creatures Archives - Favorite World Press

The FWP weekly digest of wondrous wildlife happenings
and other interesting items from the natural world

Creatures to meet | Things to learn
Things to do

Lisa S. French

2-minute read

There are countless ways our home planet shows us tender loving care. In addition to providing everyday essentials like food, water, and oxygen, exposure to Earth’s natural finery—trees, forests, parks, green spaces, wilderness areas, and wildlife has been scientifically proven to help enhance physical and psychological well-being. Depending on how much time you spend taking in the splendor of the great out there, you may reap health benefits that promote longevity, prevent disease, lower stress, and improve overall mood. That’s a whole lot of love.

Exposure to nature requires access. Now, thanks to two innovative tracking tools created by scientists at NatureQuant™, a new research and technology institution, you’ll be able to monitor the quantity and the quality of the planetary TLC you’re getting from your outdoor environment to help optimize well-being. That’s good news for adults in high-income countries like the United States, who spend 80 to 90% of their lives inactive and indoors.

Wondering how the nature in your neighborhood ranks health-wise? The NatureScore™ tool estimates the amount and quality of nature and environmental conditions across the United States and Canada. The NatureDose™ smartphone app uses GPS coordinates and NatureScore™ datasets to determine your location and how much time you spend in nearby nature to help you progress toward physical and psychological health goals. The NatureQuant™ tools can also be used to guide the allocation and creation of quality green spaces to improve nature equity in deprived neighborhoods.

You can download the NatureDose™ app here to start tracking your daily exposure to Earthly delights. Then, all you have to do to feel the love is step outside.

ICYMI Nature News

An Increased Dose of Nature
If you are lucky enough to live near the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument or the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in California, you will soon have access to an increased dose of nature. Both monuments will be expanded this month to give visitors more roaming room.

Cliff-Diving Emperor Penguin Chicks
Award-winning cinematographer Bertie Gregory has captured amazing, unprecedented footage of emperor penguin chicks launching themselves into the sea by diving from a 50-foot Antarctic cliff. You can watch the never-before-filmed behavior from National Geographic here.

A Trillion Cicadas, Anyone?
Starting in late April, two broods of periodical cicadas will emerge from the ground in an event that only occurs every 221 years. Entomologists are expecting about 1 trillion of the winged creatures across 16 states. If you enjoy the smell of rotting nuts, you will be in bug heaven.

In the Natural World, Nice Guys Finish First
According to a new book by evolutionary biologist Jonathan Silvertown, Selfish Genes to Social Beings: A Cooperative History of Life, in the natural world, cooperation is more common than competition. So, nice guys do finish first… Or, at least, nice humpback whales.

They’re Just Dancing in the Dark
Have you ever wondered what deep sea creatures get up to down there? Apparently, these worms dance like nobody’s watching. Except for you.

Bold, Brilliant, Beautiful, Breathtaking Nature
The 2024 World Nature Photography Awards have been announced, and the winners are all the “B” words. Have a look!

Citizen Scientists are Helping Seahorses
Eagle-eyed citizen scientists around the globe are helping researchers develop conservation strategies to protect seahorses by providing new information on sightings of the charismatic creatures in the wild. Do you have something to contribute to seahorse science? Go to Project Seahorse to add your very valuable two cents.

Animals Reenact the Solar Eclipse
And finally, you’ve probably seen the stunning images and videos of this week’s solar eclipse, but what about footage of the puppy eclipse? No? How about the kitten eclipse? Video of these rare cosmic phenomena is an oldie, but a goody—no special solar specs needed. Watch!

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Lisa S. French April 13, 2024

No, They Are Not Going to Suck Your Blood

2-minute read

If you are looking at the animal above and wondering what on Earth it could be, say hello to Vampyroteuthis infernalis, commonly known as the vampire squid of Hell. Pretty scary, right? Don’t worry, despite the squirm-inducing moniker, these multi-limbed denizens of the extreme deep are not befanged blood suckers—but they are extremophiles.

