The Wild Salmon Odyssey, RELEASED!

It takes a long time to bring a book from idea to a real copy. Seasons of the Grizzly took one year from start to end result with the help of a local designer and printing company. I thought that was a long time.

The Wild Salmon Odyssey has taken almost two years. The actual writing took a few months and the artist, Ted Rechlin, spent a few more months compiling his work. This was the easy part. I spent a year looking for and waiting for replies from Canadian publishers. I finally stumbled upon AEG Publishing and Strategic Book Marketing who took on this project. All correspondence has been via email, so I have run the full emotions from excitement at finding a publisher, to exasperation with my computer and my own lack of computing skills. Whatever happened to good old snail mail? Some parts of the whole process went very well and some seemed to take forever, especially when I had an artist who was getting impatient and I had deadlines I wanted to make. It has been a very steep learning curve, but I am happy to have finally completed the first steps. Now comes marketing, a very simple word with huge possible consequences. Marketing is something not all of us are comfortable with, including me. Self-promotion is not my long suit, so I will once again be depending upon the anonymity of the computer and the Internet. I hope my computer survives without any major dents. I am looking forward to working with Strategic Book Marketing in the next and most important step to the success of our hard work.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ecological tale is a powerful eye-opener for all ages

The Wild Salmon Odyssey follows the life-cycle story of two salmon, Humphrey and Sally, as they migrate their way through danger, swimming thousands of miles to reproduce.

Their epic journey faces man-made and natural threats, while the fish search for food. Join Humphrey and Sally as they grow into strong adult salmon. To spawn, they struggle valiantly over waterfalls, past hungry seals and grizzly bears, so they can return to the river of their birth.

A glorious depiction of wilderness and the battle for survival by its inhabitants, The Wild Salmon Odyssey describes in unique terms how these creatures heed nature's plan.

THE WILD SALMON ODYSSEY (ISBN: 978-1-60911-883-9) will be available on November 22, 2010 for $18.50 USD and can be ordered through the publisher's website:

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheWildSalmonOdyssey.html or at www.amazon.com or http://search.barnesandnoble.com

Wholesalers please email BookOrder@AEG-Online-Store.com

About the Author: Robert Scriba, a wildlife guide living in Campbell River, British Columbia, finally has the time to appreciate Mother Nature's gifts. "Age and life experiences tend to make me reflect on the damage we have created ourselves and how can we give something back in compensation. I have learned how important salmon are to the environment and have witnessed what happens when they do not return as expected. Every day we are bombarded with bad news about the plight of the wild salmon and how slowly regulators are responding."

Guide Exchange to Norman Carr Safaris

After a week visit to London, England which we enjoyed very much, Fay and I boarded a British Airways flight to Lusaka, Zambia. Once we cleared customs and paid $50.00 each for our visa, we boarded a domestic flight to Mfuwe where we were met by our hosts from Norman Carr Safaris. Despite my protests, Aubrey, our guide, lugged all of our luggage to the waiting Toyota Land Cruiser that we rode, Clampett style, to Kapani Lodge. We were greeted by our hosts of this guide exchange, and wisked away to our very comfortable quarters. We freshened up in time for the drums to call us to lunch on the deck overlooking the ox bow lagoon. For the next three weeks we were catered to like kings and queens. We did two safaris per day beginning at dawn and ending with a night drive after dark. All the safaris were within the boundries of South Luangwa National Park, to see the wildlife we only formerly saw in zoos or at the circus. Every safari was an adventure, never knowing what was around the next corner or hiding in the grass beside the track. I now know what some of our guests feel like as I drive the boat up to a grizzly bear. I don't mind telling you that I felt quite nervous when our guides drove up to a leopard, lion or elephant. One elephant flapped it's large ears and trumpeted it's personal space boundry into Fay's heightened senses. She sat right beside me, for all the good that was going to do, but I enjoyed her faith. I did feel my own insecurity when our guides drove us up to within one leap of a leopard and lions. I became more at ease as time went by and the large cats paid us little attention. There is a magical beauty about being so close to the apex predators that we have all read about, no matter which continent we are on.

One of Norman Carrs specialties is the "Walking Safari." This is similar to our "tracking tours" we do at Knight Inlet Lodge, where we walk in the bush with the residents and predators. A guide and an armed scout lead us for a 3 or 4 hour walk through the bush veldt observing the animals, birds, plants and any sign that we come across. Our scout and our guide have had a lifetime experience in this wilderness and are walking encyclopedias of African information, lore and tales. On one of these tours, we came across a leopard kill hanging in a Leadwood tree. These experienced guides had never seen3 kills in one tree before, a puku and 2 impala. We decided we would come back after dark to try and catch the cat with the kill, but the cat had already taken one impala from the tree by the time we came back. We witnessed elephants tusseling, skulls and horns from past kills, and enjoyed the interpretation of our guides as we took in all the sights, sounds and smells. In the background is a steady cacophony of calls from doves, hippos, protective impala and birds. As much as the sounds are a part of the African bush, I never found it unpleasant.

The Luangwa River is the backbone of this ten thousand square kilometer park. The main channel is about 1/4 mile across when contained within it's silty banks, but swells to overflowing during the wet season in January and February. This annual flood is the rejuvenation of all the oxbows, waterholes and drainages of the flat valley. The backcountry is impassible with vehicles so boats are used for safaris. The wildlife are confined to high ground until the waters receed. Before the rains come, these same animals are forced to congregate near the river for the only water available.

