in search of the Iclandic Arctic Fox

I twice saw the elusive Arctic Fox, the only land mammal native to Iceland.

An Arctic Fox Centre opened June 2010, a new tourist attraction.

They lived on birds, I assume. (Why are there not more rodents on this island? Ground squirrels or marmots would thrive here.)

It was a thrill like that of seeing the Patagonian Fox.

But if you like foxes, visit Charlottetown, PEI, Canada. They roam like house cats in that city.

bear video Bulgaria

This is a video of a brown bear in Vitosha mountain. Vitosha is situated next to the capital Sofia, a city with about 2 million inhabitants …

Despite the urbanization, there is still wildlife inhabiting this mountain area. Brown bears are the most impressive mammals that live in Bulgaria. They are protected species and about 800 of them are considered to live here …

read more – Mountain Guide Bulgaria

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

How to Hunt a Bear

Funny.

Hunting bears has long been a rite of passage in almost all civilized societies. In Greek times, bear hunting was part of the Olympics and they were naked.

Unfortunately, many of today’s young men have never known the sportsmanlike glory of sneaking up behind a majestic ursine creature and shooting it in the back while nude. Here’s how you can help keep this grand tradition alive. …

read the SECRETS on The Content FarmHow to Hunt a Bear

That site spoofs articles from “content mill” or “content farm“ sites, low quality crap customized to gain a high Google ranking. Monetized by ads.

related – Read Write WebContent Farms: Why Media, Blogs & Google Should Be Worried

bear trashes plane

From 2009.

… When bush pilot Luke Miller, 28, made an overnight stop at a friend’s hunting lodge in Southwest Alaska … he had no way to know that a large and very dedicated menace would, under cover of night, chew and claw his plane to shreds. …

Alaska Dispatch – An appetite for revenge

Yikes.

more photos

Patagonian ‘fox’

The road chose me is the account of Dan’s 65,000km jeep trek. He’s nearly reached the southern most point – Tierra Del Fuego.

Here’s a photo of what looks like a fox checking out their camp site:

hmm … Is this a South American Gray Fox? … Or a Culpeo? … neither are true ‘foxes’, actually.

When I was down there we often had “false foxes” roaming camp grounds, usually at dusk.

(via The road chose me – Around Ushuaia)

800-pound grizzly named Brutus

I’ve linked to Casey Anderson before. But this is the best video I’ve seen yet.

800-pound grizzly bear Brutus is the curious best friend to renowned naturalist Casey Anderson, who has raised him since birth. Together, they’ve set out on a yearlong mission to chronicle the lives of Yellowstone’s vulnerable grizzly bears.

National Geographic TV – Expedition Grizzly

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Many predict that Brutus will one day kill him. … Could happen.

(via Trend Hunter)

February Florida Hiking Trails Month

Governor Charlie Crist declared February Florida Hiking Trails Month.

I’ve been shopping (unsuccessfully) for a cheap flight Calgary to Hawaii. … But I may need to change my focus to the Sunshine State.

The best starting place in deciding where to go is the Florida Hikes blog and FloridaHikes.com.

I know what you’re thinking. Florida is pretty flat.

But there are some wilderness attractions.

hiking Tecolote Beach, Baja

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Tecolote (A) is an isolated beach community located in the municipality of La Paz in the state of Baja California Sur, It is 25 km from the city of La Paz …

It is one of the most extensive of the beaches in this area with fine, white sand gentle waves and little undertow. Water skiing and jet skiing are available here as well as a boat that goes to Isla Espíritu Santo.

Google maps

I’d been here several times in the past, most memorably on my kayak tour of the island (PHOTOS).

You can walk anywhere in this desert. I headed east along the shore, like Graham MacIntosh. Here’s a view looking back to Tecolote.

The highlight is sea birds. Especially Pelicans.

This little lizard is the only other beast I saw.

Seems the area has many wild burros. They were all around. But I never saw even one.

Perhaps the ATVs scare them away.

Here’s the ferry La Paz – Mazatlan.

There are plenty of ramshackle fishing shacks along the coast. Most empty.

I decided to head inland to tent.

Perfect weather, I enjoyed a peaceful sunset and sunrise. Someone had previously tented up here, already clearing a spot.

In the arms of that cactus near my tent, I left a Summit Stone.

Deserts are some of my favourite hikes. But you cannot go out long. Drinking 4 litres, I was already thirsty after 21 hours.

See the rest of my photos from this hike.

President Palin did something STUPID

OK, it’s a slow news day.

In her television show tonight, Sarah Palin casts herself as a can-do superwoman of the natural world. She fishes, hikes across glaciers and preaches “respect for the elements” from a speedboat while clad in a yellow cagoule. But the programme has already plunged the Mama Grizzly-in-chief into controversy after a leading conservationist in her adopted home of Alaska accused her of flagrant irresponsibility by fishing too close to protected brown bears. …

Find out whether she survived the encounter on Guardian – Sarah Palin accused of breaking countryside rules in TV nature show