So, as a little follow up to my article on albino squirrels in the Gardens the other day (see here: I ran into this little fellow and just had to take a shot. Too funny 😂 OK now that squirrel was seriously

Perhaps one of the most fascinating natural variations that occurs in the wild is Albinism. True albino animals are actually fairly rare, which is why I was surprised (and delighted) to come across a couple

Having wrapped things up in the field, I've been down in Cape Town proper for the last couple of weeks catching up with friends and family and attending to the general minutiae of life. What contracts

That's right, alpacas. Now that I've got your attention, you're probably wondering, like I did, what the hell a bunch of alpacas are doing way out here in wine country… Well, being as how my compatriots

'If you drink from it, under the light of the blood moon, you'll become one,' Kyri said teasingly. Her gaze met Shandra's in a challenge. 'I dare you, my love.' Shandra eyed the paw print, brimming with

In addition to behavioral observations, part of my recent duties for the project I'm currently working on has been to capture thermal images of our agama study subjects (Agama atra). This is certainly

About a month ago, I posted about our field site here in the Western Cape fynbos being ravaged by fire. As I mentioned then, fire is a natural part of fynbos ecology, however in terms of a field project,

During my research for an article on animal homosexual behaviour (see here: I came across a gem of a study, conducted by sciences from the University of Lethbridge, Canada. In a population of macaques

On the surface, homosexual behavior seems to fly in the face of evolutionary theory. What possible adaptive significance could it have? How does it increase the fitness of an individual to perform behaviors

Currently, in South Africa's Western Cape province, there is a massive drought on. It has reached crisis proportions with a looming 'Day 0' date when the taps will be turned off and we will all have to

First, there is flame. Then a hand reaching in to turn her lungs inside out, searing her unconscious. After a while light, voices. Far away, someone screaming as she's lowered into the soft, cool water.

The day after Valentine's Day, we arrived at our field site in the fynbos-covered mountains to a jarring vista. Though hardly lush and verdant before (ensured by an on-going drought in South Africa's Western

This is an entry for the @dbooster haiku contest here: ice drips from a chrysalis... first spring wind Image from wikimedia commons:

Not everything I come across in my day to day is a cute little elephant shrew ( though some findings are certainly stranger than others. Today, walking through the fynbos, I found this: Yes, that is the

In my current field site in the cape fynbos, I have been lucky enough to encounter a creature I have long desired to see. One of the smaller, and more intriguing members of an unusual grouping (Afrotheria)

Although it's often very geeky. We're (very often) surprisingly un-serious people. Being a total geek, I love a good science nerd joke and tend to get sent a lot of them by my friends. I thought I'd share

In my youth, my primary love in the natural world was the ocean. Born on the wild West coast of South Africa, I've always felt an affinity for the icy Atlantic that no other natural place could touch.

In her youth Liliana had been a gogo dancer, pianist, stripper and eventually the madam of the Chat Rouge, that infamous brothel frequented only by the most diabolically inclined of humans. A place where

Seeing the toolbox, Emily knew she'd been murdered. It was there, innocent and clear as day in the garage she now haunted, a slip of a thing. A scattering of tiny, innocuous seeds. He'd crushed them there,

'Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably,' C.S. Lewis While I am not the most elegant of eater-readers, this is certainly a sentiment I share. Particularly, when said activities involve