Antarctica & Arctic
Big dreams of exploration were not uncommon in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But one explorer may have taken such aspirations to the next level: in 1895, at a London conference on polar exploration, a Swedish engineer named Salomon August Andree declared his intention to reach the North Pole via hot-air balloon.
Travel Tales
Ever since the explorers of old used oral storytelling, flyers and published journals to spread word of streets lined with gold, fountains of youth or rich silks and spices, people have been using mass media to motivate others to go on adventures.
News & More
When early, intrepid European explorers first began trekking through the New World in the late 1400s, they were awed by the strikingly different cultures they encountered. But they also came to notice something else: remarkable physical similarities between the Asian peoples they had seen during their many travels and these new, soon-to-be-known-as “Native Americans.”
Nature & Wildlife
An arctic fox off the coast of Baffin Island has recently proved that wanderlust isn’t restricted to humans. Apparently, this little canid—and some others of her kind—has a propensity for it, too. In spring 2008, Canadian biologists fitted 29 arctic foxes with tracking collars and began monitoring their movements by satellite.
Travel Tips
It’s less than a week before Christmas, and I’ll bet by now you’re beginning to feel “gadgeted out,” tired of being bombarded with all of the e-mail, internet and TV ads for nifty electronics, smartphones, e-readers and apps. I think nature lovers, in particular, feel the commercialization of the holidays even more than others.
Videos
Watch as a narwhal dentist travels to the Arctic to attempt to discover just what function a narwhal’s nine-foot tooth may play.
Nature & Wildlife
After missing for more than eight years, Petunia, an American Staffordshire terrier, was found. She had disappeared from her home in Virginia sometime around Thanksgiving 2003. Last weekend, she was located in an animal shelter in California, more than 3,000 miles away. How do we know the dog is truly Petunia?
Travel Tips
Part of the pleasure of visiting new places is learning about local customs and tasting homegrown foods. Who hasn’t at least wanted to try haggis in Scotland, say, or “cod cheeks” in Newfoundland? It’s a way of immersing yourself in all that an adventure in a new land has to offer.
Videos
Sea monsters are the stuff of thrilling fiction. From Jules Verne’s 1870 book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea to James Cameron’s 1989 movie The Abyss, tales of what creatures lurk in our oceans have captured our rapt attentions for more than a hundred years.
News & More
In the first few hours of my first day in the first country I ever visited, I was stopped on the street by a local man, who guessed by the camera hanging around my neck that I was a tourist. “Welcome, welcome,” he heartily greeted me, shaking my hand. “Enjoy Canada.” I was stunned.
News & More
As someone committed to going on nature adventures, you most likely try to make the least negative impact on the world that you possibly can when you travel. You choose carbon-neutral companies, try to leave no trace of your wanderings and make necessary purchases locally.
Nature & Wildlife
As if the various Galapagos wildlife species weren’t amazing enough on their own, look at this interaction: a Galapagos hawk is about to land on the shell of a giant Galapagos tortoise, while the hefty guy seems completely oblivious.
