It seems like Ale’s world is so much about tracks these days — our kitchen is plastered with track stickers, floors are strewn with legos, we watch garbage track every Monday and go to bed with a tractor. So having this beautiful book as one of his favorite bedtime stories makes me particularly happy! He calls it the book about eagles — his favorite animal.
We don’t actually read the book. Instead my little eagle joins Mr. Bear as he digs for mussels under the rocks on the shore and then follows him into the woods to eat together some huckleberries (because that’s what the eagles do, right? ☺️) We ‘fly’ over the ancient forest and listen to the wolves as they howl to each other down below. We watch orcas play in the ocean and we share fish with mama whale. We listen to the rain and watch cougar emerge from the woods at sunset. And as the sun sets over the ocean and sky becomes studded with stars my little eagle lays down in his nest, I cover him with a blanket and we listen to some wolf howls and eagle calls on my iPhone as he is falling asleep. 💕💕💕 (scroll to the bottom to listen to the wolves howl!)
Few interesting facts about some of our
favorite West Coast inhabitants
Did you knot that there are “Redheads” among the bears?
The rare Kermode or “Spirit” bear in the foreground is one of only a few hundred in the world and found almost exclusively in the densely forested islands of the Great Bear Rain Forest region in Canada. Triggered by the same recessive gene associated with red hair and fair skin in humans, this cream or white bear is actually a white variant of a black bear. Learn more fascinating facts about beautiful Pacific Wild and see most stunning photos and live video streams by joining the Pacific Wild on Instagram!
Did you know eagles mate for life?
They are monogamous and may remain with their mate for several years or possibly for life. This is even more impressive considering that they mate at 4-5 years of age and that they live very long lives. In the wild they can live longer than 30 years, although the average lifespan is fifteen to twenty years. A captive eagle at West Stephentown, NY lived to be at least 48 years old.
Eagle’s nests are very large — 2-4 feet deep and 4-5 feet wide on average. Eagles build their nests together in preparation for their chicks. Building a nest may take an entire winter. Eagles also share parenting duties taking turns incubating the eggs and later feeding their young.
Did you know wolves can even change rivers?
Wolves are what is called is a keystone species — a keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment. Such species are playing a critical role in maintaining the health of an eco-system, affecting many other organisms. For example, the absence of wolves in many regions of the US has lead to unsustainably high levels of deer whose behavior has also changed in the absence of their natural predator. The deer would hang in one spot decimating all vegetation in their way and even damaged many trees. This in turn leads to soil erosion and reduction of natural habitats for many other species. Before the re-introduction of the wolves to the Yellowstone the park was dying from this very phenomena. The wolves brought it back to life! Look at this wonderful little video to see how! Also I love this website that has great answers to many questions pertaining to the wolves, such as whether or not they attack humans (they don’t and actually are very shy of people), do they really cause as much trouble to ranchers as it is believed to be and more!
And last, but not least, if you and your little ones would like to have a real wolf experience I very highly recommend a visit to a local wolf sanctuary. Here in Colorado we have the amazing Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. We also have Wolf Adventures where you can take a wolf on a walk and take photos at the iconic Colorado’s Garden of the Gods!