We humans are fascinated by the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), with its majestic presence and its identification as a symbol. In fact, the United States has made it its national…

Equipped with a lo-o-o-o-ng abdomen and impressive mandibles, the dragonfly looks like it could easily sting or bite us. In Québec, it is sometimes called a “crève-yeux” – an eye-puncturer!…

Known colloquially in French as the merisier, the yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) is a tree native to northeastern North America. Due to its rapid growth, long life, beauty and wide…

With its long, strong beak, prominent crest and impressive size, the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) has a silhouette evocative of that well-known flying dinosaur, the pterodactyl. The Pileated Woodpecker is…

When you touch a cat or a bird, you feel the warmth the animal gives off. If you handle a grass snake or a frog, however, you feel a coolness….

When you see a motionless owl looking straight behind itself, you might think that it could turn its head completely around. So…can it? No animal, including the owl, can swivel…

The media sometimes report shark attacks on swimmers, divers or surfers. The injuries suffered by the victims are often spectacular and sometimes fatal. That feeds our fears of these predators…

The caribou, featured on our 25-cent coin, is in danger. In Québec, there are three ecological species (subspecies) of this northern cervid: the barren-ground caribou (of the tundra), the woodland…

In French, the name of the familiar Christmas carol is (translated) “My beautiful fir, king of the forests”. Why such praise? If you choose a natural tree at Christmastime, chances…

Rest assured, bats don’t get tangled in your hair, there are no vampire bats in these northern latitudes, and while these little mammals sometimes carry the rabies virus, the risks…