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A predator at risk
A predator at risk
Shake off those late winter doldrums and join us in observing International Polar Bear Day. These large bears of the Arctic region aren’t endangered but are considered a vulnerable species. As Arctic sea ice coverage continues to shrink due to warming ocean temperatures, the polar bear population faces a rapidly shrinking habitat. Polar bears have large hunting ranges, and rely on the Arctic ice to get around. Their role as an alpha predator in the Arctic is a crucial part of the natural balance in their unique ecosystem. If our sea ice disappears, the bears may soon follow.Desktop Version
An Alpine fairy-tale castle
An Alpine fairy-tale castle
During a walking tour in the spring of 1829, Crown Prince (and future King) Maximilian II of Bavaria fell in love with these forested mountains and Alpine lakes, so three years later he bought the dilapidated remains of a 12th-century castle overlooking the village of Hohenschwangau. The yellow neo-Gothic castle that Maximilian built to replace the earlier ruins became the summer home and hunting retreat for the king, his wife, Marie of Prussia, and their two sons, Ludwig and Otto. Hohenschwangau Castle became a kind of fantasy palace, particularly for the two young princes, who spent their time traipsing through the forest, reciting poetry, and staging scenes from the Romantic operas of Richard Wagner.Desktop Version
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in Brazil
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in Brazil
White sand dunes dotted with brilliant blue lagoons stretch as far as you can see here at Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, not far from the Amazon Basin in northeast Brazil. During the rainy season, valleys between these dunes fill with water, creating a temporary water world. The lagoons are occupied by resilient species like the wolf fish, which goes dormant in the mud when the water dries up.Desktop Version
Purple flowers and Golden Week
Purple flowers and Golden Week
The wisteria blossoms are at their peak right now in Kawachi Fuji Gardens. For those who journey to Kitakyushu, Japan, the reward is walking under an enormous canopy of purple, pink, and white wisteria flowers. The wisteria blooms often overlap with Golden Week—the span from April 29 to May 5, when four major holidays in Japan occur. The week begins with Shōwa Day, a celebration for Emperor Hirohito, and ends with Children’s Day. Many workers take the week off and travel while enjoying the spring weather. If you miss out on the wisteria hubbub, come to Kawachi Fuji Gardens in autumn, when the leaves turn and the park hosts a maple-leaf festival.Desktop Version
Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Perhaps you’ve been to Rome and Venice and are looking for a new destination to explore in Italy? (Hey, we can dream too.) Consider then the village of Cefalù on the northern coast of the island of Sicily, about 40 miles from Palermo. Over the centuries, the town has been under Greek, Roman, Arab, and Norman rule, all of which have influenced the architecture and culture. Our photo looks across the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea toward the village, with the sun’s rays reflecting off Cefalù Cathedral, the massive church-cum-fortress that dominates the skyline.Desktop Version
Tracking ships on the Day of the Seafarer
Tracking ships on the Day of the Seafarer
June 25 is the Day of the Seafarer, a global event highlighting how much we rely on the maritime industry. Turns out, it’s a whole lot, as ships transport more than 80 percent of global trade. In honor of this occasion, we’re showing a NASA satellite view of ship tracks over the Pacific. And what are ship tracks, you ask? They’re clouds that form around particles in ship exhaust when it hits the damp ocean air. These clouds often stretch in narrow paths as in this image, reflecting ships’ courses. To the seafarers out there (1.5 million, according to the International Maritime Organization), we wish you smooth sailing and a good day at sea.Desktop Version
Take the Stairs Day
Take the Stairs Day
In honor of Take the Stairs Day, we"re here in China"s Guizhou province peering over at Mount Fanjing. Visitors will need to climb almost 9,000 steps to reach the summit of the mountain, the highest peak of the Wuling Mountains. Look closely at the image and you can see how the stairs wind up, up, up around stone outcroppings and through a gorge.Desktop Version
Inhale and exhale, it’s Yoga Day
Inhale and exhale, it’s Yoga Day
You may not be able to join a massive yoga session at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, but you can celebrate both the summer solstice today, and Yoga Day, by trying a sun salutation or two on your own. Yoga not your thing? No problem. It’s still solstice, and in most of the Northern Hemisphere, that’s considered the first official day of summer, and that’s reason enough to celebrate. As for the yoga aficionados reading this, please step to the front of your mat...Desktop Version
