Nature & Wildlife

1183 stories

  • Welcoming Those Moving North

    Dec 6, 2022 · Candice Gaukel Andrews

    Rising temperatures are causing Earth’s coldest forests to shift northward, raising our concerns about biodiversity loss, an increased risk of wildfires and the mounting impacts of climate change on the people who live in the region. But it’s not only the planet’s forests that are marching northward.

  • International Jaguar Day—Just in Time?

    Nov 28, 2022 · Ruksana Hussain

    Of the seven big cats, jaguars just don’t seem to get the love that more well-known felines like lions, tigers and leopards do. (The other three? Cougars, cheetahs and snow leopards.) International Jaguar Day, celebrated each year on November 29, aims to change that!

  • Green Spaces in Cities and on Coasts: They All Matter

    Nov 15, 2022 · Candice Gaukel Andrews

    Is there a median strip on any of your neighborhood’s roadways with a patch of greenery on it? Chances are there is. You may have hardly noticed it or think that something so small makes very little impact, other than providing a pleasing place to glance at as you drive.

  • 5 Prehistoric Animals You Can Meet on Your Next Adventure

    Nov 1, 2022 · Ruksana Hussain

    When you hear the term ‘prehistoric animals,’ you likely think of creatures that are long gone. Dinosaurs. Woolly mammoths. Saber-toothed tigers. But plenty of Ice Age creatures still exist—and you might just see some of them on your next trip! Which Ancient Animals Are Still Alive Today?

  • Myth and Mystery in Mexico’s Monarch Kingdom

    Oct 30, 2022 · Wendy Redal

    Each year around El Día de los Muertos—celebrated November 1 and 2—the sky over the Mexican mountain village of Anguangeo becomes a flurry of orange. But it’s no swirl of bright autumn leaves.

  • What’s the Difference Between a Seal and Sea Lion?

    Oct 20, 2022 · Samantha Miller

    Seals, walruses, sea lions and fur seals are all marine animals known as pinnipeds. Pinniped is a Latin-derived word that can be translated to mean “feather-footed” or “fin-footed,” describing an important characteristic that distinguishes each species. Pinnipeds are divided into three distinct families that comprise 33 different species.

  • Lion Teeth Tell Tales

    Oct 18, 2022 · Candice Gaukel Andrews

    Staggering natural wonders—such as Victoria Falls, considered to be the world’s biggest curtain of falling water (not because of a singular dimension, such as height or width, but because of all dimensions taken into account, including flow rate)—and a massive network of remote national parks where you can encounter most of Africa’s iconic wildlife…

  • The Importance of Getting Along: Symbiosis in Nature

    Oct 10, 2022 · Cathy Brown

    As the great naturalist Charles Darwin once said, “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” There are millions of different species on this planet, and many of them have to share the same habitat and resources.

  • Polar Bears in Greenland Find Way to Live With Less Sea Ice

    Oct 5, 2022 · Michelle Peters

    Back in March of this year, we covered polar bears and their incredible adaptations for surviving in the harsh Arctic environment. We learned about a female polar bear that, in 2011, swam 426 miles over nine straight days (which is equivalent to the distance between Washington, D.C., and Boston).

  • Go With the Glow: Bioluminescent Animals and Where to Find Them

    Oct 4, 2022 · Jon Jared

    Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon that highlights the brilliance of the natural world—literally! Glowworms light up, fireflies flash and plankton sparkle. These animals use their natural abilities to ensnare prey, to defend themselves, to attract mates and, at times, to simply illuminate the path ahead.

  • 5 Places to Spot Leopards in the Wild

    Sep 28, 2022 · Michelle Peters

    The quintessential “big cat,” the leopard is the most generalized of the Pantherines. The four others—lion, tiger, jaguar and snow leopard—are more specialized and less adaptable. Yet all share an ancestral link to a pre-historic feline that looked and behaved much like the modern leopard.