And what is an extremophile? An organism that can survive or even thrive in a habitat that would be intolerable for most living creatures, including environments that are extremely hot or cold, low on oxygen, or contain life-threatening substances we all hope to avoid like toxic waste, organic solvents, or heavy metals. One such hostile environment is the OMZ, or oxygen-minimum zone—the place the vampire squid calls home.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the specially adapted creature features that enable this shape-shifting 12-inch cephalopod to navigate life in the dark depths of temperate and tropical oceans, according to scientists at the Monterey Bay Research Institute:

A unique cloaked body structure (Dracula’s cape or fur-lined umbrella?) that allows the animals to stay submerged 2-3,000 feet below the surface.
Extremely efficient blood cells and metabolism that require less oxygen—must-have items for life in the OMZ.
In addition to the squid’s standard eight arms, two retractable modified arms used to scoop up tiny floating food particles.
Glands that produce giant plumes of bioluminescent mucus to frighten (or disgust) predators.
Extraordinarily large, highly developed eyes that enable the deep ocean dweller to see in very low light.
Specialized light-emitting skin cells that blink “back off” at interlopers.

So… glow-in-the-dark mucus, gigantic eyes, retractable arms, blinking skin, efficient blood cells, and a low-energy lifestyle. That’s what it takes to survive in an extreme, low-oxygen environment, squid-wise. Interestingly, through studying extremophiles like the vampire squid, scientists have discovered that many are closely related to the universal ancestor of all living organisms on our planet. Learning how extremophiles adapt to such inhospitable conditions is also helping to inform theories about the possible existence of extraterrestrial life forms. Squids in space?

ICYMI Nature News

100 New Deep-Sea Species
Speaking of deep-sea species, marine researchers have discovered 100 new to science creatures in waters off the coast of New Zealand. Take a look.

Corals That Shouldn’t Exist
Scientists have announced yet another startling deep-sea discovery—a cold-water coral reef off the West coast of Canada that has been described as a miracle of nature. Read how the colorful creatures have survived in some of the most ancient waters in the world here.

Incredibly Rare Gray Whale Sighting
Extinct in the Atlantic Ocean for more than 200 years, a gray whale has been spotted diving and resurfacing off the Massachusetts coast. Welcome back, big fellow.

Little Fish, Big Noise
Did you know that there is a fish the width of a human thumbnail that can make a noise as loud as a gunshot? Listen here.

Underwater Photographer of the Year
The winners of the 2024 Underwater Photographer of the Year have been announced, and you can see their amazing images right here.

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Lisa S. French March 17, 2024

Otters are Here to Help

2-minute read

Just when we thought sea otters couldn’t possibly be more lovable, researchers at Sonoma State University have discovered that the bewhiskered marine mammals, aka kelp keepers, are also helping to save Monterey Bay’s coastal salt marsh, the Elkhorn Slough—one tasty crab dinner at a time.

The Elkhorn Slough, a seven-mile stretch between Santa Cruz and Monterey, is home to an amazing variety of wildlife, including 340 bird species, 550 invertebrates, and 60 mammals. Salt marshes like the Slough are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. And why is saving salt marshes important? Well, they are invaluable ecosystems that help protect shorelines, store carbon, and promote healthy fisheries, in addition to supporting thousands of species of plant and animal life.

According to the Sonoma State researchers, striped shore crabs, left unchecked by natural predators, have been disrupting the soil and eating the roots of marsh plants that hold the shoreline of the Slough together, contributing to almost a foot of erosion every year.

Enter the hungry, hungry sea otters, enthusiastic consumers of the burrowing crustaceans. In areas of the salt marsh where the once plentiful native otters were reintroduced, erosion was reduced by 2/3, helping to maintain this critical habitat for all wildlife.

By protecting the sea otters that keep runaway grazers like striped crabs from disrupting coastlines, we can reduce erosion, protect marine habitat that supports native wildlife and help cool the planet—that’s a conservation triple win—otterly amazing!

ICYMI Nature News

It’s Beautiful Out There
If you need to rest your eyes on something restorative amid bleak mid-winter, the Nature Photo Contest winners have been announced, and you can see their work right here.

When Whales Walked the Earth
Did you know that seal-like whales used to walk the shores of North America? Find out how they moved from land to sea from the Smithsonian Magazine.

Flaco’s Year of Freedom
It’s been a year since Flaco the owl escaped from the confines of the Central Park Zoo and took up residence on NYC’s Upper West Side. How is the feathery fellow, and what’s he been doing? NPR has thoughts on his free-bird-a-versary here.

