As the 2026-2027 NFL season kicks off, the Philadelphia Eagles are giving new meaning to their signature “Fly, Eagles, Fly” fight song. The football team is partnering with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation for Birds Supporting Birds, an initiative to support seabirds off the coast of Massachusetts (and in New England Patriots’ territory) this fall. 

The team is supporting NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Shearwater Tagging Project, an ongoing initiative dedicated to studying the great shearwater (Ardenna gravis) and their migration. Great shearwaters are large, white-and-grey seabirds known for their epic journeys. They travel thousands of miles every year from their remote South Atlantic breeding grounds up to the cooler North Atlantic waters during the nonbreeding season. According to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, they fly the equivalent of over 200,000 football fields across the Atlantic Ocean every single year.

Birds Supporting Birds will help support researchers in Stellwagen Bank, an 842-square-mile marine sanctuary east of Boston, to tag great shearwaters and track their migratory routes across the Atlantic. 

“The Eagles are directly funding researchers to attach lightweight, solar-powered satellite transmitters to great shearwaters,” Joel R. Johnson, President and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, tells Popular Science. “These tags track the birds’ migration patterns around the Eastern Seaboard and down to the Southern Atlantic Ocean in real time.”

Lovingly known as “The Birds” by their incredibly devoted fanbase, the football team is leveraging their platform to bring attention to ocean conservation and highlight environmental stewardship. 

A major 2015 study found that the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99 percent of the ocean due to climate change. While the water has slightly cooled since 2021, a report published by NOAA in July found that the environment in the Gulf of Maine still remains unstable. These changes in ocean temperature, currents, and other conditions can impact the seabirds’ food supply. 

Great shearwaters are reliable indicators of an ecosystem’s health, who rely on small fish called sand lance in their diets. Whales, dolphins, bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), and other key Gulf of Maine species also rely on these fish belonging to the family Ammodytidae in their diets. By studying great shearwaters and their health, researchers can better understand what is happening in the local ecosystem as a whole. 

Researchers at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary used satellite tracking technology in 2013. These tags are lightweight and attached to the birds with degradable thread. They have small solar panels so scientists can monitor the birds’ routes over extended periods. 

Researchers have now deployed tags on Phil, Franklin, Hoagie, and Liberty, four great shearwaters with very Philly-appropriate names.

“We are thrilled to invite the public to follow Phil, Franklin, Hoagie, and Liberty in real time on our interactive maps and social channels, bringing everyone along on our shared mission to protect our ocean waters and marine life,” says Johnson, who lists bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), great blue herons (Ardea herodias), and great shearwaters among his favorite birds. 

Live interactive maps will be available soon on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and National Marine Sanctuary Foundation’s website, so you can follow the great shearwater’s epic journey, while the Eagles (or your favorite team) compete on the gridiron.

The post ‘Birds Supporting Birds’ connects the Philadelphia Eagles with migrating seabirds appeared first on Popular Science.

A viral video shows sprinklers soaking a green lawn outside a denver data center during severe water restrictions.

In July, the Trump administration relegated endangered leatherback turtles, sea lions, and whales to mere collateral damage in its race to profit from the oceans. Now, fisheries science is in the government’s crosshairs.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced new agency priorities last week that they say are a commitment to “cutting bureaucracy, modernizing our science, and putting our fishing communities first.” But experts say the agency’s actions will erode fish stocks, threaten endangered species, and surrender marine habitats to destructive trawlers.

The agency-level reforms serve as a self-proclaimed “operational roadmap” to fulfilling President Donald Trump’s “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness” executive order, signed in April 2025.

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© Reinhard Dirscherl

In July, the Trump administration relegated endangered leatherback turtles, sea lions, and whales to mere collateral damage in its race to profit from the oceans. Now, fisheries science is in the government’s crosshairs.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced new agency priorities last week that they say are a commitment to “cutting bureaucracy, modernizing our science, and putting our fishing communities first.” But experts say the agency’s actions will erode fish stocks, threaten endangered species, and surrender marine habitats to destructive trawlers.

