of South latitude before pack ice stopped progress 40 miles north of the Antarctic Circle. Every place south of the Antarctic Circle experiences a period of twenty-four hours continuous daylight (without sunset) at least once per year, and a period of twenty-four hours continuous night time at least once per year (without sunrise). This happens because the Earth's axis is tilted by about 23.5 degrees relative to ecliptic (the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun). At the southern winter solstice, the southern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun to its maximum extent, and the region of permanent darkness reaches its northern limit; at the southern summer solstice, the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent, and the region of permanent sunlight reaches its northern limit. As of 2012, the Antarctic Circle is the parallel of latitude that runs 66.5622 degrees (66 degrees 33 minutes 44 seconds) south of the Equator. The Antarctic Circle is slowly moving due to gradual changes in the tilt of the Earth's axis: the main long-term cycle causes axial tilt to fluctuate between about 22.1 degrees and 24.5 degrees with a period of 41,000 years.
    05ANT-20070-1472.jpg
  • Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua) emerge from iceberg bejeweled waters of the Southern Ocean to waddle to their summer colony on Cuverville Island, Antarctica. An adult Gentoo Penguin has a bright orange-red bill and a wide white stripe extending across the top of its head. Chicks have grey backs with white fronts. Of all penguins, Gentoos have the most prominent tail, which sweeps from side to side as they waddle on land, hence the scientific name Pygoscelis, "rump-tailed." As the the third largest species of penguin, adult Gentoos reach 51 to 90 cm (20-36 in) high. They are the fastest underwater swimming penguin, reaching speeds of 36 km per hour. The rocky Cuverville Island is in Errera Channel off the west coast of Graham Land, the north portion of the Antarctic Peninsula. The island was discovered by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897-1899) under Adrien de Gerlache, who named it for J.M.A. Cavelier de Cuverville (1834-1912), a vice admiral of the French Navy. Cuverville Island or Île de Cavelier de Cuverville is located at 64 degrees 41 minutes South Latitude and 62 degrees 38 minutes West Longitude.
    05ANT-10782_Cuverville-Island.jpg
  • A mountain goat shares the Exit Glacier Trail in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska, USA. The mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus, or Rocky Mountain Goat) is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. It is an even-toed ungulate in the family Bovidae, in subfamily Caprinae (goat-antelopes), in the Oreamnos genus, but is NOT a true "goat." The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. It was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. Hike trails to the glacier terminus or up to Harding Icefield.
    06AK_7050-mountain-goat_Kenai-FNP.jpg
  • Kittiwake bird rookery, Prince William Sound, Chugach Mountains, Alaska, USA.  The Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2112-Kittiwake-rookery.jpg
  • A baby kangaroo licks its paw at Emu Park Holiday Park, in the beautiful Wartook Valley, in the Northern Grampians region, Victoria, Australia.
    04AUS-20333_Baby-Kangaroo-sucks-paw.jpg
  • A wild skink climbs a rock on Bluff Knoll, Stirling Range National Park, Western Australia. Stirling Range National Park was declared in 1913 and is now an ecological island in a sea of farmland. 1500 species of flora are packed within the park, more than in the entire British Isles. 123 orchid species grow here. 87 plant species found in the Stirling Range occur nowhere else on earth. The Stirling Range was born from river delta sediments deposited 1800-2000 million years ago (Palaeoproterozoic), then metamorphosed weakly into sandstone, quartzite, and shale rocks and deformed more than 1200 million years ago. Buried deep in the Earth's crust, today's Stirling Range was gradually exposed by weathering and erosion over time. Bluff Knoll is 337 km (4.5 hours drive) southeast of Perth and 100 km northeast of Albany via Chester Pass Road. An ideal time to visit is late spring and early summer (October to December), when days are beginning to warm up and the wildflowers are at their best. Winter, between June and August, is cold and wet. Allow three to four hours  to complete 5 km round trip on the Top Trail.
