Blue Planet Journey

Standing underneath the red fir, about 50 feet off the trail, the coyote stood still.  We were panting, having ridden our bikes up the steep climb to the Twin Falls overlook in the Inyo National Forest.  We stopped, and the coyote remained in place, yellow eyes focused on us. After a full minute, it turned and seemed to saunter away without a care. Caroline, my partner of 30 years, had tears in her eyes. Hands clasped to her chest, she whispered, “She’s such a beautiful animal.” This rare glimpse of a shy and elusive predator was a treat for both of us, and I’m a wildlife biologist. We both felt very lucky to see this animal on its terms, in the wild.   California coyote And so too, of course, was this coyote. Near the California resort town of Mammoth Lakes, it was probably safe from humans, although there were no guarantees. Had we been home, then in northern Utah, any coyote showing its face was not long for this world, given the $50 bounty authorized by Utah's Predator Control

In late August, a distressed resident reported a Burmese python laying in front of his house. All Star Pest Management personnel rose to the challenge and captured the snake. Ihab and Ryan to the rescue! All Star Pest Management in Maryland was founded by wildlife biologist and NWCO Abdou El Hani. Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators (NWCOs) have a unique skill set. They deal with wildlife management within an extraordinary environment… urban and suburban areas. Traditional wildlife agency managers visit these same areas to deal with the occasional trespassing of deer, cougars, and beavers, or to give presentations at the local library or school. But they will give a pass to calls about squirrels and raccoons in the attic or chimney, bats indoors, snakes in the woodpile, woodpeckers hammering on the gutters, or moles in the lawn. Often, they will refer a concerned or panicked homeowner to a “pest control” company. Those calls often trickle down to a company with specialized training in

One of my most unique articles published was not on science, but on the process of reporting science. In 1985, I was a graduate student at UC Davis. I was asked by a faculty member to help two researchers from another university with a project I was familiar with. Easy enough. A few months later, in a pleasant surprise, I received a draft manuscript, with the two researchers listed as authors one and two, me as third, and the faculty member as fourth. I provided some important methodological revisions, and returned the manuscript. Later, I found that the fourth author had only a single comment... replacing me with him as third author!   As any graduate student knows, authorship is a big deal. I stewed over my "demotion" for a few weeks, then set down my thoughts on authorship (below). I submitted it to a journal in my professional area ( Wildlife Society Bulletin ), and it was rejected ("no real contribution," reviewer number 2 wrote). I resubmitted it to a non-peer

  A month is a long time to spend on a cruise ship, but we were passengers on the Anthem of the Seas from April 28 through 2 June, 2024 (with 2 days off from May 10-12 in Southampton, England, while a special Eurovison finale booze cruise took over the ship). That time period is long enough to really get to know the ship and its crew, and develop a routine. It's also long enough to get bored with some meal options and entertainment, so you need to be flexible and not expect the ship to entertain you 24/7. Luckily, Caroline and I are good at entertaining ourselves! We left New Jersey to begin a transatlantic cruise to Europe, meeting friends on the ship. Transatlantics tend to have fewer children and more experienced cruisers. These ship repositioning cruises (in this case, the Anthem was leaving its Caribbean itinerary for a European one) also tend to be less crowded. On the other hand, you have a week of open seas with no ports, thus no excursions. On our first sea day, our rout