The World’s Oldest Forest Two Hours From NYC
Would you like to visit a forest that existed when dinosaurs roamed the Earth? You don’t have to travel to the heart of the Amazon because the world’s oldest forest was recently discovered just two hours north of NYC.

Silk Spinning Crustaceans
If you thought that spiders were the only creatures capable of spinning silk, scientists at the University of California would like you to meet these crafty crustaceans.

Big Bear Valley Eagle Nest Cam
Looking for some animal cam comfort? Magnificent bald eagles Jackie and Shadow are back on the roost, protecting their eggs from the elements. You can keep tabs on the dedicated parents and future hatchling happenings here.

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Lisa S. French February 10, 2024

Dolphins: They Care a Lot

3-minute read

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we’ll see
No, I won’t be afraid, oh, I won’t be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.

Ben E. King

Marvels of complex intelligence, dolphins are widely acknowledged as one of the brainiest animal species on the planet. Scientists studying how the clever communicators and determined problem-solvers apply their cetacean smarts to assisting other dolphins in distress have concluded that the marine mammals also have a remarkable capacity for caregiving.

Active assistance aimed at relieving another’s suffering can take many forms, but the most important is the simple willingness to answer a call for help—and that’s a trait our finned friends share with humans. According to researchers documenting caregiving behaviors in animals, dolphins will respond to the distress calls of an injured or dying member of their pod and attempt to provide aid.

Leave No Dolphin Behind
And what does dolphin aid look like? It starts with a whistle. Individual dolphins establish contact with one another and communicate through signature whistles. An increase in the intensity and frequency of a whistle accompanied by a stream of bubbles can signal a cry for help from a dolphin in trouble. Dolphins typically swim to the rescue by staying close, rapidly circling, showing aggression toward a threat, or offering direct help by lifting a suffering pod member to the surface to breathe.

You might imagine that the resourceful animals learn triage from trainers, but both captive and wild dolphins have been observed attempting to provide caregiving. In a recent report, a group of 20 wild bottlenose dolphins filmed in the Red Sea instinctually formed teams to offer support to a struggling female. Responding to distress whistles, one team pushed and lifted her to the surface for air while another swam below, supporting her lower body. For as long as she whistled for help, the caregiving cetaceans stayed with her, pushing and lifting, listening for the distress cries to stop.

Scientists have yet to determine exactly what motivates helping behaviors in dolphins. Could the ability to recognize and try to alleviate the suffering of a fellow creature be a “scratch my fin, I’ll scratch yours” survival strategy or perhaps a demonstration of animal altruism? Advances in AI aimed at decoding animal communications could hold the key to understanding what drives their actions. Until we know for certain, we’d like to believe these whip-smart cetaceans show caring out of the goodness of their dolphin hearts.

ICYMI Nature News

Innovative Strategies to Save Corals
As rapidly warming waters continue to devastate corals globally, scientists are racing to develop strategies to help them survive. You can read how shade, fog, supplemental feeding and cool water mixing might help here.

A Beaver on Every Block
Could New York City parks benefit from the introduction of beavers? A proposal to bring the industrious rodents to city ponds aims to increase biodiversity in urban areas. We think it’s a dam good idea!

Extinct Prehistoric Bird is Back
In a welcome conservation victory, a big, blue ball of a flightless bird long extinct in the wild is getting a second chance to roam free in the Alpine slopes of New Zealand. You can watch the handsome fellows strut their feathery stuff here.

The Real Reason Why Cats Love Tuna
If you share your space with a house cat, you know that tuna is the holy grail of feline feasting. So, why does a creature that evolved in the desert crave a particular type of seafood? Scientists believe it’s all about umami.

The Key to Bringing Back Bugs
Major environmental indicators point to the fact that beneficial insects are in serious trouble. The good news is that no matter how small your patch, you can pitch in and provide habitat to help reverse their decline. Read all about it here.

Time to Tidy the Planet
World Cleanup Day is September 16th. If you’d like to help make the planet a little more pristine, you can find a local tidying crew here.

Bird Photographer of the Year 2023
We’ll leave you with a hit of beauty from the natural world: the winning photos from the 2023 Bird Photographer of the Year. Enjoy!

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Lisa S. French September 11, 2023

Darwin’s Bark Spider: Ultimate Webmaster

2-minute read

We still do not know one-thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.

