#wildlifeencounters

Wild Southeast Alaska: Lights, Camera, Action!

John J King II

May 6, 2017
1 min

Wild Southeast Alaska: Lights, Camera, Action!

Spring in Southeast Alaska is signaled by rapidly increasing daylight, robust waterfalls from melting snow and seasonal rains as well as the return and the aggregation of top predators. Humpback whales, sea lions, killer whales and other marine mammals return to the sheltered inside waters to feast on the bounty of spawning herring which occurs over a few weeks as the region wakes up from a winter slumber. Since we are dedicated to observing and recording the earth’s true spe

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John J King II

Apr 5, 2017
3 min

Return to Wild Patagonia: Orcas!

When I had the good fortune to meet conservationist, and orca researcher Juan Manuel Capello in South Africa four years ago and learned about his story, I knew that I had to get to his part of the world in southern Argentina to experience the natural environment of the Peninsula Valdes. It took a couple of years of planning but in 2016, on my way to Antarctica, I managed to spend 8 days at Punta Norte.Â My specific goal had been to witness (and hopefully photograph) the highl

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John J King II

Mar 14, 2017
2 min

Humpbacks on the Silver Bank

Late winter and early spring in the Caribbean waters between the southern Bahamas and the Dominican Republic means that North Atlantic humpback whales are in the area for their annual rituals of mating and rearing the young of the year calves who were born in late December or early January. A 40 square mile area of sand, known as "The Silver Bank" is the mating grounds for more than 16000 humpback whales from various locations in the North Atlantic. At any one time from Janua

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Wild Places and Wild Things: 2016 in Review

John J King II

Dec 9, 2016
1 min

Wild Places and Wild Things: 2016 in Review

Autumn is in full swing here on the elbow of Cape Cod and it is a time for transition for most observers of the marine natural world in this parts. Ocean and air temperatures are slowly cooling and easterly storms are more frequent. And the boats have now been hauled and stored for the long winter season. They will not see the water again for 6 months! Yikes that seems like a long time. Thus we are turning our attention to enjoying all that one can from a perch on land - wate

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Wild Cape Cod Notebook: Summer - Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and the Atlantic White Shark Conse

John J King II

Aug 24, 2016
1 min

Wild Cape Cod Notebook: Summer - Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and the Atlantic White Shark Conse

Summer is a siren that woos us on Cape Cod each year here into a state of contentment with warm breezes and sunny days and spectacular natural history in our maritime environment. Summer 2016 has been no exception though it seems to be passing at an ever accelerating rate as we age. As in the previous two years we have been engaged in supporting the white shark research ongoing in outer Cape Cod waters conducted by Dr. Greg Skomal and John Chisholm with the dedicated support

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John J King II

Jun 12, 2016
1 min

Wild Southeast Alaska: Spring Abundance

During the spring each year an amazing natural spectacle unfolds in Southeast Alaska. Creatures as large as humpback whales and as small as shorebirds square up in anticipation to feast on spawning herring. The following images were recorded over an eight day period mostly in characteristic wet weather of the region. We witnessed incredible wildlife doing their thing to survive. As usual pictures tell a beautiful story. Hope you enjoy the show. #arrowsgoldeneyeducks #brownbea

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John J King II

Apr 7, 2016
4 min

Wild Patagonia: Of Condors and Cats

Fresh from an amazing expedition deep into the ice of Antarctica I hit the dock in Ushuaia, Argentina, head spinning, with one last important goal to complete before returning north and home. The Goal? – track and photograph, if possible the elusive big cat known as the Puma! In North America we call them Mountain Lions. Torres del Paine lies near the border of Argentina and Chile in the geographic region known as Patagonia. A beautiful national park, Torres del Paine is a me

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John J King II

Apr 5, 2016
3 min

Antarctica: The End of the Earth

More than two years ago I learned that my friend Ted Cheeseman was planning to bring a team of mammal researchers led by Ari Friedlander down to Antarctica very late in the season to enable the team to study feeding behavior using advanced technology D-tags and drones. I had been to Ice continentÂ before seven years ago and, like many, had been intoxicated with the striking landscapes and unique wildlife. I had vowed to return and this was my chance to go back while supportin

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John J King II

Apr 3, 2016
2 min

Spring in the Shadow of Mt. St Helens

Thirty six years ago Mt St. Helens exploded. For about sixty days the volcano had been giving clues of a pending event - starting with a 5.1 magnitude earthquake on March 20th, 1980. Scientists mobilized intoÂ position to study this active phase of a volcano that had not had a major eruption since 1842. Residents were evacuated; instruments and cameras were put in place and scientists waited. But in spite of the significant signs no one was really ready for the massive explos

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John J King II

Apr 3, 2016
3 min

Wild Patagonia: Peninsula Valdez

Once each year for about 6 weeks a unique spectacle of nature occurs in a remote part of Argentina's wild Atlantic coast. In the beginning of March the young sea lions which were born about 6 weeks earlier are just getting brave enough to swim on the gentle surf line of gravel beaches on Punta Norte, Peninsula Valdes. It is precisely at this time every year that a small population of transient orcas (mammal feeders) return to these beaches to hunt for the young pups in a the

