Three encounters with rare wildlife

North America’s Galápagos California’s Channel Islands National Park is often described as “the Galápagos of North America”, says Lucas Peterson in The New York Times. The archipelago, off the coast of Southern California, has “breathtaking vistas, great hiking and dozens of flora and fauna unique to the islands”. Lying an hour’s boat ride off the mainland, the mainly uninhabited islands can be visited on a day trip from Los Angeles, for a taste of something that feels “a world away”. The crossing can be choppy, but bottlenose dolphins playing next to the boat provide a welcome distraction. At Santa Cruz, the largest island at 22 miles from top to bottom, there’s a choice of hiking trails. Pelican Bay is “moderately difficult”: it has steep sections where you’ll “get your hands dirty”. On the way, you might encounter species found nowhere else on Earth: the spotted skunk, the island scrubjay – a tiny bird with “deep cobalt plumage” – and the Santa Cruz island fox. The last was “once at risk of extinction”; now it “happily sidles up alongside tourists” for photos. Island Packers Cruises (www.islandpackers.com) has day trips to Santa Cruz for $59pp. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies to Los Angeles from £525 return. A date with the devil in Tasmania Tasmania’s devil was so named for its “unearthly roar”, says Mike Carter in the Financial Times. The carnivorous marsupial has in recent years almost been wiped out by disease, but thanks to a breeding programme, Maria Island, off the east coast, has become “a kind of Noah’s Ark”. With no predators, the devil population has grown from 15 to 80 in five years – which is not such good news for the local penguins, most of which have been eaten. The devils are just one of a number of extraordinary creatures you might meet on a journey through this island “at the end of the Earth”. A night tour of the Tyne Valley in the northeast reveals a playground for weird and wonderful fauna. After dark, barenosed wombats, wallabies, possums and Tasmanian pademelons emerge. If you’re lucky, the rare eastern quoll – a squirrel-sized creature covered in white dots – might join them. Unafraid, they all “snuffle around your feet” as though it were a “giant petting zoo”. Steppes Travel (01285-601776, www.steppestravel.co.uk) offers 13-day packages from £6,550pp, including flights. Scotland’s wildest safari park The Cairngorms are a “stronghold for rare species”, says Kari Herbert in The Guardian. Golden eagles, pine martens and Scottish wildcats are among the region’s inhabitants – but “you’d be lucky” to spot them in the wild. For guaranteed sightings, the Highland Wildlife Park is a safer bet. This vast park is home to 30 species – from Scotland and overseas – that have been “severely endangered due to habitat loss and hunting”. On a guided Land Rover tour, you might see grey wolves “just metres away”, and “shaggy, prehistoric-looking” musk ox, “their warm breath billowing in the cold”. Large enclosures also house snowy owls, Arctic foxes, polar bears, European bison, wolverines, and a pair of “astonishingly beautiful snow leopards”. Whatever you might feel about animals being kept in captivity, it’s a “privilege” to see them at “such close quarters”. A family ticket (two adults and two children) costs £49.50. Guided Land Rover tours are free and take 40 minutes.visit www.highlandwild lifepark.org.uk).