Albert Einstein

If you spent 400 million years practicing a skill, chances are you would become pretty good at it. So, it’s not surprising that many of the 44,000 species of spiders on Earth have perfected the craft of silk spinning over the course of a few hundred thousand millennia. Now, scientists are working to unravel how and why one hairy little arachnid in Madagascar has evolved to spin the toughest threads on the planet—silks that outperform fibers produced by both eight-legged and human competition.

Just one-fifth to three-quarters of an inch long, Darwin’s bark spider can spool out silk threads up to 82 feet long and ten times tougher than Kevlar. The industrious orb weavers anchor these exceptionally strong bridge lines across rivers, lakes, and streams from which they suspend massive, super-sticky, ten-by-ten wheel-shaped webs to capture prey.

Researchers studying the spider’s weaving techniques believe the ability to spin such remarkably sturdy and stretchy silk developed as a gene-level adaptation to the animal’s habitat. Constructing giant webs that hang in flyways over water traveled by insects, birds, and bats expanded the bark spider’s menu options. The bigger, stronger, and stickier the web, the greater the catch.

The discovery of this little African webmaster is inspiring material scientists around the world, hoping to replicate fiber with the strength and flexibility of the bark spider’s silk in applications ranging from artificial tendons and ligaments to structural materials for bridges and vehicles.

Even if you’re a card-carrying arachnophobe and can’t imagine cozying up to these multi-legged creepy crawlies, there is no doubt they have much to teach us. That’s why protecting wild places and the creatures that inhabit them is critically important. Beyond contributing to the amazing diversity of life on Earth, newly and yet-to-be-discovered animal species may hold the key to addressing some of our greatest challenges.

ICYMI Nature News

Remember the Earth Angels
It’s been a heartrending couple of weeks for the good people struggling to save the world’s third-largest coral reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Extremely high ocean temperatures are bleaching and killing off newly transplanted corals before they have a chance to get established. How to lend your support? Here are ten actions you can take to help cool the planet—take a look. Because to quote the IPCC, “Every action matters. Every bit of warming matters. Every year matters. Every choice matters.” Remember the Earth angels.

Bearers of Bad News Birds
For two decades, the seasonal migration patterns of the veery thrush have helped scientists predict the intensity of the Atlantic hurricane season. What do these little fliers know that we don’t know? You can find out here.

Eavesdropping on Dolphins with AI
Scientists are using artificial intelligence to identify the unique clicks and whistles of two endangered species of pink dolphins in the Amazon River. The AI application was designed to help track the movements of the rare animals to aid in conservation. Can you hear us now?

Wild Horse Fire Brigade
Could grazing wild horses hold the key to managing the overgrowth of dried vegetation that provides fuel for wildfires in the Western United States? Read about one man’s mission to find out here.

A Brand-New Batch of Octo-babies
Researchers have discovered a rare deep-sea octopus nursery 10,000 feet down in the Pacific. You can find a video of the octo-moms and their adorable babies here.

Bees Leave No Pollen Behind
To expand their floral menu options, honeybees can turn their tongues into spoons or straws to accommodate the varying shapes and structures of flowers. See how the tiny tongue twisters do it here.

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Lisa S. French August 5, 2023

Music to Cats’ Ears

2-minute read

Do Felines Hear What We Hear?
If you were to create a music playlist to raise the spirits of your resident feline, which genre would you choose to help put your house kitty in the zone? It would be natural to assume that your furry friend may prefer the music frequently heard in the space shared with human family—whether classical, country, rock, jazz, or a mixed bag. But what is music to human ears would most likely leave a house cat cold.

According to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying how musical sounds can impact the well-being of animals, domestic felines prefer compositions that have the characteristics of “cat music.” And what is cat music? A continuous loop of Cat Power, Cat Stevens, and Stray Cats? The soundtracks to Cats and The Lion King? Animal behaviorists have concluded that cats are more drawn to music that mimics the tempo and frequency range of feline communication signals and physiological rhythms, which are different from ours.

Much the same way that tempos matching a resting human heart rate are perceived as calming and those that exceed the human heart rate are experienced as energizing, biologists and musicologists believe that an animal’s reaction to music would depend on how it corresponds to that species’ heart rhythms and sensory systems.