The agency-level reforms serve as a self-proclaimed “operational roadmap” to fulfilling President Donald Trump’s “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness” executive order, signed in April 2025.

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© Reinhard Dirscherl

Across the stories today, a common thread emerges: the gap between what protects us on paper and what protects us in practice. Again and again, communities are discovering that designations, promises, and permits only matter when someone is willing to enforce them — and that when systems fail, it’s ordinary people, and often the most vulnerable, who absorb the shock.

Nowhere is that clearer than in Jackson, Mississippi, where a federal appeals court ruled this week that the Constitution guarantees no right to clean water. For residents who have lived through years of contaminated taps and boil-water notices, the decision lands as a gut-punch reminder that legal frameworks haven’t caught up to environmental reality. A similar tension runs through the Guardian’s reporting on datacenter wastewater in Wyoming, where testing turned up a rare, potentially hazardous bacterium, and on English golf clubs, where one in twelve have quietly broken water extraction rules amid growing drought stress. Behind the numbers are real communities adapting in real time — often without knowing what’s actually flowing through their pipes or being pulled from their aquifers.

That same gap between promise and delivery surfaces in the UK’s datacentre boom, which new analysis suggests will produce only a quarter of the jobs once advertised, even as it strains the national grid. It echoes in Georgia, where a once-booming EV manufacturing corridor is hitting turbulence under shifting federal policy — a reminder that industrial transitions built on incentives can be as fragile as the politics that fund them.

Yet the day’s coverage also points to growing momentum around care, restoration, and reckoning. Hurricane Lowell’s damage across Hawaii’s western islands — toppled trees, flooded roads, thousands without power — sits alongside quieter stories of renewal: Gloucestershire’s proposal to reintroduce beavers as a defense against drought and flooding, Douglas Head’s new conservation status on the Isle of Man, and Coventry’s investment in Longford Nature Park. These are small, deliberate acts of stewardship, the kind Wendell Berry spent his life advocating for. His death last week, at 92, feels newly resonant this week — a farmer-poet who insisted that loving a place well was itself a form of environmental action, long before it became policy language.

Farther afield, the human cost of extraction runs deep. In Peru and Brazil, mercury from illegal gold mining is showing up in children’s blood and in fish that families have eaten for generations, forcing painful dietary changes in communities that did little to cause the contamination. In Indonesia, El Niño-fueled fires are pushing orangutans out of burning forests, while in Uttarakhand, India, women — who gather firewood and fodder — are bearing the brunt of increasingly long fire seasons. In Colombia, the Wiwa community’s decision to relocate their village down the mountain is less retreat than adaptation, a recognition that sacred land is changing faster than tradition can hold still.

It’s a reminder that progress and pressure often arrive together — a new spaceport investment in Shetland, a badger vaccination program under scientific scrutiny, a push for a Natural History GCSE to reconnect children with the outdoors. Each represents a small bet on the future, even as larger systems strain under climate and economic pressure.

As the week unfolds, watch whether the Jackson ruling prompts congressional attention, whether Britain’s Green Party succeeds in forcing transparency around ecosystem collapse risks, and whether Gloucestershire’s beavers get their chance to prove that sometimes the oldest solutions are still the best ones.

The post Hurricane Lowell Floods Western Hawaii, New Forest Wildfire Threatens Woodland — Today’s Environmental Briefing for Wed, Sep 9 2026 first appeared on EnviroLink Network.

As it turns out, hyenas don't want anything to do with lions—if anything, it's the lions that won't leave the hyenas alone.

As the National Park Service (NPS) continues highlighting the many roles of its parks during World War II, the western most landmass in the contiguous United States is getting its due: Olympic National Park. 

First designated a monument by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1909 before President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s reclassification as a park in 1938, the 922,650 acre protected region in Washington State is also recognized by UNESCO as an International Biosphere Reserve. Olympic National Park includes temperate forests, stretches of Pacific coastline, as well as subalpine forests and meadows. Thanks to its location on an isolated peninsula, it’s also home to many endemic plant and animal species including the Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus) and Piper’s bellflower (Campanula piperi).

