Nature & Wildlife
The continental United States and many global regions experienced their hottest summer on record in 2026, driven by human-caused climate change and an intensifying El Nino, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climate Report published on September 9, 2026. Average temperatures were roughly 3 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century baseline.
Conservation
Arachnids—such as scorpions, harvestmen (daddy longlegs) and spiders—often trigger feelings of fear or disgust. Despite such reactions, these animals play an essential role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. They act as vital food sources, master pest controllers and drivers of human and soil health.
Nature & Wildlife
As soon as the month of October starts, your thoughts probably turn to spooky fun as we lead up to October 31 and Halloween.
Nature & Wildlife
I’m not a fan of escaping winter; in fact, I think it’s an endangered “species” that we need to cherish while we still have it. But millions of birds appear to disagree with me. Every year, they migrate in huge flocks to escape the season.
African Safaris
Often referred to as the “eighth continent,” the island nation of Madagascar has developed its own distinct ecosystems and extraordinary wildlife since it split from the African continent an estimated 160 million years ago. Approximately 95% of Madagascar’s reptiles, 89% of its plant life and 92% of its mammals exist nowhere else on Earth.
Nature & Wildlife
While I have never considered insects my favorite category of fauna, I have to admit that some “fun facts” about them intrigue me. For example, ants can lift and carry more than 50 times their own weight. While gathering food, a bee may fly up to 60 miles in one day.
Conservation
Wildfires are complicated. On one hand, they can be extremely destructive forces. On the other, they are natural events that certain animals and plants have evolved to depend on for ecological balance. And then, you have to add climate change into the equation.
African Safaris
Driving across the plains of the Serengeti, every sense becomes sharpened: eyes alert as you scan the horizon, inhaling the mingling scents of lemon bush and wild mint, you listen to the echoes of animals calling in the distance, just as Africa has called to you.
Nature & Wildlife
Some tiny birds on remote Scottish islands are undergoing a dramatic evolutionary transformation. Four isolated populations of British wrens have grown astonishingly large. At the other end of the scale, however, leopards in South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region have become much smaller than most African leopards.
Nature & Wildlife
In the United States, we celebrate the annual Friendship Day on the first Sunday in August, which this year is August 2. (The globally recognized date established by the United Nations is July 30.) This designated day is meant to honor the bonds that enrich our lives and to promote peace, solidarity and cross-cultural understanding.
Conservation
Written by Ariana Bowman, WWF’s Gift Planning Senior Development Officer As we navigated through the lush forest landscape on horseback and then on foot, a sense of excitement built, an anticipation for the breathtaking sights that awaited.
Nature & Wildlife
Aliens are certainly in our midst, and invaders are running rampant across the planet. What I mean is, plants are spreading across the globe faster than ever, and the very same traits that make them thrive in their native lands also drive them to their successes abroad. Who are these aliens and invaders?