    04AUS-11128_skink.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this male White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora; or Great Jacobin; or Collared Hummingbird) hummingbird at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This large and attractive hummingbird ranges from Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and south Brazil. The approximately 12 cm long male White-necked Jacobin is unmistakable with its white belly and tail, a white band on the nape and a dark blue hood. Immature males have less white in the tail and a conspicuous rufous patch in the malar region. Females are highly variable, and may resemble adult or immature males, have green upperparts, white belly, white-scaled green or blue throat, and white-scaled dark blue crissum, or have intermediate plumages, though retain the white-scaled dark blue crissum. Females are potentially confusing, but the pattern on the crissum is distinctive and not shared by superficially similar species. These birds usually visit flowers of tall trees and epiphytes for nectar, and also hawk for insects. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-2177_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • The Booted Racket-tail (or Racquet-tail; or Racquet-tailed Hummingbird; Latin name Ocreatus underwoodii) in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2063_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A sphinx moth (or hawk moth, Sphingidae family, order Lepidoptera) is attracted to night lights in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Sphingidae is best represented in the tropics but species inhabit every region. Sphingidae are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid, sustained flying ability, assisted by narrow wings and streamlined abdomen. Some hawk moths, like the hummingbird hawk moth, hover in midair while they feed on nectar from flowers and are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds. This hovering capability has evolved only three times in nectar feeders: in hummingbirds, certain bats, and these sphingids. Sphingids can swing hover (move rapidly from side to side while hovering). Some of the sphingids are some of the fastest flying insects, capable of flying at over 50 km/h (30 miles per hour). They have a wingspan of 35-150 mm.
    09ECU-1815_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • The Booted Racket-tail (or Racquet-tail; or Racquet-tailed Hummingbird; Latin name Ocreatus underwoodii) in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-1726_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A Galapagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) basks on rocks in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, South America. Marine Iguanas, the world’s only sea-going lizard species, are found nowhere else on earth. Marine Iguanas feed almost exclusively on marine algae, expelling the excess salt from nasal glands while basking in the sun, coating their faces with white. Marine Iguanas live on the rocky shore or sometimes on mangrove beaches or marshes. Most adults are black, some grey, and the young have a lighter colored dorsal stripe. The somber tones allow the species to rapidly absorb the warm rays of the sun to minimize the period of lethargy after emerging from the frigid water, which is cooled by the Humboldt Current. Breeding-season adult males on the southern islands are the most colorful and will acquire reddish and teal-green colors, while Santa Cruz males are brick red and black, and Fernandina males are brick red and dull greenish. The iguanas living on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela (named for the famous rulers of Spain) are the largest found anywhere in the Galápagos. The smallest iguanas are found on Genovesa Island. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus.
    94GAL-09-12_sea-iguana-rocks.jpg
  • A Galapagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) displays red and greenish breeding colors on the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, South America. Marine Iguanas, the world’s only sea-going lizard species, are found nowhere else on earth. Marine Iguanas feed almost exclusively on marine algae, expelling the excess salt from nasal glands while basking in the sun, coating their faces with white. Marine Iguanas live on the rocky shore or sometimes on mangrove beaches or marshes. Most adults are black, some grey, and the young have a lighter colored dorsal stripe. The somber tones allow the species to rapidly absorb the warm rays of the sun to minimize the period of lethargy after emerging from the frigid water, which is cooled by the Humboldt Current. Breeding-season adult males on the southern islands are the most colorful and will acquire reddish and teal-green colors, while Santa Cruz males are brick red and black, and Fernandina males are brick red and dull greenish. The iguanas living on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela (named for the famous rulers of Spain) are the largest found anywhere in the Galápagos. The smallest iguanas are found on Genovesa Island. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus.
    86GAL-10-09_Sea-Iguana.jpg
  • Galápagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) play on the sandy beach of Gardner Bay, a wet landing location on Española (Hood) Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, South America. This mammal in the Otariidae family breeds exclusively on the Galápagos Islands and in smaller numbers on Isla de la Plata, Ecuador. Being fairly social, and one of the most numerous species in the Galápagos archipelago, they are often spotted sun-bathing on sandy shores or rock groups or gliding gracefully through the surf. They have a loud “bark”, playful nature, and graceful agility in water. Slightly smaller than their Californian relatives, Galápagos Sea Lions range from 150 to 250 cm in length and weigh between 50 to 400 kg, with the males averaging larger than females. Sea lions have external ear-like pinnae flaps which distinguish them from their close relative with whom they are often confused, the seal. When wet, sea lions are a shade of dark brown, but once dry, their color varies greatly. The females tend to be a lighter shade than the males and the pups a chestnut brown. In 1959, Ecuador declared 97% of the land area of the Galápagos Islands to be Galápagos National Park, which UNESCO registered as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Ecuador created the Galápagos Marine Reserve in 1998, which UNESCO appended in 2001.
