Meet the Pioneering Women Changing the Face of the African Safari Industry
When I reflect on my first gorilla trek in Rwanda, I can’t imagine it without my incredible female guide, Jolie Mukiza, and my porter, Odette Uwineza. As M...
Lavanya Sunkara
Lavanya Sunkara
Lavanya Sunkara is a writer, animal lover and responsible traveler based in New York City. She’s traveled within six continents, lived in three time zones, speaks two languages and is fervent about living a life of purpose.
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3 Ways to Celebrate International Wolf Day
Like sharks, wolves have an unfair reputation for being villains. Children grow up reading fairy tales about the “big bad wolf.” But in reality, these anim...
Lavanya Sunkara
Capturing the Enchanted Isles: 11 Must-Take Galapagos Photos
Imagine capturing the brilliant red-and-orange-colored Sally Lightfoot crab against a backdrop of lava rocks along the water’s edge. The enormous wingspan ...
Lavanya Sunkara
Four Ways to Celebrate Wild Koala Day
Koalas, often called koala bears, are not bears, but marsupials. These iconic Australian mammals, found in the southeastern and eastern parts of the countr...
Lavanya Sunkara
8 Enlightening Indigenous Activities in Churchill and Winnipeg
The small town of Churchill, Manitoba, is one of the most popular destinations for polar bear viewing. Not only is it the site of the world’s largest...
Lavanya Sunkara
Seven Lizards to Love on World Lizard Day (Plus Where to See Them in the Wild)
Scaly and colorful, many with amazing abilities (think: sleeping with their eyes open or growing back their tails), lizards are among the most fascinating ...
Lavanya Sunkara
Travel With a Climate Scientist: Meet Polar Bears, Venture to Remote Greenland and Explore the Amazon
Extreme weather phenomena such as heat waves, intense wildfires and mega-storms are among the most widely reported and easily identifiable climate change-r...
Lavanya Sunkara
What’s the Difference Between Cougars, Pumas, Panthers and Mountain Lions?
Did you know that mountain lions have the largest geographic range of any non-human land mammal in the Western Hemisphere? It’s no surprise this magn...
Lavanya Sunkara
13 Conservation Success Stories of 2022
Wildfires. Global warming. Floods. Pollution. Mass extinctions. With the 24-hour news cycle constantly spouting negative headlines about the state of the p...
Lavanya Sunkara
6 Ways to Help Endangered Species on World Wildlife Conservation Day
A decade ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a call to action to raise awareness about endangered and near-extinct animals and help put an end t...
Lavanya Sunkara
How the Inflation Reduction Act Spells Hope for the Environment
The Inflation Reduction Act that President Biden signed into law on August 16, 2022, includes the most ambitious climate spending package in the country’s ...
Lavanya Sunkara
What’s the Difference Between a Turtle and a Tortoise?
Turtles and tortoises are some of the oldest living reptiles, having roamed the earth for more than 200 million years. Many people call tortoises turtles, ...
Lavanya Sunkara
Reducing Human-Grizzly Bear Conflict in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Nestled in the southern region of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is one of the most crucial areas in the country for wildl...
Lavanya Sunkara