Blue Planet Journey

  Caroline at Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River, Zimbabwe. Waterfalls! Large waterfalls command our attention, with sound and spray. They can thunder to the extent that you can't have a conversation with a person standing next to you. You actually can feel the force of the water cascading over the edge. And small waterfalls are the provenance of poets and lovers. Water trickling down a rock face and dripping into a pool is mesmerizing, inspiring, and calming. No matter where you are, the same physical principles are involved. Water flows downhill. When that downhill is abrupt, you have a waterfall.  . Little Logan River, Logan, Utah. Gocta Falls, Peru, one of the tallest waterfalls in the world. The sound was deafening. Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales, Australia. . Hanakapiai Falls is a 300-foot waterfall on the Na Pali Coast of Kauai, Hawaii. Nugget Falls, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska. Dunn's River Falls, Jamaica. Dominica. Great Falls Park (Maryland si...

Hawaii, being an isolated island chain about 2500 miles from a continental land mass, is considered the kingdom of endemism , species found here and nowhere else.  The limited numbers and types of organisms that found their way to these islands adapted to the conditions within the varying microclimates, and the rest is... biological history.  Most terrestrial mammals found the going impossible.  The journey was too long, or too salty, or too rough.  Prior to settlement by humans, the only terrestrial mammals on the Hawaiian Islands were 1 - 2 species of bats; today, only the Hawaiian hoary bat remains.  The first waves of colonizing humans later brought pigs, rats, chickens, and dogs.  Today, there are a number of introduced mammals , including cats, mongoose, mule deer, cattle, sheep, goats, and even brush-tailed rock wallabies .  Rock Wallaby sighted in Kalihi Valley in 2014. For the most part, Hawaiian authorities have learned their l...

Celebrating the day with friends, Waimea Canyon, Kauai It's time to find a home for some of the photos taken over the past 2 weeks in Hawaii.  These include time on both Oahu and Kauai. ••• Rainy, channeling the rain, Waimea Canyon. Waimea Canyon, Kauai Correct posture for watching spinner dolphins from bow of boat, Kauai.  However, caution should be taken when choosing a reputable captain and boat to protect the dolphins . Napali Near Poipu Beach, Kauai Nene, wondering what all the fuss is about Look, you go 3000 miles away from Logan, pick a random beach on an island in the Pacific, and you DON"T expect to run into the makers of Caroline's favorite rye bread!  Crumb Brothers owners Rudy and Luba (here pictured with Caroline, Jordy, and Tessa)! Natasha letting us help with a field trip to the UH art department! Natasha giving Caroline driving lessons, Moanalua Bay . Biki Bike, a docked bike pr...

Caroline observing 2 Hawaiian monk seals at Poipu Beach, Kauai. I am not a Hawaiian monk seal biologist.  I am interested in monk seals , I discuss monk seals in my wildlife course, and I may have even sent in a written comment on a draft monk seal management plan.  Daughter Katelin probably knows more about monk seals than I do, as evidenced by her publication : In 2016, the Hawaiian monk seal population was estimated to be 1427 individuals.  That is not a large population, although over the past 5 years, the growth rate of the population seems to be increasing at 3% per year, with the highest growth rates on the Main Hawaiian Islands.  That’s good news.  The bad news is that the the population is still small, and threats to the population continue. What are those threats ?  NOAA lists them as follows, although they are not listed in any order of priority or importance: •. Adult male aggression :  Some males cause injury or death t...