Penguins

Penguins Scratch, Bite, and —- Shoot!

I’ve been on 6 expeditions to Antarctica as a researcher and on one of them I was the leader of the first (and only) Jamaican Antarctic Expedition. We received wonderful support from the Chilean Antarctic Program, but had not much sophisticated equipment. However, apart from preparing samples of Antarctic marine worms and tiny terrestrial insects known as springtails for a study with the electron microscope, we took lots of photographs of penguins.

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Strange Taste for Indigestibles

Strange taste amongst our feathered friends: Stories of food pellets

It is important for teachers to involve their pupils and when I reminded my wife, who was a high-school teacher in biology and geography at that time, that some birds swallow pebbles, elephant seals swallow stones as big as tennis balls and freshwater turtles are known to have gobbled up coins tossed into the water while marine turtles ingest plastic bags that clog up their intestines, it gave her an idea.

My Feral Friends

What can I possibly mean by feral friends?

When we lived in Jamaica we observed exciting things through the window of our house: humming birds, lizards, banana thieves sneaking into our garden from the nearby gully, fireflies, cattle egrets and … feral dogs! The word “feral” has nothing to do with ‘ferocious’ or ‘feline’ (= cat-like), but describes any domesticated animals that has reverted back to a wild or semi-wild state.