gemmatarlach's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

gemmatarlach

I'm a former senior editor and writer at Atlas Obscura, certified forest and nature therapy guide, mead maker, and veteran of karaoke in Antarctica.

https://gemmatarlach.com/

2021
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Studying Australia's Feisty Northern Quolls Requires Beef Chum and Backpacks

Scientists fitted the famously bitey marsupials with tiny accelerometers to learn their secrets.

February 8, 2023

Can Loktak Lake's Wondrous Floating Islands Bounce Back?

A photographer's drone's-eye image of the famous phumdis of northeastern India shows a unique environment undergoing change.

January 31, 2023

carnivorous plants

These Toilet-Shaped Carnivorous Plants Thrive By Eating Poop

Some of Borneo's pitcher plants took insects off the menu in favor of mammal droppings. It's an evolutionary triumph.

January 20, 2023

year in wonder 2022

Revisiting the Weird and Wonderful Nature of 2022

This year, we met creatures (and other living things) great and small, from the world’s largest organism to microscopic parasites.

December 30, 2022

year in wonder 2022

Our Favorite Science Stories of 2022

From engineering VR terror to tracking tipsy monkeys, we love watching researchers at work.

December 27, 2022

Aurora Hunters Capture the Wonder of the Northern (and Southern) Lights

A curated collection of images shows why this natural phenomenon has fascinated and inspired humans for millennia.

December 21, 2022

year in wonder 2022

Our Favorite Environment Stories of 2022

From a 'happiness farmer' to dauntless vets, we met people rekindling hope through perseverance and innovation.

December 20, 2022

christmas monsters

Krampus Is the Christmas Icon We Need—And Maybe the One We Deserve

At Milwaukee’s Krampusnacht, we go in search of the essence of Santa’s unholy enforcer.

December 9, 2022

secret lives of museums

Iowa’s Ancient Apex Predator Was the ‘T. rex’ of Its Day

The monstrous menace known as Whatcheeria hints that our distant ancestors may have been more like us than we thought.

December 2, 2022

From Space, Mont Saint-Michel Stars in a Wild Impressionist Painting

During the winter months, the iconic French site casts a perfect shadow on a bay full of history—and quicksand.

November 22, 2022

These Tiny Jewels Come From One of Alaska's Most Unusual Beaches

This microscopic treasure was collected from a remote site near the Arctic Circle.

November 15, 2022

How Water, Wind, and Chance Sculpted an Icy Work of Art

Lake stars, ice rings, and other natural phenomena brought magic to a small Slovenian lake.

November 10, 2022

Real Zombies and Body Snatchers Live Among Us

A creepy form of parasitism is one of evolution's favorite strategies, and scientists are starting to figure out how it works.

October 20, 2022

Catalonia's Human Tower Tradition Starts With a Strong Base

Castell-building has been a tradition in the Spanish region for centuries.

October 18, 2022

This Nearly Lost Ancient Grain Tradition Could Be the Future of Farming

A past global staple you've never heard of, maslins are poised for a comeback.

October 13, 2022

science museums

A ‘Weird’ Ancient Marine Reptile Surfaces Thanks to the ‘Bone Biddies’

The unique plesiosaur defies the fossil rulebook—just ask the “paleogrannies” who prepared it for study.

September 28, 2022

A Caribbean ‘Cow’ Tooth Could Solve the Mystery of the Chincoteague Ponies

A surprise discovery from Haiti may finally reveal how some famous feral horses got to a distant barrier island.

August 16, 2022

endangered species

The Next Generation of a Rare Frog Captured in a Poetic Portrait

Embryos of one of the world's most unusual amphibians become art in the eyes of a biologist and wildlife photographer.

Southern Spain’s ‘Sea of Plastic’ May Actually Cool the Local Climate

The world’s largest array of greenhouses has transformed the region economically, and in other, unforeseen ways.

Behold Meraxes, Argentina’s Ancient ‘Giant Dragon’

With a ‘Swiss Army knife’ head, tiny arms, and no relation to T. rex, a new dino find is providing intriguing evolutionary insights.

Inside America's Premier Black Rodeo, A Celebration of Cowboy Culture

A photographer captures perseverance and pride over a decade of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo.

The Intriguing Life, Death, and Afterlife of an Indiana Mastodon

Scientists have pieced together a detailed biography—including a search for love and a violent end.

abstract wonder

The Curious Case of the Arctic Desert Island That's Not Actually an Island

No one is sure how this geological oddity got there.

Why a Wayward Coati’s Selfie on a Brazilian Airbase Surprised Scientists

The adorable appearance highlights an unexpected ally in conservation.