Drop in on International Surfing Day
Drop in on International Surfing Day
For International Surfing Day we’re in Tenerife, in Spain’s Canary Islands, to catch some waves. Look on the left side of our photo and you’ll see a surfer jockeying for the right spot on that wave. If you can’t get out and celebrate this day by riding a swell, perhaps it’s time for a surf movie or some surf music? There’s a whole culture around the sport that doesn’t even require your getting wet.Desktop Version
Santo Antão Island in the Republic of Cabo Verde
Santo Antão Island in the Republic of Cabo Verde
The village of Fontainhas is perched on the hillside here on Santo Antão Island, one of the most mountainous islands in the Republic of Cabo Verde. The country consists of a series of volcanic islands located about 350 miles off the western coast of Africa. Portuguese explorers colonized the islands in the 15th century and Portugal remained in control until 1975, when the country gained independence. These days, it’s known as one of the most stable democracies in Africa.Desktop Version
Today is World Refugee Day
Today is World Refugee Day
In marking World Refugee Day, which is observed on June 20th, the United Nations notes that on any given day thousands of families are fleeing from their homes to escape violence. The map we’re showing represents the movements of these refugees around the globe from 2000 to 2016. Each orange or red dot represents 17 refugees. The UN established World Refugee Day to increase awareness among all people that those fleeing war and oppression are not a burden, but a responsibility for all of us. It’s an occasion to demonstrate support for the millions forced to flee.Desktop Version
Avatars of the Wolf Moon
Avatars of the Wolf Moon
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, muskox, and Arctic hare that make up its diet. A subspecies of the gray wolf, the Arctic wolf lives in the extreme north of Canada"s Queen Elizabeth Islands. It"s extremely cold there, but an advantage of this habitat is that the 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 settlements.Desktop Version
I see one!
I see one!
Today"s the first day of the 121st annual Christmas Bird Count, said to be the largest and longest-running citizen science project in the world. For the next 23 days, through January 5, thousands of volunteers around the US, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands will join members of the National Audubon Society for this important endeavor in the study and protection of birds. Together, they"ll scour the woods, fields, and lakes of their respective regions (or just watch their bird feeders), to take a census of the individual birds and species they find.Desktop Version
What, no escalator?
What, no escalator?
On Take the Stairs Day, take some inspiration from this mountain path in the Ninh Bình province of Vietnam. Or just be glad you don’t have to climb it. The stone path next to the entrance of the Mua Caves zigzags up 486 steps that were designed in the style of the Great Wall of China. At the top, you’ll find a small pagoda and panoramic views of the countryside. Plus, a feeling of achievement.Desktop Version
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. frequently spoke of the immeasurable value of service to various endeavors that strive to make the world a better place. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, millions honor King’s legacy by volunteering for charities and other organizations. And any of us can make that effort—to give the gift of our time so that we might move from words to action. Your work may be a small part of a greater goal, but the march forward only happens when we are brave enough to take that first step. And once we do, we often find that we are not walking alone.Desktop Version
Four little birds sitting in a tree…
Four little birds sitting in a tree…
This chunky foursome caught in a North Carolina snowstorm is a group of eastern bluebirds, the most widespread of the three types of bluebird. (The other two are the western and mountain.) The eastern bluebird range covers a wide area—east of the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada down to Central America, then over to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. You can spot them in grasslands, forest clearings, meadows, and the like.Desktop Version
You won’t see this on Mulberry Street
You won’t see this on Mulberry Street
We’re celebrating Dr. Seuss Day with a glimpse of Vinicunca, a colorful mountain in the Andes range of Peru. Varied layers of mineral deposits, weathered and oxidized over the years, provide the bright, contrasting striations, inspiring an alternate name for this spot: Rainbow Mountain. We think it looks like the wild environments dreamed up by famed children’s author Dr. Seuss. In particular, it reminds us of his book, ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’: ‘You"re off to Great Places! Today is your Day! Your mountain is waiting. So...Get on your way!’ Do you have a favorite Seuss book?Desktop Version
