Climate Change’s Impact on Natural Disasters, Ecosystems, and Wildlife.
All around the world, the impacts of climate change are becoming more and more apparent, even here in the Pacific Northwest and the surrounding areas. The rising sea temperatures are essentially cooking some salmon in the Salish Sea before they can reproduce; high...
#ClimateStrike: Do What You Can to Save Our Planet.
Climate change is an increasingly pressing issue that affects people, wildlife, and ecosystems around the world. Rising sea levels from melting glaciers affect island countries around the equator and animals like polar bears are losing more of their habitats....
Southern Resident Killer Whales.
Earlier this year, it was announced that a new Southern Resident killer whale had been born last December! Lucky, as it had been nicknamed, is a part of the L pod and a few months after it was born, another southern resident was born to the J pod. For a short time,...
The Fires of the Amazon Rainforest (And Why It Matters in the Pacific Northwest).
Recently, news hit the United States that the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil has been burning for the last few weeks. Natural fires within a rainforest like the Amazon are rare and don't occur like they might in other climates, even in the dry season. Many...
Guerrilla Gardening: Seed Bombs.
For pollinators and other animals, flowers and plants are a vital part of life all around the world. There are many types of bees and bats that call the Northwest home and bee-friendly gardens can help bee populations survive! But with increasing development and urban...
Parrots.
Found primarily in warm areas of the Southern Hemisphere, parrots are iconic birds that can often mimic sounds and even words! There are many kinds of parrots around the world and while many are found in warm areas, there are some like the maroon fronted parrots and...
Otters of the Pacific Northwest.
The Pacific Northwest is home to an array of amazing and wonderful animals. Southern Resident and transient orcas and California Gray Whales frequent many parts of the Salish Sea and the waters off the coast; the largest unmanaged Roosevelt Elk herd is found in the...
Monarch Butterflies.
The Tropical Butterfly House was and still is my favorite part of Seattle's Pacific Science Center. This warm and humid part of the center is home to many different kinds of butterflies but many kinds of butterflies call the Pacific Northwest home outside of the...
Rainforests of Washington.
When you say 'rainforests', most folks might think of tropical rainforests like the Amazon Rainforest (also known as Amazonia) in South America. However, rainforests can actually be found all around the world, as defining characteristics of these forests include tall...
Happy Earth Day!
Earth Day is personally one of my favorite days of the year, as this day is a reminder that the Earth is our home and a place we should care for. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson started Earth Day after witnessing the effects of a massive oil spill off the coast of...
Climate Change Effects in the Pacific Northwest.
One of the most relevant topics today is climate change, a widely debated and sometimes misunderstood issue. According to NASA, the weather is "short-term changes we see in temperature, clouds, precipitation, humidity and wind in a region or a city". Climate, on the...
Fossils of the Pacific Northwest.
By sheer happen chance a few months ago, I was reading one of the entries for the Seattle PI's Ask The Burke columns from a few years ago and stumbled across an article about how a giant sloth was discovered under the Sea-Tac Airport! The very true story is that when...
Bird Watching.
While it may sound a bit boring for those don't know much about it, birding and bird watching is actually a popular pastime for millions of people around the world. There are thousands of clubs and societies dedicated to bird watching and numerous blogs and social...
Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest
One of the reasons I wanted to start this project was to learn about the wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. We share this region with a plethora of wild animals, animals that rely on the same ecosystem we do and are significantly affected by human action and...
![When Elephants Were Young [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/animalsofpnw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/img_1542.png?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
When Elephants Were Young [Review]
When Elephants Were Young is a 2016 documentary about wild and captive elephants in Thailand, one family's relationship with elephants and street begging, and the efforts to reintroduce elephants to the wild. Through interviews with numerous people, the film shows the...
Welcome to the World Lucky (L124) the Orca!
For the first time since July, a new baby orca has been spotted in the Salish Sea! The news came out last week that a new calf was spotted swimming with the Southern Resident Orcas in Puget Sound, making this little one the first successful pregnancy and birth for...
![The Tigers of Scotland [Film Review]](https://i0.wp.com/animalsofpnw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/the-tigers-of-scotland.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
The Tigers of Scotland [Film Review]
The Tigers of Scotland is an hour-long documentary about Britain's only native but very elusive wildcat. Initially starting off as a pitch for visiting Scotland, the film eventually delves into the Scottish Wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris), an animal that's now...
Owls of the Pacific Northwest.
Of the 19 species of owls in North America, 15 can be found in the northwest at different points in time during the year! Many owls are nocturnal (although there are a few exceptions) and hunt at night. They're some of the most skilled night hunters, as their wings...
California Wildfires
Over the last couple of years, California has been hit by several major wildfires. The latest wildfires have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, roughly fifty people have died in one of the fires, and there has been a bunch of property/forest damage. Some...
Washington’s Proposed Temporary Ban On Whale Watching Tours.
The population of the resident Salish Sea orcas has been a big concern for many around the Pacific Northwest the last several years. These animals are an iconic and vital part of the Salish Sea but their numbers have been dwindling over the decades. Currently, only 74...
National Wildlife Refuge Week
This week [October 14-20, 2018] is National Wildlife Refuge Week! Celebrated the second week of October each year, this week is a celebration of the wildlife refuges around the country, as these spaces around the country provide a safe habitat for thousands of animal...