They’re Playing Our Song
To test their theory, the Madison researchers composed two pieces of “species-appropriate” music specially created to elicit a response from domestic felines. Mirroring natural cat vocalizations, the kitty compositions averaged an octave higher than human music, gradually transitioned from one note to another, and matched the tempos of kittens purring and nursing.

And how did the 47 bewhiskered test subjects respond to the custom cat tracks? Completely indifferent to human music, the purr-prone study participants showed significantly more interest in sounds in frequencies and tempos similar to feline rhythms. Approaching and rubbing against speakers playing the cat music, agitated cats became calmer and calm cats became more engaged.

From cats and dogs to cows and chickens to elephants and orangutans, all animals experience the world through sensory systems specific to their species. Scientists studying how companion, farm, and captive zoo animals perceive and interpret sounds and how what they hear influences their behavior are striving to harness the stress-reducing power of music to help improve the health and well-being of the creatures that depend on our care.

ICYMI Nature News

AI Animal Language Recognition?
As scientists continue the quest to decipher what animals hear, artificial intelligence researchers are developing new technologies to help interpret what they say. What do you think they would tell us if they knew we could understand? You can read about the pros and cons of critter chatter recognition here.

Dolphins Talk Baby Talk
Marine biologists have discovered that dolphins use a special high-pitched whistle to communicate with their young—the equivalent of human baby talk. Who’s a good little marine mammal?

The Green Under Ground
Botanists have discovered a new palm species in Borneo that grows flowers and fruits underground. Dig in and read about it here.

Life-Extending Urban Trees
According to a new study from Northwestern University, exposure to urban green space can increase the longevity of city dwellers. Plant trees—live long and prosper.

Lightning Bugs Go Dark
We’ve written previously about the negative impacts of light pollution on wildlife. Now, pervasive night lights are taking their toll on everyone’s favorite glow-in-the-dark insects. Find out how you can help save the blinking bugs from extinction here.

Birds, Beautiful Birds
The winning pics from the Audubon 2023 photography contest are now online—and ooh, as always, they’re beautiful! Take a gander here.

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Lisa S. French July 5, 2023

Fish Feel Fear and Pass it On

2-minute read

Our innate capacity to feel what others feel is one of the traits that make humans human, and according to new research, it’s also what makes zebrafish—zebrafish. If the idea that our gilled friends have feelings sounds, well, fishy, you may be interested to learn that not only do some fishes have feelings, but it also seems they have feelings about other fishes’ feelings—at least when it comes to fear.

The spontaneous spread of emotions, known as social contagion, is regarded as one of the most ancient forms of empathy and has been widely recognized in humans as well as highly social mammals, including elephants, dolphins, and primates. But big-brained mammals aren’t alone in their ability to perceive and mirror the emotional states of their own kind—it’s an ability they seem to share with some species of fish.

Scientists studying the origins of how emotional states spread through social groups of animals believe that oxytocin, the hormone that regulates empathetic behaviors like trust, attachment, and bonding in mammals, enables zebrafish to sense and respond to fear in their finned comrades.

Observing two fish, one relaxed and swimming normally and one showing signs of fear, the zebrafish in the study mimicked the movements of the frightened fish and then approached and interacted with the distressed swimmer—what scientists believe could be perceived as an empathetic response. Zebrafish that lacked oxytocin were indifferent to the distress of the frightened fish and preferred the company of the relaxed fish. Some might call the cold-blooded creatures’ behavior—self-fish.

Although we may not yet know for certain if fish experience other emotions, we can imagine that a fish paralyzed by fear might feel comforted by the attentions of compassionate co-swimmers.

ICYMI Nature News

How Whale Sharks See in the Dark
Scientists studying how whale sharks can see in the darkness of the deep sea have come up with an answer—temperature-sensitive retinas. Handy! Read all about it here.

Strutting Spiders Have All the Moves
According to new research, male wolf spiders use fancy footwork and fluffy leggings to catch the eye (eyes) of lady spiders. See how they strut.

Monarchs in Serious Distress
Sad news for monarch butterflies and their habitats this week. Populations overwintering in Mexico have dropped by 22% since last year due to deforestation and climate change. Time for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Game On for the Planet
If you’re feeling the urge to do a little planet tending and don’t have an actual patch nearby, you can get some practice in virtual ecosystem restoration with the brand-new conservation game TerraNil. Eight percent of profits will be donated to the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Check it out!