Busy building wetlands
Busy building wetlands
For International Beaver Day, we take a peek at one of nature"s most prolific engineers, the beaver. This sleek swimmer is at Schwabacher’s Landing, a boat landing along the east shore of the Snake River in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. Beavers build dams to help keep their lodges and litters safe, but the positive impacts ripple through the environment: restoring wetlands, combating climate change, and removing fertilizer runoff. If we protect their habitat, beavers will pay it forward by creating the wetlands so many threatened or endangered species rely on.Desktop Version
Red-leaf hunting in Japan
Red-leaf hunting in Japan
Today, we’re in Tokyo to see a colorful array of autumn leaves floating just above some goldfish. It’s a centuries-old tradition in Japan to wander through gardens and forests while taking in the show of colorful leaves. The Japanese call it "koyo" or "momiji-gari," terms which literally mean "hunting red leaves." The autumn colors of Japanese maples, ginkgoes, and other native trees first come to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, usually in early October, then move slowly southward until they reach the rest of the island nation. The leaf-peeping season is as popular in Japan as the springtime cherry blossom season—both phases of the year are rhapsodized over as symbols of the transient nature of life.Desktop Version
Fin whales: A success story
Fin whales: A success story
Today marks the fifth anniversary of World Wildlife Day, the United Nations-backed celebration of all the animals that share our planet. And this is the first year that World Wildlife Day is focusing on marine life. Fin whales, like the one in our photo today, are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the conservation status rankings. So, they’re threatened by climate change, pollution, shipping, and other concerns, but they’ve bounced back from the brink since the early 1900s, by which time centuries of whaling crews had hunted fin whales to near extinction.Desktop Version
Where fire meets water
Where fire meets water
"Keep your distance" might be the mantra for 2020, but here at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the 50th state"s "Big Island," it"s always been good advice. Especially so for the passengers on this tour boat as they witness a red-hot lava flow hitting the chilly ocean with a tremendous explosion of steam.Desktop Version
Winter in the Finnish wilds
Winter in the Finnish wilds
Don"t be fooled by this frozen scene"s tranquility. Once the snow melts in northern Finland"s Oulanka National Park, the river"s gentle swirl will turn to deafening rapids, hosting rafters as well as waterfall-peeping tourists. But there"s time to enjoy the winter calm, since the region"s wintry cold regularly stretches into April or May.Desktop Version
Hues of Hokkaido
Hues of Hokkaido
The Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido is known the world over as a winter wonderland. But once the snow melts, it"s not long before the northerly island becomes a summery extravaganza of color. Just outside the town of Biei in central Hokkaido"s hilly highlands, gardeners cultivate a rainbow blanket of tulips, lupine, marigolds, dahlias, and many more flowering plants. So wide is the assortment here at Shikisai no Oka (meaning "Hills of Seasonal Colors") that if you visit between April and October, you"re sure to find at least one type of flower in full bloom.Desktop Version
Snow aglow in central Japan
Snow aglow in central Japan
Here at Yunishigawa Onsen, a hot spring spa town in central Japan, the Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival lights up the countryside each winter. Kamakuras are snow huts that range in size from these small, candlelit structures along the river banks to large igloo-like domes. People gather in the larger kamakuras to worship, socialize, or share a meal. The entire community pitches in to build and light the kamakuras during the festival, which runs from late January to early March.Desktop Version
A winter wonderland in Northeast China
A winter wonderland in Northeast China
The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is considered the largest such event in the world. It’s home to record-breaking ice sculptures, including a 101-foot-tall tower installed just this year and shaped like the dress of a flamenco dancer. Here you can meander through entire villages made of ice and built to scale. You can also see ice replicas of famous landmarks like the Sphinx and the Great Wall of China. Last year’s event attracted more than 18 million visitors to this chilly destination, aptly nicknamed ‘Ice City.’Desktop Version