Yellowstone traffic jam. PHOTO: GLENN DICKEY
MAY–JUNE
Moose on the Loose
WILDLIFE ON STAGE
7 SPOTS TO GO GOODALL For the record, we’ve never met a kid who doesn’t dig
B Y V I R G I N I A M A R S H A L L
animals. If you’re looking for a can’t-miss family adventure, try a wildlife theme. Tere are a herd of wonderful animal-, bird- and even insect-watching opportunities from coast to coast every month this summer. From May to September, this safari list helps you go where the wild things are and inspire your budding biologists.
32 EARLY SUMMER 2011
Since the first two moose were introduced to Newfoundland in 1878 and another four in 1904, the island’s population has grown to over 120,000—the densest in North America with one moose for every four Newfoundlanders. Te animals are so numerous that a Canadian Geographic documentary called them “thousand-pound rabbits on stilts” and, earlier this year, a St. John’s lawyer launched a class action lawsuit against the provincial government for failing to control the population. Te abundance of moose may have some locals miffed, but it almost guarantees a glimpse of these magnificent animals. Head to Gros Morne National Park in late spring when moose supplement their diets with salt runoff from roadside ditches. While there, hike some of the beautiful trails and take a cruise on Western Brook Pond beneath massive, billion-year-old cliffs. www.pc.gc. ca/eng/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/
index.aspx
JUNE–JULY Puffin Patrol
Kids love watching the antics of puffins. With their colorful, toucan-like bills and awkward splashdowns, puffins resemble clowns with wings. During summer, the birds abandon their lives on the open ocean for a brief stint ashore to nest. Five islands off the Maine coast provide the only Atlantic puffin viewing in the United States. Te best is Machias Seal Island, a grass-covered rock 10 miles equidistant from Maine’s Downeast Coast and Canada’s Grand Manan Island. Tour boats depart daily from Cutler, ME, and Grand Manan, NB, and land visitors on the island where a ranger answers questions and blinds offer viewing from as close as three feet. On your tour, you’ll also visit a seal colony and, if you’re lucky, spot resident humpback or north Atlantic right whales.
www.mainebirdingtrail.com/Puffins.html
PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
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