Run For the Wild Ones
If you’re local to NYC, on April 29, you can make tracks for sloths and other endangered species by participating in the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Run for the Wild. Register here.

200? 200!
A little bird told us this is Wild & Wondrous’ 200th blog. Oh. Okay then! 🥳

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Lisa S. French March 29, 2023

The Whisker Vision of Seals

2-minute read

Of all the creatures under the sea, when it comes to precision prey tracking, seals (aka pinnipeds) have a distinct advantage—whisker vision. Although the mustachioed marine mammals can recognize a tasty fish when they see one, thanks to their super-sensitive whiskers, seals don’t need to see a fish to catch a fish.

Like all living beings, seals have evolved with the exact creature features and adaptations they need to thrive in their particular place on the planet. Scientists studying how seals can successfully hunt in low, or no, visibility conditions have concluded that the animals are ideally equipped to go with the flow.

Through finely tuned flow sensors in their whiskers, seals can detect the motion trail of prey from as far away as 600 feet. The whisker sensors also relay the size and direction of potential meals, indicating whether the calorie reward would be worth the energy required for a hot pursuit.

And what makes seal whiskers so exquisitely sensitive to disturbances in the water that they can even detect the exhalations of fish at the bottom of the sea? Following two decades of research, scientists have concluded that the wavy shape of a seal’s whiskers, unique in the animal kingdom, enables the specialized hunters to lock on to the frequency of preferred prey while tuning out noise from their own movement.

Besides being all-important for meal acquisition, seals’ extraordinary sensory perception and unusually shaped whiskers are now informing all manner of research into the development of biomimetic robots for underwater exploration. And you thought the innovation-inspiring marine mammals were just adorable, bristle-faced fish-eaters.

ICYMI Nature News

Green Is Good
In a much-needed boost to North Atlantic marine life, including porpoises, skates, and stingrays, 4300 miles of water along the Greater Skellig Coast have been recognized as Ireland’s first Mission Blue Hope Spot. Erin go bragh!

Free Butterfly Plants
If you participate in an urban, community, or school garden in the Northeastern U.S., the Xerces Society is now offering free native plants for your patch to help provide sustenance to endangered migrating monarchs. Find out if you qualify here.

NYC Sky Garden Opening
It’s officially spring, and NYC’s delightful, de-lovely, elevated gardens will soon burst into bloom. Starting April 1, you can tiptoe through the High Line tulips until 10 pm.

Pick Up the Pieces
From now through Earth Day, you can take part in the Great Global Cleanup to help rid our beautiful home planet of plastic pollution. Find a location near you in need of some TLC (tender loving cleanup).

Meditate on the Feather Star
If you’re suffering from mid-week Jell-O brain or just enjoy watching magical sea creatures do magical sea creature things, we highly recommend a few moments of peaceful meditation on the feather star’s multi-limbed locomotion. And go with the flow.

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Lisa S. French March 21, 2023

Do Sleeping Bears Dream of Missions to Mars?

2-minute read

What can we learn from bears about space travel?

Although the earthbound mammals have never achieved liftoff, according to research from the University of Minnesota, studying black and brown bears’ ability to bounce right back to roaming after a long winter’s nap may help scientists to develop strategies that would enable humans to overcome the negative physiological impacts of months-long interplanetary flight.

Every fall, as temperatures begin to drop, the power sleepers pack on the pounds (see Fat Bear week) in preparation for winter hibernation, an extreme state of starvation and dehydration. In the spring, after a half-year of physical inactivity and living off fat reserves, the animals can return to normal bear business within minutes of emerging from their dens, major organs intact and with little or no bone or muscle loss.

Amazingly, after consecutive months of immobility, bears lose only 23 percent of their strength, while humans would lose 90 percent over the same period. So how do they survive the big sleep without any debilitating bodily impacts? According to scientists, the burly omnivores have evolved with adaptations that significantly reduce their body temperature and heart rate to conserve energy. During hibernation, a bear’s temperature can drop by 8 -12 degrees and its heart rate to an average of just 4.3 beats per minute with minimal ill effect.

And what does that mean for the future of manned missions to Mars? Researchers are investigating whether inducing a bear-like state of hibernation would enable humans to endure the long haul of prolonged space travel—another beary good example of how we look to nature to inspire innovation.