The national park received a lot of attention during WWII for very different reasons, however. Its history is laid out in a recent social media post by Pearl Harbor National Memorial due to an ongoing search-and-rescue operation in the park. Because the peninsula extends further west than any other landmass in the contiguous United States, military and government officials considered it one of the most strategic—and vulnerable—places in the nation. The nearby Strait of Juan de Fuca funneled all traffic to-and-from vital ports in Seattle and Tacoma, as well as the naval base in Bremerton.

U.S. Army and Coast Guard engineers began installing 13 Aircraft Warning Service (AWS) stations throughout Olympic National Park in 1942, many from converted fire lookouts. Park rangers even staffed some of the stations, and continuously monitored the skies for potential aerial bombardments. The installations remained operational throughout the entire year, regardless of the region’s notorious winter storms.

The many logistical and environmental challenges were even documented by Olympic National Park’s superintendent. At one point, it took two days for a six-person resupply crew to toboggan the three miles to Hurricane Lookout. Another team of eight workers backpacked six miles to one of the park’s most remote posts while carrying 400 pounds of supplies.

The AWS ended in 1944, but two of the original outposts still exist and are accessible to park visitors. Dodger Point and Pyramid Peak can be reached after hiking a steep trail north of Lake Crescent. 

Every week leading up to the 85th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, the National Park Service will take you across the country to explore America’s experience in World War II through the lens of national parks. The first week in the series also highlighted the roles of Golden Gate Recreation Area and Governors Island National Monument in protecting the coasts.

The post National Park Service’s WWII series highlights Washington State nature reserve appeared first on Popular Science.

The deep-sea is filled with weird creatures: goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni), vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), and… walking fish? For the first known time, a team of scientists in China filmed a strange, shrimp-like fish walking backward along the seafloor. 

The fish, Scalicus engyceros, is a species of armored searobin, a group of fish known for  weird anatomy. Their bodies are  covered in bony plates, while stiff free fin rays stick out of its pectoral rays like tiny legs it can use to “walk.” 

The new study, published in the journal Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research, not only provides video evidence of the animal’s sea-floor strolls, but it also marks the first time backwards locomotion has been described in fish. 

“[Our] study delivers a paradigm-shifting revelation: the deep-sea fish Scalicus engyceros, a representative of fishes characterized by highly specialized free pectoral-fin rays, is among the few fish species known to walk,” said Han Tian, a postdoctoral researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, in a statement. 

The video was taken from a deep-sea diving vehicle in the northern South China Sea that also helped the researchers observe the fish’s other unique traits. It has outward-extending barbels that resemble a farmer’s rake. While the barbel makes it awkward for the fish to walk, it provides “an advantage in probing, digging, or hunting for food buried in the sediment,” according to the team. 

Like other deep-sea creatures, Scalicus engyceros also has large eyes. The researchers note that the fish did not seem to react to the approaching vehicle, but it did appear to react to its light beam before swimming away. This suggests its eyes have at least some sensitivity to light, perhaps pointing to the fish not having lived in this habitat for very long. 

While there’s still much to learn about this mysterious creature, advancements in technology are helping scientists better understand the life way beneath our oceans’ surface. 

“Modern deep-sea diving vehicles allow not only discovery of new species but also add a new in situ, functional dimension to the study of species based solely on the morphology of preserved specimens,” said Tian. 

“By observing deep sea animals alive in their surrounding environment, we can gain insight into the adaptation and evolution of the species. These walking fish harbor far more novel behavioral and evolutionary adaptations than previously assumed.”

The post Backwards-walking fish caught on video in the South China Sea appeared first on Popular Science.

On June 19, the Aquarium of the Pacific took in almost 500 animals in one go. Fish, marine invertebrates, and sharks were all brought into the facility in Long Beach, California, but the aquarium hadn’t just gone on some big marine shopping spree. 

These animals were rescued from animal trafficking, and were in urgent need of a home. At the aquarium, the staff worked through the night to stabilize and care for them. 

“Every animal that arrives at the Aquarium, whether through a carefully planned acquisition or a last-minute confiscation, receives the same high standard of care. What can differ is the condition in which those animals arrive,” Johnathan Casey, Aquarium of the Pacific curator of fish and invertebrates, tells Popular Science. 