I really enjoyed the architecture of the trees in this park. Stately and massive Baobab trees support colonies of bees and birds in it's huge crown. Light colored green Leadwood dies off to leave it's bleached skeleton to be used for nesting and roosting as well as firewood. Flat topped and thorny Acacia provide browse for giraffe and the Mopani trees are prefered by elephant. Giant fig trees, with their massive limbs, provide sweet fruit for baboons, birds and elephant. Elephant will eat anything it seems.

Luangwa park is a spectacular destination for birdwatchers from around the world. Over 400 species live or migrate through here, and I added 120 new species to my list. Stately storks, kingfishers, doves, ducks and geese, as well as ugly vultures and colorful lovebirds are just a few of the bird sights to see daily.

Snakes, lizards and crocodiles lurk in the lagoons and the river, keeping local fishermen alert and awake as they jig for their families meals. We saw python, spitting cobra, water monitors and crocs of all sizes. Just because they may be small, they will still take a finger off.

If ever anyone is interested in joining an African Safari with real bush experiences, blending the traditional and modern comforts of home, join Norman Carr Safaris. They are safe, knowledgeable, courteous and fun. The food is great, accomodation comfortable, drinks are cold, and the staff is accomodating to the highest standards.

Season 2010 Begins

The 2010 season began on Feb 22 with a thrilling ride under the fog and just above the water in a helicopter. Knight Inlet Lodge looked sound and secure as the dogs greeted us when we landed safely.

We quickly got the water and the heater turned on in our quarters . Our luggage was safely stowed and we soon had lunch ready. We were here early to begin the annual salmon out migration count. After last falls tremendous migration of pink salmon from the Pacific we are expecting very large numbers of fry. In the next couple days we were busy setting up the fry splitter trap at the Glendale River spawning channel and the rotary screw trap in the river, about a half mile downstream. There had obviously been some major high water events over the winter as there were new log jams and more erosion along the river banks. Hopefully these floods did not do too much damage to the salmon redds as they waited for their precious eggs to hatch.

It was unusual to catch the first fry before the end of February, but we did this year. The winter was warmer than normal so the eggs would have hatched a bit sooner. We had between 50 and 100 pink fry in the 5% box everyday in Feb. 100 fry equals about 2000 fry leaving the spawning channel every day. As the season progresses the numbers get bigg daily. The peak that I saw and counted was on March 26, when there were 64838 grams of fish at 3.79 fry per gram translates to 245,736 fry in the 5% holding box. That is potentially 1,149.845 pinks went over the weir in the past 24 hours. Many days toward the end of March were over 1 million fish or close to it. When I left on April 5 we had counted over 13 million fry which had left the spawning channel. This is quite a sight to see when you open the box and can't see the bottom for fry swimming around. Every scoop of the net holds thousands of fish. You can stand at the end of the weir and watch the fry resting in a holding pool trying to avoid the rushing water that leads them to the trap. They are not hurt as the waters take them gently through this obstacle, one of thousands they will encounter on their long journey. The river will be much more hazardous for them.

Downstream sits the RST, anchored to the river bank. This trap floats on top of the water, trying to monitor the salmon fry run in the river. It is not nearly as accurate as the weir because there are too many other channels that the fish can use. This year there is a new log jam just upstream from this trap, so that effects where the fry go in the channel. The one notable fact we see this year is the total absence of chum salmon. Normally we would have about 15 to 20 percent of the fry caught in the RST be chum. This year it is very rare to see even one chum salmon.

I also monitor the bird life that hang around the estuary for the winter. The highlight for me are the Trumpeter swans. This year there are 19 swans living in the river mouth. That is the same count as the previous two years. Mallards, Canada geese and common mergansers are the largest flocks of birds. 13 different species in the end of Feb. Mar 14 that number increased to 19, but there were only 2 swans left. I even saw one pied bald robin for the first time. By the first of April I noticed the first Common loons and the Barrows Goldeneyes had replaced the common goldeneye.

Pacific White sided dolphins and harbor seals were common visitors. I watched the seals feeding on herring around the quiet waters of the lodge. A sudden splash as the herring ball jumped out of the water trying to avoid becoming a seal meal often stopped us to watch this dramatic action. In the clear water we often witnessed the chase underwater.

We also spend some time getting the lodge ready for the season. Busses and equipment all have to be serviced and started. Supplies have to be checked out and ordered, firewood is cut and chopped, meals are prepared and dishes washed by ourselves. We are all very capable cooks, so it is fun to do.

For the first time, we raised a batch of Coho eggs over the winter. The local coho were caught and eggs stripped and fertilized then installed into the incubator. Over the long winter it was the caretakers job to make sure they survived. April 2 we turned them loose into the cap trough in the interpretive center for the summer. They even began eating within a day or so.

In the evenings, I have been busy editing my latest book. The publisher edited it once, sent it back to me for a bit of rewriting, then I sent it back. Only a couple minor changes the second time around and it is ready for the design stage. The Wild Salmon Odysey should be out this summer. Seasons of the Grizzly continues to sell with the new assistance of a distributor Sandhill Books.

I have also been counting the days to when Fay and I will head out on our first major holiday. We are going to London, then Zambia for a month. We are counting our dollars, cruising the internet, buying cloths and gear in preparation for this event. We are both very excited to be able to have this opportunity. This is a guide exchange with a camp called Norman Carr Safaris, so we get the freedom of their camps and will bring one of their guides back here when we come home. I think Aubrey is as excited as we are.

The lodge will open for the season on May 15, and I am looking forward to my fourth season.