    09ECU-5458_Galapagos.jpg
  • A Nazca Booby (Sula granti) chick roosts on Española (Hood) Island, the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, which are a province of Ecuador, South America. The Nazca Booby is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, namely on the Galápagos Islands and Clipperton Island. The Revillagigedo Islands off Baja California possibly constitute its northeasternmost limit of breeding range. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Masked Booby but the Nazca Booby is now recognized as a separate species differing in ecology, morphology, and DNA. The Nazca Booby co-occurs with the Masked Booby on Clipperton Island, where they may rarely hybridize.  Two eggs are laid so that one remains insurance in case the other gets destroyed or eaten, or the chick dies soon after hatching, which often occurs as one chick out-competes the other.
    09ECU-5389_Galapagos.jpg
  • A Nazca Booby (Sula granti) roosts on Española (Hood) Island, the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, which are a province of Ecuador, South America. The Nazca Booby is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, namely on the Galápagos Islands and Clipperton Island. The Revillagigedo Islands off Baja California possibly constitute its northeasternmost limit of breeding range. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Masked Booby but the Nazca Booby is now recognized as a separate species differing in ecology, morphology, and DNA. The Nazca Booby co-occurs with the Masked Booby on Clipperton Island, where they may rarely hybridize.  Two eggs are laid so that one remains insurance in case the other gets destroyed or eaten, or the chick dies soon after hatching, which often occurs as one chick out-competes the other.
    09ECU-5350_Galapagos.jpg
  • A bonded pair of Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata; or Galapagos Albatross) grooms at Suaraz Point, a wet landing on Española (Hood) Island, the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, which are a province of Ecuador, South America.  The Waved Albatross is the only tropical member of the Albatross family (Diomedeidae). During the non-breeding season, Waved Albatross mostly reside in the coastal areas of Ecuador and Peru. The Waved Albatross breeds primarily on Española Island in the Galápagos archipelago (and maybe some on Genovesa Island and Isla de la Plata). Waved Albatross have blue feet and distinctively yellowish-cream neck and head, which contrasts with their mostly brownish bodies. The very long, bright yellow bill looks disproportionately large in comparison to the relatively small head and long, slender neck. They have chestnut brown upper parts and underparts, except for the breast, with fine barring, a little coarser on the rump. They have brown upper-wings, back, and tail, along with a whitish breast and underwings. Their axillaries (armpit feathers) are brown. Chicks have brown fluffy feathers. Juveniles are similar to adults except for more white on their head. Their lifespan may reach 40 to 45 years. Diomedeidae (the Albatross family) come from the Procellariiformes order (along with Shearwaters, Fulmars, Storm-petrels, and Diving-petrels).