Many trafficked animals have been traveling in stressful or poor conditions, so the aquarium’s experts immediately check their physical condition, water quality, and individual needs. They usually know little about an animal’s origin or history, so the team needs to be prepared for anything. The rescued animals are also quarantined to avoid the potential spread of diseases, according to Alyssa Tillman, the assistant curator of fish and invertebrates. 

The species included brownbanded bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium punctatum), ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris), and Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni). The IUCN Red List classifies brownbanded bamboo sharks as Near Threatened and Banggai cardinalfish as Endangered. 

While the arrival of almost 500 animals was a standout event, the Aquarium of the Pacific has received rescued animals from over 30 confiscation events since September 2024.  This means they saw one confiscation event every three weeks, though the first eight months of 2026 have already seen over a dozen cases. Overall, the aquarium has taken in over 3,600 rescued trafficked animals in the past two years. 

The Aquarium encourages “the public to become informed consumers to help avoid wildlife trafficking of exotic pets. This includes researching the protected status of the species and ensuring purchases are through a reputable vendor,” Casey explains. “If the vendor cannot provide proof of where the animal came from, refraining from purchasing it is a way to help.” 

The post Nearly 500 animals rescued from trafficking arrive at a California aquarium appeared first on Popular Science.

In 2009, tourism operators in Australia spotted more and more humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) “fluking,” when a whale floats upside down, holding its tail above the water. Confused by the behavior, they reached out to scientists for help, triggering a research effort that solved one of the biggest mysteries about humpback whales on the Great Barrier Reef. 

The Whitsundays, where the fluking was taking place, is a region with dozens of islands between the Great Barrier Reef and Australia’s north-eastern coast. 

“It was an unusual behaviour they had never seen before. Not even the whale scientists knew what it meant at the time,” Crystal Lacey, Master Reef Guides program manager, said in a statement. “So that uncertainty sparked a major research effort, which combined citizen science through the tourism operators’ observations, and scientific research. It was one of the region’s largest citizen science efforts.” 

The efforts included tourism operators counting whales and calves, and scientists mapping the seafloor, monitoring water temperatures, tracking whales by satellite, and surveying the region from the air. The joint mission found that the Whitsundays is one of the Great Barrier Reef’s most important humpback whale calving areas. In other words, they’d revealed a previously unknown whale maternity ward. 

“The fluking the operators observed was actually a breeding behaviour,” explained Lacey. “We discovered the Whitsundays provides the sheltered, warm and shallow waters humpback whales need to give birth and raise newborn calves.”

Their results also resolved one of the biggest enigmas associated with humpback whales on the Great Barrier Reef—the question of where they give birth. The findings ultimately led to the creation of the Whitsundays Whale Heritage Area within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. 

Humpback whales are found in all the world’s oceans. They’re a whale-watcher favorite because they can be observed close to shore, and frequently put on a show near the surface of the water. Humpback whales mate while “hugging” face-to-face, and the gestation period of females is 11 to 12 months. When they give birth—once every 2 to three years—the calf comes out tail first. 

The post Australia’s humpback whales were acting weird. What happened next surprised scientists. appeared first on Popular Science.

Marine biologists from Trinidad and Tobago recently completed the first locally helmed and most expansive survey of the deep-sea waters around the Caribbean islands. The month-long project aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel (R/V) Falkor (too) documented around 13 percent of the nation’s marine territory, and described 20 potential new species. Researchers also collected over 700 specimens for the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Once catalogued, the additions will increase the size of the university’s Zoology Museum deep ocean collection by 12 times.

“Every new discovery we make, whether ecosystem, species or behavior, deepens our understanding of what’s at stake and strengthens our ability to be true stewards of this largely unseen but critical part of our country,” said expedition chief scientist Diva Amon.

Check out some of the stunning, rarely seen creatures below. (Click to expand images to full screen.)

Suspected new sea star

Symbiotic coral

King crab

Rare manta ray fall

Eelpout

Squat lobster

Mushroom coral

Black swallower fish

Lizard fish

Ghost shark

The post 11 vibrant deep-sea creatures shine in new Caribbean expedition appeared first on Popular Science.

