Lyn Hancock
Award-Winning Australian Canadian Photojournalist, Wildlife Photographer, Teacher and Book Author

Lyn Hancock
Award-Winning Australian Canadian Photojournalist, Wildlife Photographer, Teacher and Book Author
Eaglet makes its first flight while Lyn films its backyard nest.
Eaglet makes its first flight while Lyn films its backyard nest.
My Life at the Island View Research Centre on Vancouver Island
This snippet comes from a longer film called “Pacific Wilderness”.
My Mum and Dad in Australia always expected to be grandparents of human babies, not orphaned wild animals like Sam the Fur Seal, Tom the Cougar, Boo Boo the Bear, Rocky, and Tabasco the Raccoon. I was often mother to dozens of baby birds, Eagles, Murres, Falcons, Puffins, and the Seabirds toddled behind me in a long line. Yes, I was a mother all right, Mother Teresa of the Wild Animal World.
About
Lyn Hancock
Lyn is a dynamic, award-winning writer and photographer, a highly-recommended, captivating speaker, an inspiring, widely-experienced teacher, and in the words of a spokesman for one education board, “an extraordinary person.” The New York Times added that she has “enough energy and exuberance to light up the streets of New York.”
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Featured Books
Tabasco The Saucy Raccoon
At three weeks, Tabasco is a tiny, helpless ball of fluff. Already, the little raccoon’s life is unusual: tucked into Lyn’s pocket or tote bag, Tabasco accompanies Lyn on a cross-country tour, making friends every step of the way. By the time they get home, Tabasco is ready to explore the world—inch by exciting, fragrant, tactile inch. Nothing is safe from Tabasco’s clever paws. Dogs run and horses stand still when Tabasco comes to call. For some, the raccoon’s like her namesake: a little goes a long, long way. But children flock from all around to play with Lyn’s busy, talkative friend. Much as Lyn loves Tabasco, she knows that raccoons are wild creatures, not house pets. The story of Lyn Hancock’s search for a new, wild home for her beloved companion will melt your heart. Young and old alike will treasure the unforgettable tale of Tabasco, the saucy raccoon.


The Ring
The Ring, formerly published as Tell Me, Grandmother, is the story of Sam and Jane Livingston, Calgary’s first settlers, as told by Grandmother Jane to her grandson, Dennis Dowler.
When Dennis asked Grandmother Jane how she got that mysterious ring she kept twisting around her finger, he discovered that Great-grandfather Joseph Howse was the first fur trader for the Hudson’s Bay Company west of the Rockies, and Grandfather Sam was a famous gold prospector, fur trader, buffalo hunter and Fort Calgary’s first farmer. But it was Grandmother Jane’s story Dennis liked best: her life at the Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg), her adventures crossing the prairie in an ox cart and raising her large family in a sod hut. Dennis became proud to be Métis.
This is a fascinating tale of love between a Métis woman and a flamboyant Irishman. Their romance, though not traditional in any way, was symbolized by the ring given to Jane as a token of his undying love. It remains today as a legacy to the many descendants of this remarkable couple.

Teaching
Resources
Tabasco The Saucy Raccoon
Teachers are busy people and we hope some of these suggestions prove useful, not only for elementary and secondary school students but for adults as well. Here are some ideas for questions, activities, discussion topics, further research, ways you can correlate your reading, your writing and your science studies, and some background material on the writing process.
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About Lyn
Latest
Blog Posts
The Worst Bear Attack in North America – And I was there!
I am proud to report that Readers’ Digest has just republished my April 1999 article on the worst bear attack in North America in their March 2022 magazine. “It is one of our Classic Dramas in Real Life,” said the editor when he announced the honour. Its title 23...
Nature Calgary
I was delighted to be invited by Elaine Tschofen of the Nature Calgary Club to do my first zoom presentation for a community of Calgarians that have been exploring the birds, the plants and the natural landscapes in the Calgary area since 1955. It was an opportunity...
Lyn at the Olympic Games in Rome 1960
Well, Olympic Games 2021 in Tokyo brings back memories of my first Olympic Games in Rome in 1960, a year I know as well as my birthday. Australians travel the world more than most people -and in my day back in 1960, Aussies carried around with them a little book of...