ICYMI Nature News

First Bear Out of the Den
The first bear to emerge from winter slumber at Yellowstone has been spotted by a park biologist. It seems dreams of space have taken a backseat to securing a prime spot at the all-you-can-eat post-hibernation buffet.

The Loudest Animal on the Planet
Danish scientists have discovered how whales produce the loudest sounds in the animal kingdom—clicking nose lips. Listen to the nasal chatter here.

Pollinating Dance Instructors
We’ve written previously about how bees communicate food locations through an intricate waggle dance. Now researchers have discovered that newbies learn their honey-making moves from mentors. Swing your pollinating partner!

Fairy Lantern Flower Back from the Dead
Believed to be extinct for the past 30 years, the delicate fairy lantern flower has been rediscovered in Japan. You can see what the photosynthesis-free flower looks like here. Flower? Mushroom? Mushroom-flower?

Good News for the Earth’s Oceans
It took a long time, but the United Nations has announced the passage of a High Seas Treaty to protect marine biodiversity and 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. Not a moment too soon!

2023 National Wildlife Photo Contest
If you’re a nature-loving photographer anywhere in the world and over the age of 13, you can share your beautiful views to help protect nature in the National Wildlife Federation annual photo contest. Find out how to participate here. Go wild, happy snappers!

Btw, March 14th (3.14) is Pi Day
You can read how the number pi (π) manifests in nature here. And whether you’re into numbers or sweets and savories, you can find some delicious ways to celebrate right here! Strawberry slab, anyone?

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Lisa S. French March 13, 2023

Chimps are no Chumps

2-minute read

Whether or not we get treated fairly is one of the metrics that humans use to assess the quality and potential longevity of our relationships. Ideally, we seek to collaborate with partners in all realms of our existence who acknowledge our contributions and expectations and are as attentive to our treatment as they are to their own.

Unremedied inequity can lead to a negative interpretation of events, a breakdown in communication, and an unwillingness to cooperate on future endeavors. According to a series of landmark studies, we share our desire for fair treatment and rejection of injustice with some savvy members of the animal kingdom—particularly when it comes to equal pay for equal work.

Do I Look Like I Just Fell Out of a Tree?
Behavioral researchers from Emory University examining non-human primates’ response to equal versus unequal rewards for completing a task revealed that the perceptive animals did not respond well to being taken advantage of.

When chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys and their task partners both received cucumber slices for their efforts, they were equally satisfied with the outcome. Given a choice, however, the animals prefer to be paid in grapes. If only one partner received grapes, the unfair compensation resulted in outright primate protest from the other, and refusal to either continue the task or to accept the inferior reward. In some cases, the work stoppage and reward rejection were accompanied by water spitting and cage-rattling to drive the dissatisfaction home.

Interestingly, to preserve a valued long-term relationship, some chimps would react to the unfair treatment of their partners by refusing the better reward. Researchers believe that the short-term sacrifice was not necessarily driven by a desire to do the right thing but to increase the odds of future cooperation by maintaining a basic sense of fairness. Similar to the realm of human relations, more equitable individual outcomes for the chimps had a greater likelihood of leading to more stable and harmonious interactions in their communities—wise apes.

ICYMI Nature News

A Wondrous Whale Event
The lucky passengers of a National Geographic Antarctic cruise experienced an extraordinary event in January, the gathering of 1,000 fin whales. You can check out the largest pod seen in over a century here.

Must-See Eagle TV
If you haven’t been keeping up with the Big Bear bald eagle nest cam, you’re in for a treat. You can keep 24-7 tabs on how expecting raptors Jackie and Shadow are coping with California’s wintry weather while waiting for the arrival of their eaglets. Visit the nest!

Get Ready to Wear It Wild
If you’ve been looking for a legit reason to wear your zebra-striped jumpsuit or cheetah-patterned chinos to work or school, you are in luck. You can sign up today for the World Wildlife Fund Wear it Wild challenge and commit to one day of wearing a creature costume of your choice to fundraise to help protect nature. Whether you’re inclined to present as a tiger, tapir, or tree toad, you can find out how to participate here.

And Finally, Snow in NYC
Winter without snow is like cake without frosting. It took a long time, but after almost four worrisome months trending towards tropical, snow has finally fallen in NYC. Not big news, perhaps, nor a big pile-up, but we’re excited about it nonetheless. And more, please!

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Lisa S. French February 28, 2023