While there's no replacement for experiencing nature in real life, our Armchair Naturalist corner is a place for kids to read the facts, news and stories about the fascinating world of wildlife and nature so they will grow more deeply in love with the natural world.
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Focusing on Wildlife| February 25, 2020 The recent fires in Australia resulted in the death of over one billion animals, with one-third of koalas killed. Scientists estimate there are 113 animal species in need of urgent help. The Australian government made a provisional list of the animals stating that they need “urgent management intervention” to...
MNN | February 25, 2020 French photographer Greg Lecoeur is this year’s Underwater Photographer of the Year, winning with an image called “Frozen Mobile Home” that features a group of crabeater seals swirling gracefully around an iceberg in Antarctica. Since 1965, the Underwater Photographer of the Year awards have been focused on this fascinating underwater realm. The...
Focusing on Wildlife| February 25, 2020 Millions of birds across the United States, including bald eagles, are poisoned by lead every year, according to the American Bird Conservancy. The problem is an overall US problem. The lead poisoning increases during deer season but occurs all year. Experts believe the only solution is to educate hunters...
The Guardian| February 4, 2020 A survey of firefly experts from around the world found that habitat loss is considered the heaviest pressure on the insects. The greatest threats to fireflies were identified as pesticide spraying and the use of artificial lights at night. On top of their incandescent beauty, fireflies are considered important in...
EurekaAlert | February 4, 2020 A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge has found that, even though they are inanimate objects, sand dunes can ‘communicate’ with each other. Using an experimental dune ‘racetrack’, the researchers observed that two identical dunes start out close together, but over time they get further and further apart....
MNN | February 4, 2020 Newcastle University researcher Ben Burville captured a wild grey seal “clapping” on camera for the first time. Previously, researchers believed the noise to be a vocal sound, similar to the calls and whistles that other marine mammals produce. But the video provides evidence that wild grey seals produce the sound,...
World Wildlife Fund | February 7, 2020 With an increase in connectivity and ease of sharing content around the world, the Internet has contributed to increased illegal trade and trafficking of pangolins. An estimated 1 million pangolins were trafficked in the last ten years, though this number may be conservative. According to the African Pangolin...
MNN | February 6, 2020 Feeding your backyard birds can improve their health by protecting them from parasites, says a new study. Sarah Knutie, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, set up 200 nest boxes for eastern bluebirds and monitored all the nest boxes for bird eggs. As the...
POST | February 4, 2020 An adorable video of a coyote and badger walking off together in a culvert went viral after being shared on social media. The video, from the nonprofit Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), was created as part of a three-year study POST took on with partners at Pathways for Wildlife to...
Guardian | February 4, 2020 The mayor of the city of Bristol Marvin Rees, along with leaders from local organizations, declared an ecological emergency in the city. The city council said some bird species such as swifts and starlings had almost entirely vanished from Bristol. As in many cities and towns across the UK, there...