    09ECU-5343_Galapagos.jpg
  • A Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata; or Galapagos Albatross) roosts at Suaraz Point, a wet landing on Española (Hood) Island, the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, which are a province of Ecuador, South America.  The Waved Albatross is the only tropical member of the Albatross family (Diomedeidae). During the non-breeding season, Waved Albatross mostly reside in the coastal areas of Ecuador and Peru. The Waved Albatross breeds primarily on Española Island in the Galápagos archipelago (and maybe some on Genovesa Island and Isla de la Plata). Waved Albatross have blue feet and distinctively yellowish-cream neck and head, which contrasts with their mostly brownish bodies. The very long, bright yellow bill looks disproportionately large in comparison to the relatively small head and long, slender neck. They have chestnut brown upper parts and underparts, except for the breast, with fine barring, a little coarser on the rump. They have brown upper-wings, back, and tail, along with a whitish breast and underwings. Their axillaries (armpit feathers) are brown. Chicks have brown fluffy feathers. Juveniles are similar to adults except for more white on their head. Their lifespan may reach 40 to 45 years. Diomedeidae (the Albatross family) come from the Procellariiformes order (along with Shearwaters, Fulmars, Storm-petrels, and Diving-petrels). In 1959, Ecuador declared 97% of the land area of the Galápagos Islands to be Galápagos National Park, which UNESCO registered as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Ecuador created the Galápagos Marine Reserve in 1998, which UNESCO appended in 2001. Panorama was stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    09ECU-5292+98_Waved-albatross.jpg
  • Galápagos giant tortoises attempt to mate (Chelonoidis nigra, formerly Geochelone elephantopus) in a pool of water at the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS, operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation) in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos islands, Ecuador, South America. This species is the largest living tortoise and is native to seven islands of the Galápagos archipelago. Fully grown adults can weigh over 300 kilograms (661 lb) and measure 1.5 meters (5 feet) over the curve of the shell. They are long-lived with a life expectancy of up to 100-150 years in the wild. Populations fell dramatically because of hunting and the introduction of predators and grazers by humans since the 1600s. Only ten subspecies of the original twelve exist in the wild. Since Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation were established, hundreds of captive-bred juveniles have been released back onto their home islands.
    09ECU-5064_Galapagos.jpg
  • The Santa Fe Galapagos Land Iguana (Conolophus pallidus) is exclusively native to Santa Fe Island and is one of two species of lizard in the genus Conolophus, in the Iguanidae family. The Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS, operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation) runs an iguana breeding center in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, in the Galápagos archipelago, Ecuador, South America. The Santa Fe Galapagos Land Iguana is colored yellowish orange beneath a brownish-red back and tail. The Galapagos Land Iguana (genus Conolophus) is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, primarily the islands of Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Hood and South Plaza.
    09ECU-4823_Galapagos.jpg
  • Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) parents swap nesting duty on two eggs on North Seymour Island, part of the Galápagos archipelago, a province of Ecuador 972 km offshore west of the continent of South America. A dark pigment surrounding the female's eye pupil makes it look larger than the male's. .The Sulidae family comprises ten species of long-winged seabirds. The name “booby” comes from the Spanish term bobo, which means "stupid" or "fool/clown," which describes its clumsy nature on land. Like other seabirds, they can be very tame. Blue-footed Boobies breed in tropical and subtropical islands of the Pacific Ocean.
    09ECU-4531_Galapagos.jpg
  • The Galapagos Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) nests on North Seymour Island (introduced from neighboring Baltra Island) in the Galápagos archipelago, a province of Ecuador, located 972 km west of the continent of South America. The Galapagos Land Iguana is colored yellowish orange beneath and brownish-red above, and is a species of lizard in the Iguanidae family, one of two species of the genus Conolophus. The Galapagos Land Iguana is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, primarily the islands of Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Hood and South Plaza. North Seymour Island was named after English nobleman Lord Hugh Seymour and has a maximum altitude of 28 meters (92 feet), formed from geological uplift.
    09ECU-4488_Galapagos.jpg
  • The Galapagos Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) nests on North Seymour Island (introduced from neighboring Baltra Island) in the Galápagos archipelago, a province of Ecuador, located 972 km west of the continent of South America. The Galapagos Land Iguana is colored yellowish orange beneath and brownish-red above, and is a species of lizard in the Iguanidae family, one of two species of the genus Conolophus. The Galapagos Land Iguana is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, primarily the islands of Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Hood and South Plaza. North Seymour Island was named after English nobleman Lord Hugh Seymour and has a maximum altitude of 28 meters (92 feet), formed from geological uplift.
