Showing 36 posts tagged conservation
Watch the miraculous journey of infant sea turtles as these tiny animals run the gauntlet of predators and harsh conditions. Then, in numbers, see how human behavior has made their tough lives even more challenging.
Has the kid seen The Survival of the Sea Turtle, for TEDEd, by Scott Gass? Animated by Veronica Wallenberg and Johan Sonestedt.
Previously: Olive Ridley Sea Turtle hatchlings.
Eagle Valley Raptor Center cares for injured hawks, owls and eagles on 20 acres of land near Cheney, Kansas. In 2012, they cared for an eagle named Rocky, who was found injured and was healed at the center before being released. From the center’s site:
Since 1998 we have taken in on average over 100 birds a year due to injuries, poisoning or orphaned as babies. We felt the need to build a facility that not only would provide a place to care for these birds, but to offer an educational opportunity for schools, churches, scout groups, 4-H, seniors and other appropriate organizations to come and learn about these important species to our Kansas environment.
This short, silent video shares a few behind-the-scenes moments from the ”fish tornado” photograph, titled David and Goliath, taken in Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico by photographer Octavio Aburto.
“As people have seen this image, I have been getting a lot of messages in my inbox and phone calls asking me “is this photo real?” And “how did you congregate all these fish in one place to take the photo?”
“My response to these questions has been this — of course it is real. Fish, as is the case with many other animals, have certain behaviors that they perform when they reproduce. For example, when monarch butterflies mate they travel hundreds of thousands of kilometers, crossing from Canada down through Mexico to form unbelievable congregations. Sea turtles also have unique reproduction behavior —some travel the entire Pacific just to return to the beaches where they originally hatched. Birds fly hundreds of kilometers to certain areas to nest as well. These behaviors are well known within terrestrial animals and within the scientific community we have also known of these behaviors with fish and other marine creatures for many years. In Cabo Pulmo for example, blacktip reef sharks and mobula rays also congregate in large numbers to mate during the winter season.
“Even after I explain this unique behavior and the spectacular spawning aggregations of fish that occur naturally, some people don’t believe this image is real.
“In some ways I think this photo, and others like it, force people to think about the environment and more specifically in this case the ocean, dwindling fish populations the health of marine ecosystems worldwide and our role in it all.”
via EarthSky.org.
In collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund, National Geographic just released a video explaining the impact of a cotton t-shirt: how much water it takes to make just one, how much energy it takes to grow, manufacture, and transport that shirt, and how much water and energy it takes to care for that shirt in your home. The video also explains how we can make a difference in reducing the resources used in care for that shirt:
One load of washing uses 40 gallons of water. One load of drying uses 5 times more energy than washing. In fact, skipping the ironing and drying of your t-shirt, saves a third of its carbon footprint.
Whether it’s reducing waste, saving energy, or being a conscious consumer, small actions can make a big difference. Think about ways that you could save energy and water.
Interested in a few changes that makes an impact?
1. Buy and share second-hand clothes. Related watching: Jessi Arrington’s Wearing Nothing New TedTalk about buying thrift store clothing. Two favorite quotes: “Color is powerful. It is almost physiologically impossible to be in a bad mood when you’re wearing bright red pants.” and ”Fitting in is way overrated.”
2. Buy a drying rack at a local store and let the sun (or the heat in your house) do all of the work!
Koalas running. Koalas eating. Koalas clinging to legs. Koalas nose to nose. Koalas being ridiculously cute.
In an ongoing series, Koala Hospital, National Geographic travels to Port Macquarie, Australia, a few hours from Sydney, to visit the 40-year-old refuge for wild koalas. Volunteers there are clearly delighted at the chance to frolic with the fluffy marsupials, who cling adorably to tree branches and human legs alike. If you can’t make the trek but you want to contribute, you can adopt a wild koala via the hospital’s website, or help them plant a food tree, to counteract the koalas’ loss of habitat.
via The Atlantic.
