Whit Gibbons, Herpetologist and Author
MAKE YOUR 2026 RESOLUTIONS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT It’s never too late to make New Year’s resolutions and once again mine pertain directly to our personal health and well-being. I don’t mean more trips to the gym and fewer to … Continued
PARENTAL CARE VARIES WORLDWIDE Which animal makes a better parent, a bird that never feeds her young or a turtle that lays her eggs and never looks back? How about a mammalian mother who only visits her nursing babies every … Continued
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAROLINA PARAKEET? Imagine my excitement when I thought I had taken a photograph of a Carolina parakeet, an extinct bird. In the spirit of full disclosure, it was not a live bird (Hello! Extinct!) but an … Continued
WERE THE ORIGINAL MERMAIDS MANATEES? Christopher Columbus gets credit for the first written record of manatees in North America, ones he saw near the Dominican Republic in 1492. West Indian manatees, also called Florida manatees, are resident in peninsular Florida; … Continued
STATE NICKNAMES EMBRACE THE ENVIRONMENT Our dependence on the environment is so ingrained in human culture that we acknowledge connections with nature in a diversity of ways. One way we relate to the natural world of plants, animals and ecosystems … Continued
ECOLOGICAL MYSTERIES SWIRL AROUND NARWHALS As much as I applaud scientific research that reveals nature’s secrets, I feel a sense of satisfaction when some natural mysteries remain mysteries. The narwhal is my favorite example. Narwhals are a sort of marine … Continued
STUDENTS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WILDLIFE I received the following questions from students in a conservation class at North Carolina State University. Q. What is the most significant change you’ve observed in the way people perceive alligators and other reptiles now … Continued
ARE RACCOONS SMARTER THAN CATS AND DOGS? Raccoons are an established part of suburban wildlife. They can live in a sewer drain, have no natural predators and get nightly handouts via outdoor pet food bowls and bird feeders. I get … Continued
PEOPLE ASK ABOUT BIRDS, SPIDERS AND EXTINCTION Q. My wife and I watch grackles each morning when they come to the mealworms in a small flock like a motorcycle gang of thugs. Redbirds, titmice and wrens take a backseat. When … Continued
DO BLACK PANTHERS EXIST? The internet is real. What you find on it may not be. Such as reports that a black panther roams the woods in North America. Over the years I have heard from hunters, bird watchers and … Continued