1297 Items Tagged

Ecosystems

Podcast: Sunny Jim Cave

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team November 22, 2021

A Puerto Rican rock frog has a number of adaptations for cave living, including large eyes.

Puerto Rico's Most Adorable Frogs Live in Caves and Fight Like 'Gummy Bears'

For one biologist studying the rock frogs' behavior, safeguarding their habitat is personal.

Hannah Thomasy November 9, 2021

A transient killer whale power lunging—a hunting technique—off the California coast. A small subset of transient orcas specialize in taking down large marine mammals.

Meet Outer Coast Killer Whales, Big Game Hunters of the Deep

Scientists say the animals have a distinct culture and vocal dialect, and specialize in taking down large prey.

Rochelle Baker November 8, 2021

Podcast: The Great Stalacpipe Organ

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team October 20, 2021

The misty cloud forests of Costa Rica's Cerro de la Muerte are home to several endangered species—including, say locals, spirits charged with protecting the mountain.

In Search of Nímbulos, Guardians of Costa Rica's Mountain of Death

Believers say the otherworldly protectors of Cerro de la Muerte's cloud forests face an uncertain future.

Trevor Ritland and Priscilla Palavicini October 6, 2021

One of the largest <em>T. rex</em> skeletons ever found, "Scotty" was apparently at home in a swampy Saskatchewan.

T. Rex Thrived in a Swampy Home, According to Amber 'Time Capsule'

Fragments of fossilized tree resin suggest the iconic dinosaur ruled an ecosystem similar to the Everglades.

Jack Tamisiea August 26, 2021

The San Francisco garter snake has been on the federal endangered species list for more than half a century.

A San Francisco Airport Site Is Crawling With Snakes—And That's a Good Thing

An endangered species is thriving at a once-blighted lot, but climate change and other challenges threaten its future.

Ashley Stimpson July 27, 2021

Hancock, New York

Delaware Delicacies Smokehouse

At this small shop off a dirt road in the forest, the specialty is eel the owner caught and smoked himself.

Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

Manyate Coffee Village

An Ethiopian cloud forest protects some of the last wild arabica plants.

An adult male jaguar at the Jaguares en la Selva sanctuary in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

Can the Jaguar, King of the Forest, Save an Entire Ecosystem?

With a new train line threatening its habitat, the big cat may be the key to protecting this Mexican reserve—and everything else in it.

Emiliano Ruprah June 29, 2021

Ira Lalaro

9 Wondrous Places Where Water Meets the Woods

From river-loving cypresses to soggy ancient forests.

Jessica Leigh Hester June 3, 2021

Lacy's Caves

Penrith, England

Lacy's Caves

A series of idealized caves carved to entertain guests.

Front view.

Caves of Filopappou Hill

These caves secretly held national treasures during World War II.

A researcher on hands and knees surveys the rare flora and fauna on a "breathing hill" in the Upper Midwest's Driftless.

The Ice Age Persists in the Upper Midwest, Where the Hills Breathe

In the Driftless, a rare combination of geological quirks has preserved ancient ecosystems. But climate change is coming.

Gemma Tarlach May 20, 2021

Ice Cave of Bixby State Preserve

Chilly air billows out from the entrance of an abandoned mine on a steep hillside, providing a refuge for Ice Age fauna and flora.

Anji Bamboo Forest

Huzhou Shi, China

Anji Bamboo Museum

Home to around 40 different species, this forest was also the setting for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Mogao Cave 158. Middle Tang (781–848) Reclining Buddha, Parinirvāṇa scene. West wall. Lo Archive photograph, 1943–44. Princeton University (Lo 158-10).

The Adventurous Quest to Capture Remote Buddhist Caves in the 1940s

Innovative photographers James and Lucy Lo created a time capsule of a sacred space at a vulnerable time.

Winnie Lee May 11, 2021

Inside one of the stone dwellings.

Soriano nel Cimino, Italy

Corviano

This archaeological site built into a tuff outcrop is filled with rock dwellings, the ruins of a medieval castle, and a necropolis.