Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham
This morning, as sunlight begins to stream over the horizon and hazy shadows take form, I’m watching the puma Petaka. She and her two 15-month-old kittens are taking turns feeding on a guanaco kill. When one cat moves off to groom and nap, another moves … Continue readingThe Puma Petaka
First Sighting The warm light of the rising sun casts everything – the grasses, the guanaco, the puma – in the same golden glow. I know there’s a lion on the hillside 50 yards away. A guide with two guests are watching her as I … Continue readingPumas of Patagonia
Chilean Patagonia is made of mountains, glaciers, and sea-level fjords. It has the world’s largest flying bird and odd flightless birds. There are flamingoes and grey zorro foxes that aren’t actually foxes. It’s tectonic plates and salty lakes. It’s guanacos and sheep grazing the grasslands. … Continue readingChilean Patagonia
I was heading for the Vermillion Cliffs condor release site in northern Arizona. An internet search indicated this is a good place to see critically endangered California condors in the wild. When I’d mentioned to locals in Kanab, Utah, that I was going looking for … Continue readingCondors in Northern Arizona
Every winter, northern elephant seals haul out on the shores of Northern California to breed. The big males arrive first to stake their claims. January and February hold the greatest numbers of lumbering, blubbery seals on the Point Reyes National Seashore beaches. This year, the … Continue readingCalifornia Elephant Seals
 You Find What You Need Last fall, I went to commune with bears and lose myself in the wilderness. I enjoy the wild locations as much as the wildlife. This trip brought something unexpected but just as valuable. We’re watching bears from a jet boat … Continue readingBear Viewing by Boat
Nunitsiny: Tsilhqot’in for “grizzly bear” One of the greatest benefits of quietly observing wildlife is seeing their unique personalities shine through their actions and expressions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the cubs. Like a pre-adolescent child not yet shaped by societal norms and … Continue readingBritish Columbia Grizzly Bears
Photographers are often asked what their trip goal or dream image is. I’m not that kind of photographer. I want to be out in the wild, let nature envelop me, and embrace what comes. This trip unexpectedly brought two of my favorite things together—bears in … Continue readingBear Camp – British Columbia
The Fascination Ever since I saw my first one, every time I snorkel, I seek out octopuses. They are night hunters who hole up in dens during the day. These dens are marked by the empty shells of the animals that sustain them. I’ve become … Continue readingOctopus in Culebra
They said to see the sea turtles, get in the water by 9 am. When I went to bed last night, I thought, I’ll go in the morning, but not by 9 am. I’d just arrived in Culebra, Puerto Rico, this morning after traveling fifteen … Continue readingSnorkeling Culebra: Tamarindo Bay