Alaska
There’s a new “Big Five” in town. Well, in Alaska, that is. Go beyond the famous quintuplet of creatures found on an African safari and head north, instead, to the Great Land. There you’ll meet Alaska’s brown bears, moose, gray wolves, caribou and Dall sheep—the “other” Big Five.
Nature & Wildlife
What, you may be asking, is an ungulate? You’ve actually known them all along, but perhaps just didn’t know them by their official moniker. Among the ungulates that are native to North America are bighorn sheep, bison, caribou, Dall sheep, mountain goats, moose and white-tailed deer. What do they all have in common?
Nature & Wildlife
Migration is a wonderful word. It doesn’t merely mean a physical relocation but is an expression of strength, resilience, the universal desire for well-being and a movement toward hope. I have always thought of migrations as nature in motion.
Nature & Wildlife
At first glance, geese and reindeer (called “caribou” in North America) may not seem to have much in common. But there is a link: in some places, they share diets and habitats.
Nature & Wildlife
Every year, without fail, Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to come right on top of each other. The four weeks between the two holidays fly by, with hardly enough time to savor one before the other is upon us. Magical, flying reindeer, in other words, quickly follow the turkey feast.
Nature & Wildlife
What is the sound of nearly two million wildebeest and zebra moving across the plains of Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara? Clichéd as it sounds, it’s nearly indescribable. Sublime, really. I’ve witnessed this massive migration firsthand, and you feel it more than you hear it.
Canada & the North
Many of us are familiar with the tale of Santa Claus and his travels across the world yearly on Christmas Eve, bestowing gifts to every expecting child. His sleigh, elevated into the sky by nine reindeer is a fantasy to some and a lasting tale of wonder for generations of children.
Nature & Wildlife
Just five days from now, the magic will happen. Santa Claus will step into his gift-laden, reindeer-powered sleigh and make his annual, around-the-world trip. The character of Santa Claus was originally inspired by the fourth-century, Greek bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra in Asia Minor (now Turkey), a man renowned for his generosity and kindness.
Canada & the North
Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—one of the world’s most breathtaking natural wonders and culturally significant areas—received some much-needed support recently. In early September 2023, President Biden canceled the last seven gas and oil leases there.
Nature & Wildlife
Throughout time, reindeer have been used for economic purposes by various circumpolar peoples, including the Chukchi, Evenks, Khants, Nenets and Sami. Long heralded for their dependable and docile natures and their dexterity in a range of tasks, reindeer were even widely used during World War II by the Soviet forces to help transport injured soldiers.
Canada & the North
Rising temperatures are causing Earth’s coldest forests to shift northward, raising our concerns about biodiversity loss, an increased risk of wildfires and the mounting impacts of climate change on the people who live in the region. But it’s not only the planet’s forests that are marching northward.
Antarctica & Arctic
Watch as one wildlife photographer confronts the cold across hundreds of miles to create captivating stills and video of Arctic wildlife!
