Author Archives: kjshaney

Rare Crocodilian Skull in the Jungle

We had been portaging canoes through ephemeral swamp channels for two days after crossing from oil palm plantations into virgin forest along the east coast of Sumatra. We used the skeletons of dead trees to gain footing in mud that pulled us down to our waists and the tropical heat caused the mud to dryContinue reading “Rare Crocodilian Skull in the Jungle”

Great Migration

October 9, 2023 12:20 pm Massive rivers and kettles of raptors are migrating over the Texas A&M University-Kingsville campus. Tens of thousands of birds swirling like black clouds. Swainson’s hawks, broadwings, black vultures and other unknowns are mixed in the groups. One of the most incredible migratory spectacles I’ve ever seen. They are headed downContinue reading “Great Migration”

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Due east of Las Vegas, New Mexico, the southern Rocky Mountains drop off into the Great Plains. Yellow and brown grasses bend to the harsh winds that flow across the landscape daily. Although the grasslands seem to extend unobstructed for hundreds of miles, there is another dramatic change in the landscape, where grasslands give wayContinue reading “Western Diamondback Rattlesnake”

A Butterfly Emergence in Nuevo Leon

In mid-september, after many weeks of 100+ degree temperatures, the summer temperatures finally broke. A storm front brought cooler temperatures and the first bit of rain that we had seen in weeks. We lived at the base of mountain range on the south side of Monterrey, Mexico, just a five minute walk from hills coveredContinue reading “A Butterfly Emergence in Nuevo Leon”