IN THIS EMAIL:
 

- Learn about the mysterious mutant threatening to invade Canada's waterways 

- Discover more about the new museum exhibit celebrating women war artists   

- Listen to our latest Here & There podcast episode about Anne of Green Gables and its popularity in Japan 

- Looking for your next adventure? Learn more about Maple Leaf Adventures and their exciting trip through the Great Bear Rainforest with RCGS Ambassador John Smol 

Attack of the clones: the mysterious mutant threatening to invade Canada’s waterways

An alien crayfish has touched down in North America. Can Dr. Crayfish save us?

By Thomas Lundy with photography by Aidan Harradence

There’s something strange maneuvering its way into our ponds, rivers and lakes. 

It’s a mutant. It’s a strong, independent, all-female species — with an extra set of chromosomes — that literally don’t need no man. It has murky origins in post-cold war Germany’s aquarium trade. It’s already been unleashed on central Europe, Madagascar and Japan to devastating effect. It’s self-cloning, spawning hundreds of identical progeny at a time. It eats anything, from rotten leaves and snails to fish broods, small fish and insects. It’s a five-metre-long sabre-toothed reptile with a taste for human flesh. 

Okay… that last sentence is a lie. But the rest really is true.

The mutant-in-question is the 10-centimetre marbled crayfish, Canada’s latest invasive species. And while it might not be the pet-of-a-Bond-villain you were imagining, don’t let that fool you; the threat Procambarus virginalis poses is very real. 

New museum exhibition celebrates women war artists 

As high-profile wars rage in Europe and the Middle East, the Canadian War Museum tackles how women perceive war. Outside the Lines: Women Artists at War opens May 24. 

By Paul Gessell 

Not content painting flowers on teacups, Mary Riter Hamilton desperately wanted to illustrate the battles of the First World War as they raged. But the military would not allow women artists near the front. Determined and sure of what she wanted to record, Hamilton was regarded as too pushy for the patriarchy, even deemed “dangerous” by male bureaucrats from the National Gallery of Canada.

But in the wake of the Armistice, Hamilton received a commission from the Amputation Club of British Columbia to travel to Europe. She would use her time — several years, in fact — to paint a series of scarred battlefields, including Vimy Ridge, where corpses were still poking out of the mud. During this period, Hamilton often lived in extreme poverty, her health impacted by her poor living conditions.

HERE & THERE PODCAST

Anne of Green Gables – a Japanese sensation?

Hear the surprising story of how this young freckle-faced PEI protagonist took by storm on another island half a world away

If you aren’t familiar with Anna Green Gables — dare we ask, where have you been? Because of this book, this story is everywhere. It was written at the turn of the 20th century by P.E.I. resident Lucy Maud Montgomery, and it was published in the summer of 1908. The book was an immediate sensation. Readers were charmed by the central character, young Anne Shirley, a feisty orphan girl with red hair. The story follows Anne as she’s adopted by aging brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. It’s one of the best selling books in Canada of all time, not to mention Anne movies, TV shows, musicals and cartoons. 

The question we answer in this episode is: how did this young red-headed, freckle-faced, PEI protagonist become such a sensation on an island nation over 10,000 kilometres away? Surprised? So were we. Listen in…

Canadian Geographic Adventures
 

This special trip with Canadian Geographic Adventures is timed for peak experiences of natural beauty and wildlife. This trip is during the salmon run when bears and other wildlife are on the coast.

On this special autumn itinerary with Canadian Geographic Adventures, you will explore the same areas as our regular itinerary, but with extra experiences and benefits from Canadian Geographic Adventures.