Tag archives for Canada
Posted by Churchill, Manitoba, will get about a thousand polar bear visitors this fall. Every year, tourists flock to Churchill to see the polar bears, which are in the area while they wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze over. If you can’t make it to Manitoba, you can watch live footage of the polar bear migration on National Geographic, courtesy of Explore.org, Polar Bear International, and Frontiers North.
Check out the polar bear cam footage on National Geographic.
Get the facts on polar bears in the Creature Feature.
Photograph courtesy of explore.org
Today is Canada day! National Geographic’s digital nomad Andrew Evans is traveling through Ontario. On each one of Andrew’s trips, he “adopts” a local dog. Here’s a picture of Andrew with his dog from this trip. (He doesn’t keep the dog.) Read more about Andrew’s adventures and his dogs.
Read about his adventures and help name his trip dog!
My name is Andrew Evans and I am a writer for National Geographic Traveler magazine. I have a blog, Digital Nomad, where I write and show videos about my travels all over the world.
When I was a kid I loved two things: maps and dogs! At school, I liked to look at maps all day long and after school, I liked to play with dogs. For my social studies class I entered the National Geographic Bee and won third place for the state of Ohio. I never imagined that I’d end up working for National Geographic and getting to visit all the places I had seen on maps.
Traveling so much is lots of fun but it means I can’t have a dog at home. Instead, I get to meet dogs all over the world. Every time I meet a dog that I like, anywhere in the world, I take a picture of it and call that dog “my dog”. Then I send the picture out to all my friends who follow my travels on my website. This way I get to have lots of dogs in lots of different countries.
What do you think Andrew should name his dog from this trip? Leave your favorite name in a comment!
Posted by BOOK NAME: Star in the Storm
AUTHOR: Joan Hiatt Harlow
If you like dogs and history, you’ll like Star in the Storm. The book takes place in Newfoundland, an island in Canada, around the time of World War II and the story is based on actual events.
It is about the dog, Sirius, which is named after one of the brightest stars at night. When other dogs chase a sheep into the ocean, Sirius swims out to save it, but it’s too late because the sheep drowns. When Sirius comes to shore with the dead sheep, people think he killed it and they make a rule that all dogs except for sheep dogs must leave the town. Maggie, the master of Sirius, keeps him hidden because she doesn’t want him to leave. Then there’s a big storm that causes a boat full of people to wreck into some rocks by the island. Maggie gets Sirius out of his hiding place and the dog helps save people’s lives. Since Sirius is a hero, the town decides he can stay and Maggie’s family is given a baby sheep so they can turn Sirius into a sheep dog.
The beginning of the book was a little confusing, but it made more sense as I read it.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Thunder from the Sea
AUTHOR: Joan Hiatt Harlow
Caution: this book will have you wanting to give your dog a great big bear hug!
Have you ever had the feeling that you didn’t know you needed a dog until you got one? Well, that is how the Murray family felt once they adopted Thunder.
Thunder wasn’t the only one adopted by the Murrays. They first adopted Tom Campbell when he was already 13 years old. Tom and his new dad spent their time fishing, which was quite a change from the farming that Tom was used to.
One day while they were out fishing, a storm came up suddenly. And with it came the miracle dog, Thunder, who is a beautiful Newfoundland canine which is native to the area. Then and there a legacy was born; one of a boy, a dog, and an adventure.
My favorite part of the book is when they need to get across the ice to get to the island doctor, and the ice begins to crack under them. Tom is forced to make rushed decisions that will have a long term effect on both his new dog and family. Fortunately, the Murrays now have Tom and Thunder to help them through this crisis. This is a very heart warming book that will make you love your dog all the more!
The opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics tonight from Vancouver, British Columbia, kicks off over two weeks of winter sports competitions! Athletes from around the world will be compete in events such as skiing, figure skating, snowboarding, ice hockey, and more.
The spectacular opening ceremony welcome spectators and athletes to the 2010 Winter Games. Canadian culture will be featured in the performances tonight. The lighting of the Olympic Flame is the high point and symbolizes the official start of the Games.
The opening ceremony will be shown on NBC tonight at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time and at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. See if you can stay up and watch!
Get information on your favorite events on the Vancouver Olympic Games website.
Check out the NG Kids GeoGames and try sports like the athletes will compete in: ice hockey, slalom skiing, and curling.
Photograph by Dale Matthews, Your Shot
Posted by BOOK NAME: Hatchet
AUTHOR: Gary Paulsen
Brian Robeson, a 13 year old boy, is flying to visit his divorced Dad who lives in Canada. The pilot has a sharp pain in his chest and he has a heart attack. After the pilot’s heart attack, Brian ends up flying the plane for about two minutes. After finding that the radio is broken, he crashes the plane into a lake.
This story is about Brian and how he survives in the wilderness for 42 days with nothing except a hatchet and a ripped up windbreaker. At first, he had pains all over his body, so he just slept on the sand. The next day, the pain was getting better, so decided to build a lean-to shelter. That’s just the beginning of all the excitement.
He ends up fishing, hunting and picking berries for food. And there’s also dangerous times like a tornado, and standing about six feet from a black bear.
Gary Paulsen is a three-time Newberry Honor author and he’s very good. He also has a good book called Guts which is all about his real life. It is very exciting and the reason why I wanted to read Hatchet.
That’s all for now. I hope you read this book. Until next time – bye!
Photograph by Melissa Brandts, Your Shot
Believe it or not, this picture is for real! While visiting Banff National Park in Canada, two park visitors put their camera on a rock and set the camera’s timer. The noise of the camera focusing caught the attention of a curious ground squirrel, who popped up in front of the camera in time for the click of the shutter. What a great (and unique) vacation memory!
Get the story of this amazing picture in the photographer’s words on National Geographic.
See pictures of national parks in the United States in the Photo Gallery.
The largest freshwater fish in North America, the white sturgeon, seemed to be headed for extinction in the mid-1990s. Dozens of dead fish washed up on the riverbanks in British Columbia, Canada. Many people banded together to save the white sturgeon and it seems to have worked. Today their population is estimated to be about 50,000.
Read more about the white sturgeon rebound on National Geographic News.
Want more info on Zeb Hogan’s Megafishes Project? Visit the gallery.
