Category: conservation ftw
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Carlsbad Flower Fields: for your flower photo fix!
There’s something really cool about standing in the middle of acres and acres of flowers, the color spreading around you in the springtime air, and the scent of them floating on the breeze. Confession: I was really excited to go see the hillsides covered in poppies this year with the superbloom. The traffic backlog was…
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Yellowstone bison calf put down after human interference, or let’s not touch the animals, okay?
Everything expressed below is my opinion only and doesn’t represent any position on behalf of the National Park Service or any other entity, cited or otherwise. Let’s talk about that bison calf. Don’t know what I’m talking about? From a press release out of Yellowstone National Park today: In recent weeks, visitors in the park…
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Tuesday Two: Field Museum and Flowers
Saturday, J and I visited the Field Museum for the first time. We’d intended to go to the aquarium, but that line was around the block, and they share a complex plus it was on my wish list… So there we went! It was, in a word, huge. We spent most of the day there…
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Thoughts on Copenhagen Zoo
So I’m sure by now you’ve heard about Copenhagen Zoo euthanizing one of its giraffes for “educational purposes” and feeding it to the zoo’s carnivores. If not, here’s the story. I was struck by a particular response to this today in which someone I respect a lot (a natural history scientist and educator) pointed out…
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The lion in my profile picture
Because I am asked all the time about my profile picture, I thought I’d take some time today to tell you the story of how that photo came to exist. This photo was taken in summer of 2009. At the time I worked and volunteered for an AZA-accredited institution, working in the education department and…
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Wildlife Wednesday: California ground squirrel
The squirrels are different here. This is a California ground squirrel, and I am fascinated by these little creatures. Growing up on the east coast, I was accustomed to Eastern gray squirrels (which are everywhere) and the occasional chipmunk (which is very small and stripey) but I’d never seen one of these before. The first…
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Tuesday Zoosday: The Africa Tram at San Diego Zoo Safari Park
It’s been a while since I took my big camera out to the Safari Park, so one day last week I hauled it along with me. I always ride the African Tram (which is included in my membership) and I got some great photos. Here’s a little overview of the ride. One of the…
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Wildlife Wednesday: California mule deer
One of the interesting things about living on both coasts is that some of the wildlife is similar… And yet not quite the same. On the east coast, white tailed deer are so prevalent that they actually pose a hazard to drivers along the roads. On the west coast, I’ve been introduced to mule deer.…
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Tuesday Zoosday: who’s on exhibit, exactly?
This photo thoroughly entertains me. The condor is totally people watching. He (or she, I’m not really sure) kept pacing back and forth, following certain people as they walked past the glass. Sometimes he would pick up a stick and parade back and forth with it. Finally, after a very long time, he grabbed one…
Joanna Volavka 