Nature Traveler

14/01/2025

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes listing several giraffe subspecies on the U.S. Endangered Species List. If enacted, it will be the first time that these long-necked, socially complex mammals receive federal protections in the United States.

Five giraffe subspecies could soon be listed on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It would mark the first time that giraffes receive federal protections.

07/01/2025

Globally, textile waste each year weighs 92 million tons, and this could double by 2030. Here are some innovative ideas to make our clothing more sustainable and practical for our warming world.

Globally, annual textile waste weighs 92 million tons and could double by 2030. How do we make clothing more sustainable and practical for our warming world?

31/12/2024

There’s good reason to love nature. A peaceful walk through a natural setting can reduce anxiety and stress and enhance attention. And nature prescriptions would help more of us with our mental and physical health needs. I predict we’re going to need a lot of nature in 2025.

Walks in nature can reduce anxiety and enhance attention. I predict more of us will need nature prescriptions in 2025.

24/12/2024

It turns out that people are kind by nature. Around the world, we signal others for assistance every couple of minutes—and we comply with those requests most of the time.

It turns out that people are kind. Around the world, we ask others for help every two minutes—and surprisingly, we comply with most of those requests.

17/12/2024

Researchers are working to untangle the ecosystem impacts that geese and reindeer are having on a changing and vulnerable Arctic. And in the boreal forest of Western Canada, deer are pushing farther north, which might be bad news for reindeer.

Both geese and reindeer are changing the vulnerable Arctic ecosystem. And in Canada’s boreal forest, deer are pushing farther north—bad news for reindeer.

10/12/2024

Like New Zealand mountain climber and Antarctic explorer Edmund Hillary, I have always felt the call of snow. I do hope it doesn’t go extinct. I want to believe that clean drinking water, the unearthly blue of glacial ice and high-diving foxes will always go on.

I hope snow doesn’t go extinct. I want to believe that clean drinking water, the unearthly blue of glacial ice and high-diving foxes will always go on.

03/12/2024

This holiday season, you may want to try an Icelandic custom: the “Christmas Book Flood.” Start by gifting a book to someone you love. Then, on Christmas Eve, close your laptop, turn off the TV, shut down your cell phone and grab a cup of hot cocoa. Begin reading a book of your own, and enjoy an idyllic evening far removed from our fast-paced society.

Iceland’s “Christmas Book Flood” is a seasonal publishing and gifting tradition that nourishes the country’s unique literary culture. Try it this year!

26/11/2024

While traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinners aren’t in danger of disappearing anytime soon, wild turkeys may be facing a difficult future. And it isn’t Rudolph’s red nose that helps reindeer find food during snowy Arctic winters but a unique eye adaptation.

Thanksgiving turkey dinners aren’t at risk, but wild turkeys are. And caribou find food in the snowy Arctic not by Rudolph’s red nose but by an eye adaptation.

19/11/2024

Like us, nonhuman animals live throughout a range of ages and stages of life. And, it seems, we’re just beginning to appreciate that fact. Humans, we now know, are not the only animals to change their social behavior as they age.

Like us, nonhuman animals live throughout a range of ages and stages of life. And we’re not the only animals to change our social behavior as we get older.

12/11/2024

Polar bears are in trouble: in a warming world, they may not be able to adapt to longer summers, they are increasingly being exposed to pathogens, and they’re experiencing more paw injuries. But biodiversity mapping of polar ecosystems could be the first step in understanding polar bears and protecting their habitats.

Polar bears may not be able to adapt to a warming world, but biodiversity mapping of polar ecosystems could help preserve polar life.

05/11/2024

We’re now in fall bird migration season. Climate change, however, has made this more than a one-size-fits-all proposition: some birds are struggling, some are learning to adjust with our help, and some are figuring out new routes all on their own.

Climate change makes fall bird migrations complicated: some birds are struggling, some are learning to adjust with our help, and some have it all figured out.

29/10/2024

Why are certain animals, such as bats and owls, so deeply associated with Halloween? Today, far from fearing them, science is showing us that we can learn a lot from them about how to improve our health and quality of life.

Bats and owls are closely associated with Halloween. But today, far from fearing them, we know they can teach us a lot about improving our quality of life.

22/10/2024

Icy Antarctica and the world’s blue oceans are changing color. These color changes aren’t unprecedented, however. The planet may once have been purple.

15/10/2024

Does size matter? In nature, it’s complicated. If you’re a mammal with a big brain and a small body, it won’t matter much. If you’re a cheetah, you might be better off being medium-sized. But if you’re a sea turtle hatchling or a coral reef, being big does tip the scales in your favor.

Does size matter? In nature, the answer to that question is complicated.

08/10/2024

The climate crisis affects not just us but all the living world: where we all choose to live and how all our societies interact and operate. Understanding interspecies co-cultures will help us create climate solutions that allow all of us to thrive.

The climate crisis affects where we all choose to live and how we all interact. Understanding interspecies co-cultures will help us create viable solutions.

01/10/2024

When I took my granddaughter along on a trip to see the coastal brown bears of Alaska, I hoped she’d taste real wilderness; to connect with something big and free and natural. I wanted her to know that there are still a few places where bears can be bears

I took my granddaughter to see Alaska’s brown bears, hoping she’d taste real wilderness. I wanted her to experience a place where bears can still be bears.

24/09/2024

Americans always seem to be on the move, and it’s good for us, mentally, physically and emotionally. In fact, scientists say the best defense against aging might be travel.

Americans always seem to be on the move, and it’s good for us, mentally, physically and emotionally. In fact, the best defense against aging might be travel.

17/09/2024

To access food, wild Asian elephants demonstrate prodigious problem-solving skills—a trait they’re going to need to survive in environments that are rapidly changing due to our presence.

To access food, wild Asian elephants demonstrate prodigious problem-solving skills—a trait they’ll need to survive our increasing presence in their habitats.