    09ECU-4486_Galapagos.jpg
  • Galapagos Marine Iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) rest in a tide pool at Puerto Egas, which can be visited via a wet landing on Santiago (or San Salvador; or James Island), in the Galápagos Islands archipelago, a province of Ecuador, South America. The Marine Iguana is the world’s only sea-going lizard and is found only on the Galapagos Islands (spread throughout the archipelago). They feed almost exclusively on marine algae, expelling the excess salt from nasal glands while basking in the sun, coating their faces with white. Marine Iguanas live on the rocky shore or sometimes on mangrove beaches or marshes. Most adults are black, some grey, and the young have a lighter colored dorsal stripe. The somber tones allow the species to rapidly absorb the warm rays of the sun to minimize the period of lethargy after emerging from the frigid water, which is cooled by the Humboldt Current. Breeding-season adult males on the southern islands are the most colorful and will acquire reddish and teal-green colors, while Santa Cruz males are brick red and black, and Fernandina males are brick red and dull greenish. The iguanas living on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela (named for the famous rulers of Spain) are the largest found anywhere in the Galápagos. The smallest iguanas are found on Genovesa Island. Santiago is equivalent to Saint James in English; and its alternative name San Salvador refers to the island discovered by Columbus in the Caribbean Sea. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-4256_Galapagos.jpg
  • A Galapagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) swims at Puerto Egas, which can be visited via a wet landing on Santiago (or San Salvador; or James Island), in the Galápagos Islands archipelago, a province of Ecuador, South America. The Marine Iguana is the world’s only sea-going lizard and is found only on the Galapagos Islands (spread throughout the archipelago). They feed almost exclusively on marine algae, expelling the excess salt from nasal glands while basking in the sun, coating their faces with white. Marine Iguanas live on the rocky shore or sometimes on mangrove beaches or marshes. Most adults are black, some grey, and the young have a lighter colored dorsal stripe. The somber tones allow the species to rapidly absorb the warm rays of the sun to minimize the period of lethargy after emerging from the frigid water, which is cooled by the Humboldt Current. Breeding-season adult males on the southern islands are the most colorful and will acquire reddish and teal-green colors, while Santa Cruz males are brick red and black, and Fernandina males are brick red and dull greenish. The iguanas living on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela (named for the famous rulers of Spain) are the largest found anywhere in the Galápagos. The smallest iguanas are found on Genovesa Island. Santiago is equivalent to Saint James in English; and its alternative name San Salvador refers to the island discovered by Columbus in the Caribbean Sea.
    09ECU-4222_Galapagos.jpg
  • Juvenile Striated Heron (Butorides striata) at Punta (Point) Espinoza, on Fernandina (Narborough) Island, Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. Also known as Mangrove Heron or Little Heron, the Striated Heron breeds in small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to Japan and Australia, and in South America. This bird was long considered to be conspecific with the closely related North American species, the Green Heron, which is now usually separated as B. virescens, as well as the Lava Heron of the Galápagos Islands (now B. sundevalli, but often included in B. striata; collectively they were called "green-backed herons". Like other herons, they are traditionally placed in the order Ciconiiformes together with storks, but all these birds form a close-knit group with pelicans, and it is unresolved whether herons are not closer to these than to storks.
    09ECU-3677_Galapagos.jpg
  • The Galapagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) thrives on Punta (Point) Espinoza, on Fernandina (Narborough) Island, Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. Marine Iguanas, the world’s only sea-going lizard species, are found nowhere else on earth. Marine Iguanas feed almost exclusively on marine algae, expelling the excess salt from nasal glands while basking in the sun, coating their faces with white. Marine Iguanas live on the rocky shore or sometimes on mangrove beaches or marshes. Most adults are black, some grey, and the young have a lighter colored dorsal stripe. The somber tones allow the species to rapidly absorb the warm rays of the sun to minimize the period of lethargy after emerging from the frigid water, which is cooled by the Humboldt Current. Breeding-season adult males on the southern islands are the most colorful and will acquire reddish and teal-green colors, while Santa Cruz males are brick red and black, and Fernandina males are brick red and dull greenish. The iguanas living on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela (named for the famous rulers of Spain) are the largest found anywhere in the Galápagos. The smallest iguanas are found on Genovesa Island. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus.
