2021-01-28
Arctic wolf family in Canada (© 4FR/Getty Images)
北极狼一家，加拿大 (© 4FR/Getty Images)
The Arctic wolf, or white wolf, is unique among wolves in its light coloring. Supremely adapted to the tundra where it lives, its coloration helps it blend into the landscape as it hunts the caribou, moose, musk oxen, and Arctic hare that make up its diet. A subspecies of the grey wolf, the Arctic wolf lives in the extreme north of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands. The other advantage of its habitat is that this remoteness has kept the Arctic wolf population from being hunted extensively. It is currently the only wolf species not endangered or threatened. We're featuring this handsome trio because tonight will be the Wolf Moon, traditionally the first full moon of the year. The name comes to us by way of the Algonquin people to denote the time of year that hungry wolves could be heard howling outside their homes.
Arctic wolf family in Canada (© 4FR/Getty Images)
北极狼一家，加拿大 (© 4FR/Getty Images)
The Arctic wolf, or white wolf, is unique among wolves in its light coloring. Supremely adapted to the tundra where it lives, its coloration helps it blend into the landscape as it hunts the caribou, moose, musk oxen, and Arctic hare that make up its diet. A subspecies of the grey wolf, the Arctic wolf lives in the extreme north of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands. The other advantage of its habitat is that this remoteness has kept the Arctic wolf population from being hunted extensively. It is currently the only wolf species not endangered or threatened. We're featuring this handsome trio because tonight will be the Wolf Moon, traditionally the first full moon of the year. The name comes to us by way of the Algonquin people to denote the time of year that hungry wolves could be heard howling outside their homes.
2021-01-29
European robin during a winter snowstorm, Peak District National Park, England (© Ben Robson Hull Photography/Getty Images)
冬季暴风雪中的欧亚鸲，英格兰峰区国家公园 (© Ben Robson Hull Photography/Getty Images)
Winter often brings cold and snow to the uplands of England's Peak District National Park, as this wee European robin surely knows. Here we see it puffing up its plumage to insulate its body against the wintry weather. Unrelated to the American robin, the European robin is commonly known in the British Isles as the robin redbreast. But it's more orange than red, you say? That's because when British people first named it the redbreast, probably in the 1400s, the word 'orange' had not yet been introduced as a color name in the English language. Animals and other things were often named 'red' even when orange or tawny: the red deer, Red Planet, and robin redbreast are all examples. Whatever you decide to call our diminutive friend, we appreciate its bright splash of color on an otherwise bleak wintry day.
European robin during a winter snowstorm, Peak District National Park, England (© Ben Robson Hull Photography/Getty Images)
冬季暴风雪中的欧亚鸲，英格兰峰区国家公园 (© Ben Robson Hull Photography/Getty Images)
Winter often brings cold and snow to the uplands of England's Peak District National Park, as this wee European robin surely knows. Here we see it puffing up its plumage to insulate its body against the wintry weather. Unrelated to the American robin, the European robin is commonly known in the British Isles as the robin redbreast. But it's more orange than red, you say? That's because when British people first named it the redbreast, probably in the 1400s, the word 'orange' had not yet been introduced as a color name in the English language. Animals and other things were often named 'red' even when orange or tawny: the red deer, Red Planet, and robin redbreast are all examples. Whatever you decide to call our diminutive friend, we appreciate its bright splash of color on an otherwise bleak wintry day.
2021-01-30
Svalbard Global Seed Vault with a glittering facade designed by artist Dyveke Sanne, Svalbard, Norway (© Pal Hermansen/Minden Pictures)
博德明高沼上布朗威利山麓的废弃小屋，英格兰 (© Helen Hotson/Alamy Stock Photo)
This glittering monolith of cold metal is a lot like that still-sealed emergency survival kit languishing in your basement since 1999: Reassuring to have around, but a bummer when you actually have to use it. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault—better known by its cute nickname, the 'Doomsday Vault'—was established on this far-northern Norwegian isle in 2008 to archive frozen genetic copies of seeds already housed in seed banks around the world: a backup of all the backups. Kept at -0.4 degrees F within the Seed Vault, precious botanicals from food to fibers to flowers are safe from disasters, even of the apocalyptic variety. Lucky us: It'll take a healthy diet of veggies to fight off the zombies.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault with a glittering facade designed by artist Dyveke Sanne, Svalbard, Norway (© Pal Hermansen/Minden Pictures)
博德明高沼上布朗威利山麓的废弃小屋，英格兰 (© Helen Hotson/Alamy Stock Photo)
This glittering monolith of cold metal is a lot like that still-sealed emergency survival kit languishing in your basement since 1999: Reassuring to have around, but a bummer when you actually have to use it. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault—better known by its cute nickname, the 'Doomsday Vault'—was established on this far-northern Norwegian isle in 2008 to archive frozen genetic copies of seeds already housed in seed banks around the world: a backup of all the backups. Kept at -0.4 degrees F within the Seed Vault, precious botanicals from food to fibers to flowers are safe from disasters, even of the apocalyptic variety. Lucky us: It'll take a healthy diet of veggies to fight off the zombies.