Whit Gibbons, Herpetologist and Author
A BOOK ABOUT LOVING INSECTS IS WORTH THE READ When considering the country’s most famous early naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, John James Audubon comes to mind as the consummate painter of birds. William Bartram holds the crown … Continued
SOME INVASIVE SPECIES ARE AN ENIGMA When I looked down on the scene from atop the Piedras Blancas Light Station, I understood why the California coast was noted for its magnificent views. The ocean crashed along rocky shores; elephant seals … Continued
TASMANIAN DEVILS DON’T RESEMBLE CARTOON CRITTER Once upon a time I was fortunate enough to see one of the most incredible animals left on earth, a wild Tasmanian devil. I was in the company of 80 wildlife biologists from mainland … Continued
HOW DO ANIMALS GET THEIR NAMES? Many scientific names acknowledge some distinctive aspect of a plant or animal. For example, the scientific name for the Alabama waterdog, an aquatic, flat-tailed salamander native to the Black Warrior River, is Necturus alabamensis. … Continued