    09ECU-3623_Galapagos.jpg
  • The Galapagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) thrives on Punta (Point) Espinoza, on Fernandina (Narborough) Island, Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. Marine Iguanas, the world’s only sea-going lizard species, are found nowhere else on earth. Marine Iguanas feed almost exclusively on marine algae, expelling the excess salt from nasal glands while basking in the sun, coating their faces with white. Marine Iguanas live on the rocky shore or sometimes on mangrove beaches or marshes. Most adults are black, some grey, and the young have a lighter colored dorsal stripe. The somber tones allow the species to rapidly absorb the warm rays of the sun to minimize the period of lethargy after emerging from the frigid water, which is cooled by the Humboldt Current. Breeding-season adult males on the southern islands are the most colorful and will acquire reddish and teal-green colors, while Santa Cruz males are brick red and black, and Fernandina males are brick red and dull greenish. The iguanas living on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela (named for the famous rulers of Spain) are the largest found anywhere in the Galápagos. The smallest iguanas are found on Genovesa Island. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus.
    09ECU-3613_Galapagos.jpg
  • The Galapagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) thrives on Punta (Point) Espinoza, on Fernandina (Narborough) Island, Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. Marine Iguanas, the world’s only sea-going lizard species, are found nowhere else on earth. Marine Iguanas feed almost exclusively on marine algae, expelling the excess salt from nasal glands while basking in the sun, coating their faces with white. Marine Iguanas live on the rocky shore or sometimes on mangrove beaches or marshes. Most adults are black, some grey, and the young have a lighter colored dorsal stripe. The somber tones allow the species to rapidly absorb the warm rays of the sun to minimize the period of lethargy after emerging from the frigid water, which is cooled by the Humboldt Current. Breeding-season adult males on the southern islands are the most colorful and will acquire reddish and teal-green colors, while Santa Cruz males are brick red and black, and Fernandina males are brick red and dull greenish. The iguanas living on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela (named for the famous rulers of Spain) are the largest found anywhere in the Galápagos. The smallest iguanas are found on Genovesa Island. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus.
    09ECU-3559_Galapagos.jpg
  • The Galapagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) thrives on Punta (Point) Espinoza, on Fernandina (Narborough) Island, Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. Marine Iguanas, the world’s only sea-going lizard species, are found nowhere else on earth. Marine Iguanas feed almost exclusively on marine algae, expelling the excess salt from nasal glands while basking in the sun, coating their faces with white. Marine Iguanas live on the rocky shore or sometimes on mangrove beaches or marshes. Most adults are black, some grey, and the young have a lighter colored dorsal stripe. The somber tones allow the species to rapidly absorb the warm rays of the sun to minimize the period of lethargy after emerging from the frigid water, which is cooled by the Humboldt Current. Breeding-season adult males on the southern islands are the most colorful and will acquire reddish and teal-green colors, while Santa Cruz males are brick red and black, and Fernandina males are brick red and dull greenish. The iguanas living on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela (named for the famous rulers of Spain) are the largest found anywhere in the Galápagos. The smallest iguanas are found on Genovesa Island. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus.
    09ECU-3509_Galapagos.jpg
  • The Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Photo is from Isla Genovesa (or Tower Island, or Bird Island), a shield volcano in the Galápagos Islands, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Ecuador, South America. Sula sula breeds in colonies and is found widely on tropical islands. The Red-footed Booby is the smallest of all boobies at 71 cm in length and with a 137 cm wingspan, and has red legs with pink and blue bill and throat pouch. They are powerful and agile fliers but clumsy in takeoffs and landings. The brown morph of this species is brown with a white belly, rump, and tail. The white morph is mostly white with black on the flight feathers. Young birds are greyish with browner wings and pink legs. The sexes appear similar. National Park visitors follow licensed guides up the steep path of Prince Philip’s Steps (up a cliff 25 meters vertically) to seabird colonies full of life amidst a thin palo santo forest growing in a rocky desert plain.
    09ECU-3398_Galapagos.jpg
  • Nesting with egg. The Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Sula sula breeds in colonies and is found widely on tropical islands. The Red-footed Booby is the smallest of all boobies at 71 cm in length and with a 137 cm wingspan, and has red legs with pink and blue bill and throat pouch. They are powerful and agile fliers but clumsy in takeoffs and landings. The brown morph of this species is brown with a white belly, rump, and tail. The white morph is mostly white with black on the flight feathers. Young birds are greyish with browner wings and pink legs. The sexes appear similar. Photographed on Isla Genovesa (or Tower Island, or Bird Island), a shield volcano in the Galápagos Islands, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. National Park visitors follow licensed guides up the steep path of Prince Philip’s Steps (up a cliff 25 meters vertically) to seabird colonies full of life amidst a thin palo santo forest growing in a rocky desert plain.
