Conservation
Today, across the planet, hundreds of millions of acres of land are being abandoned due to what’s known as rural outmigration, or people leaving for urban centers. Some people leave their rural lives behind to seek economic prosperity in cities when agriculture is no longer profitable.
Nature & Wildlife
Today, in what seems to be our never-ending search for happiness, we often describe our longings as the quest for “quality of life.” That idea and the coinage of that phrase, though, actually date back to the 1960s and 1970s, when they were often used in debates about social crises and social progress.
Nature & Wildlife
Animals see the world through all kinds of different eyes: from simple ones that can only tell the difference between dark and light, to complex eyes that can see colors and perceive depth. It was once thought that animals, including cats and dogs, could only see in black and white.
Conservation
Deep beneath the waters of the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) and atop a submerged volcano, an ancient coral reef was just discovered by an international group of scientists. It’s the first to be documented inside the protected area since it was established in 1998.
Nature & Wildlife
Highly social and very vocal, African penguins are native to the waters of South Africa. But these endangered birds are now struggling to survive the human impacts and the unfolding climate crisis of the Anthropocene. However, their climate story goes back much further than our modern epoch.
Conservation
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, don’t offer just a safer way for wildlife biologists to observe their subjects; they’re often less costly, more efficient and more precise than traditional approaches. While researchers are still navigating the challenges and complexities of mixing wildlife and drones, the technology holds incredible potential.
Conservation
On the last Friday in April, we will mark the annual National Arbor Day. This year, that date is April 28. Much like Earth Day, Arbor Day celebrates nature. Its main purpose is to encourage people to plant trees. Some communities also take this opportunity to organize litter-collecting events.
Nature & Wildlife
Known for their long, black ear tufts and ability to hunt ghostlike across the surface of deep snow, Canada lynx are the elusive, midsize cats (hardly bigger than a large house cat) that feed almost exclusively on snowshoe hares.
African Safaris
Often, the numbers seem to look bad for African rhinos. Right now, the statistics show that these animals are rapidly declining in core, state-run reserves, such as South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Currently—much like with tigers—more than half of the continent’s remaining rhinoceroses are now on private lands.
Conservation
Although sometimes heart-wrenching to discover on our nature outings, the animal carcasses that we may come across play an important role in the functioning of healthy ecosystems. The animal remains not only provide food for many carrion-eating species, their nutrients also contribute to the significantly increased growth of surrounding plants.
Nature & Wildlife
Octopuses are the weirdly wonderful ocean animals who have blue blood, changeable colors and the ability to use tools. However, they’re probably most famous for having eight arms—which they can regrow—and bulbous heads. But even with all that, there’s so much more to these cryptic creatures.
Alaska
Travel is back. And it’s back in a big way. Following the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, flying is rebounding. But road trips remain one of the most popular forms of traveling in this postpandemic world.
