World Wildlife Fund WWF Travel Blog

Finally! The jarring rattling stopped. The infinite, bouncing commute across rocky elephant trails came to a halt. No more thorny branches threatening to scar my face with a snappy whip through the windows of our trucks. No more desert dust in my teeth. Finally.

We had arrived at the Ongava Game Reserve near Etosha National Park in northern Namibia after a long desert drive. The amiable lodge staff greeted us in the driveway with fresh juice and with cool washcloths we could use to swab our dusty faces.

But wait!

Biologist and nature expedition guide Astrid Frisch possesses a knowledge of Mexico’s ecosystems and biodiversity that’s as large as her passion for conservation itself. So when we chatted recently with the Mexico native about the best wildlife experiences in her home country, she was quick to rattle off a well-founded list.

One of the most powerful marine predators, the orca, grows up to 32 feet (9.7 meters) in length—about the size of a school bus—and can weigh up to 6 tons (5,443 kilograms). Though the orca’s size intimidates prey, among its whale pod, the orca is a highly social animal that communicates through distinctive noises that only other members of the whale’s pod will recognize.

This week, actor and World Wildlife Fund Board Member Leonardo DiCaprio helped launch WWF’s “Hands Off My Parts” initiative. The initiative represents a week-long effort tied to WWF’s Stop Wildlife Crime campaign to raise awareness and mobilize support to end the illegal trade of wildlife.

As a traveler, you have tremendous power to decrease the demand for illegal products by making informed purchases. Your purchases abroad and at home have a profound impact on wildlife.

They slide on their bellies across the snow, congregate on icebergs and seem to fly through freezing water in search of fish. That’s how most people picture penguins, in Antarctica.

The southernmost continent has the most penguins of any region in the world, but it’s not the only place where you’ll find the tuxedoed bird. The Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and South Africa are three other WWF destinations where you can see penguins in their natural habitat.

Huge numbers of seabirds blanket the rocky landscape of the Russian Far East. The birds perch on high, windswept cliffs that rise to seemingly infinite heights, making their habitat inaccessible to other animals that would want to hunt them. As a result, the birds prosper in massive, dense colonies.

By the end of our time in Southern Africa, we thought we were safari gurus. I mean, what first-time Africa travelers go on over 40 safari drives in one visit? From Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta, to Kruger Park proper and the surrounding wildlife reserves, we thought we knew the drill. Then we went to Tanzania, and our whole concept of how a safari works went straight out the window. There are some big differences, and advantages and disadvantages to both.

Polar bears are our planet’s largest land predators. Between 20,000 and 25,000 of these amazing animals roam the arctic today in the U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Denmark (Greenland) and Norway. Below are seven interesting behaviors to look for when observing the species in the wild:

I recently traveled with our partner tour operator, Natural Habitat Adventures, to the Galapagos Islands aboard the M/Y Letty. Having the opportunity to visit a place where WWF has worked for over 45 years was an incredible experience. I took hundreds of photos during my adventure; below are just a few of my favorites.

We hit the trifecta. After an 18-hour boat ride through the wild waters of the Pacific, we reached Magdalena Bay, Mexico. The water was still. The sky was solid blue. We were told by our guides that dozens of gray whales, each just a few weeks old, were in this part of the bay and at the stage of their life when they wanted to do what all children want to do: play.  It was the perfect set-up for whale watching.

An unforgettable experience
I left our small cruise ship and boarded a heavy-duty raft with eight others. It wasn’t long before we saw the dark flesh of a gray whale—one of the world’s most iconic species. Just 50 feet from our boat, the whale breached. Nobody on my boat had ever been that close to a whale. This time of year, it would be difficult to get much closer, as the mother whales (cows) were still very protective of their babies (calves).

Then just minutes later, the cow and her calf slowly danced through the water, coming within mere inches of us. We watched—mainly through our camera lenses—what seemed to be their morning ritual. Despite her enormity (four tons), the cow delicately broke the surface, fiercely blowing water through her spout. A few seconds later, her calf did the same, a bit more clumsily, and then emerged again to roll over her mother. A true sign of love.

Soon the whales were swimming and playing under, around and alongside our boats. For nearly 30 minutes, my fellow travelers giggled and screeched as they experienced these amazing animals. Despite the fact that the whale was far superior to me in weight and strength, I was giddy, not fearful.

“Why are they coming so close?” I asked Sharon, a naturalist on our trip.

“Because they trust us,” she said.

And it was in this beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime moment, that I started to feel very sad.

A safe haven at risk
If these whales trusted us enough to come that close, how could we betray them? The cold waters of Alaska—to which they were heading for the summer—are under threat. The three-month journey the whales have taken from Baja to Beaufort, Alaska, for hundreds of years has always ended in healthy waters.

That tradition may end soon. Shell Oil Company plans to break ground in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea this summer. This action—if allowed by the federal government—would likely open America’s Arctic up to oil and gas drilling by dozens of other companies.

Science tells us that exploring and drilling for oil in Alaska would be disastrous to the region’s whales and other wildlife, dirtying the water and bringing noise pollution that threatens the survival of many species. And science confirms that marine life thrives when industries are kept out of the water, including in Mexico.

We should trust that science. Much like whales trusted us on a sunny January day in Baja California.

See whales on a WWF tour.