POV: You’re standing amongst the sequoia trees watching a winter sunrise. Life is good.

Photo at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, by Jelieta Walinski (sharetheexperience.org).

Photo description: Tall snowy trees stretch up towards a twilight-colored sky.

Awwwww-ters!

One of nature’s most social and playful creatures, river otters have big personalities and even bigger appetites. Otters most often eat fish, frogs and crawfish, but will also consume worms, insects, mice, bird eggs, nestlings, crabs, and more.  

Often seen in groups, or romps, they can be observed hunting and frolicking year-round at Grand Teton National Park. Most of the year, they are active at night, dawn or dusk but they become more diurnal during the winter. Observing them is a rare treat.

Photo by Joel Brown (sharetheexperience.org). Photo description: Three otters walk along the edge of a snowy lake.

Please take a paws to thank and appreciate all our Interior law enforcement personnel (even the furry ones) who help protect our public lands and wildlife.

We are grateful for your service and your dedicated professionalism. Thank you. #LawEnforcementAppreciationDay

Photo of K-9 high fives at Pinnacles National Park, by NPS. Photo description: A German shepherd dog and a park ranger in a uniform give each other a high five.

Got any new year’s resolutions for 2022?  

🌄Watch more sunrises?  
🌲Get outdoors more?  
🥬Eat more kale?  

We highly recommend that first and second option. Photo of Olympic National Park by John Donofrio (sharetheexperience.org). Photo description: Several large pointy rocks, some with trees growing on them, sit in the ocean just on the edge of a beach at sunset.

We know this coyote at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Texas doesn’t look thrilled, but trust us, it is. 

Why? Because Texas national wildlife refuges expanded by 7,000 acres in 2021! With the busy holidays, you might have missed this good news. http://ow.ly/u2Y650HpGBp 

Photo by Steve Sinclair (sharetheexperience.org). Photo description: A close up view of a coyote.

It’s National Bird Day…that’s it…that’s the tweet.

Photo of a yellow-headed black bird, by Augustus Forrest.

The face you make on the first day back to work after the holidays.

Gray seal photo at Cape Cod National Seashore by Diane Crowe (sharetheexperience.org). Photo description: A gray seal pokes their head above the ocean water, while looking very unamused and bored.

Each winter, thousands of elk make the journey to the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming. For the Jackson Elk Herd, the refuge is a vital stopover and offers outstanding wildlife photography and viewing opportunities all year long. The Teton Range is the perfect setting for the elk’s timeless traditions.

Photo by Gannon Castle, @usfws

Photo description: Elk graze on the side of a snowy hillside. Steep snowy mountains are in the distance.

New Year, New Me…ow. 🎉

From all of us cool cats at Interior and from all the iconic wildlife on our public lands, we wish you a Happy New Year!

Photo of bobcat by Becky Ross McRae. Photo description: A spotted wild cat walks through deep snow.

🎶Came through drippin’ (drip, drip)
🎶Icicles on the ledge, they drippin’ (ice)

Frosty and intricate, icicles hang like ornate chandeliers at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Protecting 21 islands and 12 miles of Wisconsin shoreline on Lake Superior, Apostle Islands experiences a dramatic transformation in the winter.

Photo by Michael DeWitt (sharetheexperience.org). Photo description: Hundreds of delicate icicles hang from the edge of cliffs next to a large lake.