    09ECU-3286_Galapagos.jpg
  • A mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) shares the Garden Wall Trail near Logan Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. The mountain goat is an even-toed ungulate of the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae that includes antelopes, gazelles, and cattle. It belongs to the subfamily Caprinae (goat-antelopes), along with thirty-two other species including true goats, sheep, the chamois, and the musk ox. The mountain goat is the only species in the genus Oreamnos. The name Oreamnos is derived from the Greek term oros (stem ore-) "mountain" (or, alternatively, oreas "mountain nymph") and the word amnos "lamb".
    10GLA-2080.jpg
  • Pacific sea nettle, or Ortiga de mar (Chrysaora fuscescens), Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon, USA. Although commonly named "jellyfish," jellies are plankton, not fish. Jellies (class Scyphozoa) lack the backbone (vertebral column) found in fish. Jellies have roamed the seas for at least 500 million years, making them the oldest multi-organ animal. A sea nettle hunts by trailing long tentacles covered with stinging cells to paralyze tiny plankton and other prey. Stung prey is moved to the frilly mouth-arms and on to the jelly's mouth. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    08ORC-330_Sea-Nettle_Chrysaora.jpg
  • Snow Geese are typically seen in large flocks up to 55,000 in winter in western Washington, USA. Most gather in the Skagit River Delta (Skagit County) between the towns of Mount Vernon and La Conner (near Fir Island Road and Best Road) from mid-October to early May. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    0804SKA-126.jpg
  • Desert spiny lizard. We had lunch at South Canyon at River Mile 31.8, while rafting through Marble Canyon on day 2 of 16 days boating 226 miles down the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. Marble Canyon runs from Lees Ferry at River Mile 0 to the confluence with the Little Colorado River at Mile 62, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon. Although John Wesley Powell knew that no marble was found here when he named Marble Canyon, he thought the polished limestone looked like marble. In his words, "The limestone of the canyon is often polished, and makes a beautiful marble. Sometimes the rocks are of many colors – white, gray, pink, and purple, with saffron tints."
    2103SW-B0003.jpg
  • One of the world's rarest birds, a California condor takes flight from the Historic 1929 Navajo Bridge, US Highway 89A, in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. As of 2021, the world total of California condors is around 500, more than half of which are in the wild. Although still endangered and facing ongoing challenges such as lead poisoning, they've come a long way since numbering just 22 in 1982. The original Navajo Bridge was built in 1929. The adjacent new bridge was completed in 1995. Highway 89A crosses the Colorado River here at River Mile 4.5 (measured downstream of Lees Ferry) in Grand Canyon National Park.
    2103SW-C0029.jpg
  • A skeleton of a desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) rests in Mohawk Canyon, at Colorado River Mile 171.9 on Day 13 of 16 days rafting through Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. 31 years after I last rafted the Grand Canyon in 1990, I noticed lots more (dozens of) native bighorn sheep in 2021, a healthy sign for this fascinating ecosystem, which is gradually recovering since nonnative wild burros were removed in the 1960s. Since Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1966, floods no longer scour the vegetation or deposit as much sand on the diminishing beaches (which affects rafters). Aggressive nonnative species such as tamarisk trees continue to threaten native riparian biodiversity.
    2103SW-B1177.jpg
  • A healthy male desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) seen on Day 12 of 16 days rafting 226 miles down the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. 31 years after I last rafted the Grand Canyon in 1990, I noticed lots more (dozens of) native bighorn sheep in 2021, a healthy sign for this fascinating ecosystem, which is gradually recovering since nonnative wild burros were removed in the 1960s. Since Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1966, floods no longer scour the vegetation or deposit as much sand on the diminishing beaches (which affects rafters). Aggressive nonnative species such as tamarisk trees continue to threaten native riparian biodiversity.
    2103SW-B1109.jpg
  • Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). La Quinta, California, USA.
    2103SW-A1073.jpg
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