National Geographic wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen came to the Garde Arts Center in New London, CT on April 16th to talk about his experiences capturing images on the polar caps.  Animal Fact Guide editors P.A. Smith and Abi Cushman had the pleasure of attending.

Often Nicklen was exposed to harsh conditions while on expeditions, many times risking his life to attain his captivating images.  Yet Nicklen relayed these powerful stories while interjecting humorous remarks.  His anecdotes were hugely entertaining and inspiring.  He spoke of his up close encounter with an enormous female leopard seal who tried to feed him penguins.  At one point, the seal had placed a dead penguin on his head waiting for him to eat it, and he’d continued to take photos of her with the lifeless bird resting there, all the while tearing up with laughter. In the photo, you can see the penguin’s feet at the top of the frame.

Throughout his talk, Nicklen stressed the simple truth that man-made climate change is negatively affecting both polar regions.  The dramatic loss of the polar ice has an enormous impact on entire ecosystems.  It starts with the microorganisms that inhabit the multiyear ice (ice that builds up over several years).  These phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton, and in turn they are consumed by fish. Next in the chain are larger animals such as whales and seals.  Without the ice, the phytoplankton cannot thrive, and the ripple continues throughout the chain.  Many of the animals towards the top of the chain, such as polar bears, also rely on ice for breeding and hunting.

In light of this sad situation, Nicklen urged the audience to get involved in conservation, to start a revolution and save these ecosystems.

To learn more about Nicklen’s work and view his amazing photographs, purchase his book Polar Obsession. It contains many of the stories behind his photos.

Editor P.A. Smith in front of the Garde Arts Center in New London, where wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen spoke.

Crittercam inventor Greg Marshall speaks about his invention at the Garde Arts Center in New London, CT.

Greg Marshall, the inventor of Crittercam (a compact camera/data collecting device that attaches to animals), came to New London, CT on March 19th to speak about his invention and the insight it has provided into animal behavior.  Animal Fact Guide editors P.A. Smith and Abi Cushman, who reviewed the Crittercam exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science last summer, had the opportunity to attend this fascinating presentation.

In his talk, entitled “A Wild Point of View,” Marshall described how he first came up with the idea of Crittercam. On one expedition, he noticed a suckerfish attached to the dorsal fin of a shark.  He noted that the shark appeared to behave in a way unaffected by the suckerfish, and from there, he made the connection that it was  possible to attach a camera in an unobtrusive manner as well.

Throughout the presentation, Marshall stressed the importance that the Crittercam not impact the animal.  This was essential not only for the well-being and safety of the animal but also because they wanted to be sure to collect true data about how animals actually behave in the wild. If the animals acted differently in response to having the device attached to them, the data they collected would be compromised.

The Crittercam, which has become more and more streamlined and compact  as years pass, collects more than just video imagery.  The device collects a wealth of data such as temperature, light levels, pressure, and audio.  This supporting information allows scientists to more fully comprehend what they see in the video footage.

This unique view into animal behavior has led to many new discoveries.  For example, they learned about the feeding patterns of several marine animals.  In the instance of king penguins, they found that the penguins would dive deep and look up towards the ice to spot the fish silhouetted by the light shining through.  In this way, they acted in a similar way to a hawk circling above land and swooping in to catch their prey, but in reverse.  In the instance of humpback whales, they discovered that the whales would dive deep, drive fish towards the surface,  blow bubbles around the school forming a “net” to herd them, and then use their fins to scare the fish into their open mouths.

Marshall delivered an excellent presentation, providing interesting and sometimes humorous anecdotes about his experiences in the field. If you have the opportunity to hear him speak in your area, we recommend you attend.

You can also view the Crittercam exhibition which is currently on display at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago until April 11. From May 22 to January 5, 2011, you can see Crittercam at The Wildlife Experience in Parker, Colorado.

For more information, see National Geographic’s Crittercam website and National Geographic’s Crittercam event page.

kaufDA,  a team in Germany, has started an initiative called “Make it green” whose goal is to reduce carbon emissions worldwide.  One aspect of the program is to offset the carbon footprint resulting from the use of the Internet by both raising public awareness about protecting the environment and by planting more trees.  Working with the Arbor Day Foundation, kaufDA will plant one tree in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California for every participating blog. 

If you have a blog, you can have a tree planted in your honor by spreading the word about the program.  See the kaufDA website for more details.

About Carbon Emissions and Global Warming
The climate change phenomenon known as global warming is a result of increased carbon emissions from driving cars, home energy use, and the energy used to produce all of the products and services we consume.  The steady upward trend in temperatures has, and will continue to have, a drastic effect on the planet and its inhabitants.   For example, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has predicted a loss of two-thirds of the world’s polar bears by 2050 due to declines in ice habitats.  According to a Climactic Change journal report by the World Wildlife Fund, by 2070, the sea levels near Bangladesh will rise 11 inches, submerging 96% of the Bengal tiger habitat.  Many animals will be threatened by the change and loss of habitat due to global warming.

About Planting Trees
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) assumes a yearly absorption of one tree to be approximately 10kg (20lb.) of carbon dioxide emissions. The Arbor Day Foundation is working to plant more trees in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California, which lost 88,000 acres of forest due to fires in 2007.

Aside from planting trees, you can help curb global warming by reducing your carbon emissions. This includes walking or taking public transportation instead of driving, using energy saver appliances and light bulbs, buying locally grown produce, recycling, and more.

In our last poll, we asked Animal Fact Guide visitors, “What do you think is the best way to help endangered animals?”

These were the results:

Educating the public: 36%
Volunteering with wildlife charities: 32%
Boycotting endangered animal products: 15%
Reducing carbon emissions: 9%
Writing to legislators & signing petitions: 8%

You can get involved in our current poll, “Where is the best place to see animals?” by scrolling down to our Poll widget in the sidebar to the right.

Animal Fact Guide has added FREE printable bookplates to our Fun Stuff and Teacher Tools sections.  Kids can personalize the books in their home library, and teachers can designate their classroom books. Currently, we have a bookplate featuring a badger in colored and blank background versions.  Check back for more additions!

Bookplates print on 8.5″ x 11″ sheets divided into ten 4″ x 2″ labels (generally branded as shipping labels at the stationery store).

Thousands of people have been watching Hancock Wildlife Foundation‘s live streaming video footage of a bald eagle’s nest on Vancouver Island, Canada to try to catch a glimpse of three eaglets hatching. The mother laid the eggs in early March. As the gestation period of a bald eagle is around 35-40 days, the eaglets are expected to hatch this week.

For more info and to see more eagle nest web cams, visit: HWF Live Cameras

To learn more about bald eagles, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Bald Eagle.

Check out the latest article added to Animal Fact Guide:

Koala
Koalas have special adaptations that enable them to feast on eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are highly fibrous and poisonous to other animals. But koalas have bacteria in their stomachs that break down the fiber and toxic oils and allow them to absorb 25% of the nutrients.
Learn more about koalas »

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Animal Fact Guide was recently reviewed by Education World, an online resource that helps educators integrate the internet into the classroom. Our site was rated overall with an A, receiving an A+ for content and B+ for design.

We are thrilled to receive such a great review and will continually add more articles to our database of animal facts.  We will also strive to improve the site to make it even more accessible to a wide audience.

[Read the full site review here]