Winter in Wyoming is challenging, to say the least. Deep snow, sub-zero temperatures, and limited food availability are just a few of the obstacles wildlife have to overcome to survive the winter months.
Bison are up for the challenge. These 1,000+ pound giants put on thick fur to insulate against the cold, and they use their massive heads to plow through feet of snow to reach forage below.
In early summer, I set off with four friends in search of a mythical fish. I had heard stories of the Sailfish of the North, also known as Arctic Grayling, and I needed to see the fish in order to believe the tales. The stories I heard described iridescent fins that change color in the light...
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On the edge of the Snake River, there is a small, abandoned cabin with an open porch that serves as the perfect staging ground for a day in pursuit of cutthroat trout. As I am setting my reel, threading my line, and tying one on, I always pause to admire the weather-worn wooden boards that have spent decades on the banks of the Snake.
The western ridge above Slough Creek glows with the rising sun. Bird songs punctuate the shallow murmur of the creek. As the valley awakens, eight wolves silently crest the ridge and descend into the valley. The alpha male is in the front of the pack, muscles rippling beneath his sleek, white, grey and black fur. The alpha female trails closely behind her six yearlings. Her fur is jet black, her eyes an emerald green, and a radio collar is fixed around her neck. She is known to wolf biologists in Yellowstone National Park as “Nine Twenty-Six F”, and she is the leader of the Lamar Canyon Pack.
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Early morning mist in the Forks of Cascade Canyon, with sunlight burning off the remnants of a soul-rattling thunderstorm in the backcountry.
It is early evening in the Forks of Cascade Canyon, and clouds are crawling over the mountaintops and descending towards us at an alarming rate. Lightning slashes between the peaks, and within seconds, we are in the heart of the storm. Rain pummels our raincoats, and thunder roars in our chests.
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Trumpeter swans have incredible adaptations that allow them to survive in frigid conditions. One adaptation in particular allows swans (and other waterfowl) to stand in freezing cold water without the risk of frostbite or hypothermia.
How is it possible? Cold feet.
Veins and arteries are the vessels that transport blood throughout an animal's body. The heart pumps oxygenated blood into arteries, and veins transport deoxygenated blood back to the heart. In waterfowl, arteries and veins are wrapped around each other, allowing for what scientists call countercurrent heat exchange. Here is how it works: warm blood leaving the animal's core is slowly cooled by blood returning from extremities. Likewise, returning blood is slowly warmed as it re-enters the core. This allows the animal to keep its feet cold and its core warm.
Here is why cold feet matter: the larger the temperature gradient between two objects, the faster heat is lost. By keeping feet colder, swans reduce the amount of heat they lose to a cold environment.
Trumpeter swans are a conservation success story. Once hunted to near extinction, reintroduction programs have helped trumpeter swans make a comeback in North America.