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John J King II

Jul 31, 2015
2 min

Hakai Pass: Food for the Soul

Took a couple of weeks off from our white shark research activity on Cape Cod to head out to the Pacific Northwest. Great to visit family, old friends and to venture into the beautiful and wild coast of British Columbia to do some fishing. For many years, as we have reported before, the "Inside Passage" was a yearly trek for us in bringing fishing boats north and west to the Alaska Peninsula and points north to work. The striking wild beauty of British Columbia and Southeast

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John J King II

Feb 3, 2015
2 min

Report from Africa: Ultimate Aldabra

A few weeks ago we foretold of our long anticipated expedition into a remote island group off the African east coast in the southern hemisphere. Aldabra is officially part of The Seychelles but lies 700 miles southwest of the main Seychelles group and capital Mahe. Designated a World Heritage site for the protection of its unique and magnificent biodiversity Aldabra is very seldom visited by anyone outside of the research and conservation communities. Most visitors arrive by

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John J King II

Aug 18, 2014
1 min

Wild Cape Cod Notebook: Summer

The summer is now more than half over and the various activities in the wild world here on Cape Cod have been both numerous and exciting to witness. As readers of this blog are aware, we have been supporting the White Shark Population Study field work under the direction of Dr. Greg Skomal through our involvement with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy since the study initiated in June. This has us out on the waters of the outer Cape two to three times a week on the Aleutia

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John J King II

Apr 19, 2014
1 min

Pacific Northwest Signs of Spring

Our time in the Pacific Northwest has been heavy with family and the brand new babies as our previous posts will attest. However we have managed an outing with our old friend and fellow birder Paula Johnson who lives in the area. Paula was kind enough to guide us to a couple of birding hotspots in the region one day this past week. They are the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in southern Washington near the Columbia River and also the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge ne

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John J King II

Feb 8, 2014
1 min

In the Kingdom of the Snowy Owl

Our winter explorations of the wilderness areas of Cape Cod were taken to a new level this past week. Working with expert tracker and Cape Cod Naturalist Todd Kelley we embarked on an epic hike out on to a wintery and frozen Sandy Neck with the goal of walking all the way to the point and returning. Walking along the frozen edges of Barnstable marsh and into the beautiful maritime forests of red cedar, pine and even a few wild holly trees interspersed with the tundra-like fee

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John J King II

Feb 2, 2014
1 min

Wild Cape Cod Notebook: Winter

Perseverance has finally paid off in our quest to find the snowy owl and capture some images. There are still reliable reports of these beauties hunting on Sandy Neck(2), West Dennis Beach, Gray's Beach, Nauset Beach, Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, High Head (2), Race Point, and the West End dunes in Provincetown (2). We finally caught up with this fellow late one afternoon at West Dennis Beach. For those who don't know West Dennis Beach lies at the southern terminus of Bass R

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John J King II

Jan 25, 2014
1 min

Travel Advisory: Apex Expeditions

Apex Expeditions specializes in one-of-a-kind adventures to explore the world's most fascinating places. Many of you might recognize Jonathan Rossouw here, a close friend, supreme wildlife guide and extraordinary tour leader specializing in remote destinations all around the world. We have traveled with Jonathan on many adventures including the now well known Ugandan Mountain Gorilla encounter which changed us both forever. We are wonderfully pleased to learn that a new ventu

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John J King II

Dec 28, 2013
1 min

Patagonia: Magellanic Spring

Our recent posts about traveling in Ecuador and Peru got us to remembering our trek into Patagonia now five years ago. In this "hot stove league" time of year and while we gear up for some new adventures in 2014 take a peak at some images of mountain spring memories from out journey into Chile's incomparable Torres del Paine park and then on to Argentina's El Calafate thereby bracketing Patagonia. Some breathtaking scenery and a first hand look at one of the largest ice sheet

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John J King II

Dec 9, 2013
1 min

The Strange Natural World of Chihuly

Garden at the foot of the needle As the winter solstice approaches and the days are ever shorter in the Northern Hemisphere we look for opportunities to experience nature in many ways. Some not so natural. For instance on a recent visit to Seattle we finally had a chance to tour the Chihuly Garden & Glass Exhibition at the foot of the famous Space Needle. An absolute WOW! Here are a few snaps we managed on the magical mystery tour. If you are ever in Seattle please make a poi

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John J King II

Nov 6, 2013
1 min

Offshore with the Humpbacks

The blessings of our mild and beautiful autumn weather continue to flow as we have been able to keep our boats in the water and in the past few days venture outside into the Atlantic Ocean to observe various life forms returning to our waters including rafts of common eiders and white winged scoters as well as a host of gannets and other pelagic seabirds which are in the area before returning to their winter waters in the South Atlantic. The biggest bonus of the fall season h

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