The New England Aquarium has cause to celebrate. Their cownose ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) Mystic officially turned 27-years-old. The birthday girl’s milestone is even more exceptional in light of the fact that cownose rays in the ocean typically live around 18 to 20 years.

“With excellent care, these animals can live even longer. We aren’t sure what the upper age limit for this species is, but Mystic could be considered one of the oldest individuals in public aquariums,” Rachel Moote, manager of husbandry at the New England Aquarium, tells Popular Science. “Our dedicated veterinary and aquarist staff work to keep Mystic in excellent health. She is monitored regularly by our teams and receives hands-on exams whenever a closer look is required.”

Cownose rays are migratory, open-ocean animals related to other rays. Their unique name comes from their snout, which looks a bit like a cow’s nose, and their wingspan can be up to three feet long. Cownose rays have a venomous spine behind their dorsal fins, but the species is shy. In fact, a majority of ray-caused injuries in humans occur when humans unintentionally step on their spines. They are found along the east coast of the United States, and are classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. 

Mystic has lived at the aquarium for almost two decades. Following a long career in the Giant Ocean Tank, she’s currently taking a  “much-deserved retirement,” at the aquarium’s Quincy Animal Care Center. Her care team in Quincy includes aquarists, volunteers, and interns. She is hand-fed a diverse diet of fish, clams, and shellfish similar to what her diet in the wild would be, and also takes vitamin supplements. For her birthday, she received a fish and shrimp cake. 

However, her care goes beyond making sure she eats appropriately. 

“Our team works hard to ensure Mystic can practice her natural foraging and problem solving abilities. One way we keep her mentally stimulated is by providing her with specially prepared rubber puzzle balls filled with her regular food items,” explains Moote. Every week, aquarists also dive into Mystic’s tank to clean the habitat. 

Happy birth-ray, Mystic!

The post Happy Birth-ray! Mystic the cownose ray turns 27 appeared first on Popular Science.

Two unusually colored lobsters have been spared from the dinner plate and are living at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in Portland, and will be educating students in the process. Ethel is a split-colored lobster, with a very autumnal orange and black hue, while Gertrude is a breathtaking blue.

Shawn McEwen at Sea Salt Lobster Wholesale in nearby Saco, Maine contacted the team at the research center to see if they were interested in taking Ethel the two-toned lobster. 

“He told us ‘We move a lot of lobsters and in my career this is top 3,’” Sam Fuss, an educator with GMRI’s LabVenture program, tells Popular Science.

To find Gertrude the blue a new home, the staff at the nearby Portland Lobster Company reached out to GMRI. And it could not have been easier for the team to pick up the new colorful crustacean.

“We coordinated a time, walked over to their restaurant with a bucket, and then walked her right back to our tank,” says Fuss. 

GMRI works with many of Maine’s lobster fishers and has a network who will reach out about interesting catches like Ethel and Gertrude.  

“Previously, in our tank, we have had blue lobsters, orange lobsters, calico lobsters, and other split-color lobsters,” says Fuss.

Why some lobsters are so colorful

In the wild, American or Maine lobsters (Homarus americanus) typically have a greenish-brown color. This helps them blend in better with the rocky seafloor. Lobsters have several layers of a pigment called astaxanthin. This pigment appears as layers of red, yellow, and blue. When all of those color layers are stacked up, they give lobsters a mottled blotch pattern of oranges, reds, blues, pinks, purples, yellows, and browns.

But some lobsters end up more colorful. Rare genetic mutations can alter the amount of pigment or how they interact with one another, producing striking shell colors such as blue, half-orange half-black, or even calico patterns. A lobster’s diet can also impact its shell color. For example, individuals that only eat small fish rather than shrimp and crabs get less astaxanthin, which can affect their coloration.

Split-colorization like we seen on Ethel occurs when two fertilized, unlaid eggs contact each other. One of the eggs then absorbs the other, creating a lobster that has two sets of genetic information. They also can store color pigments differently on either side of its shell.

The chance of finding a blue lobster like this Gertrude is about 1 in 2 million, while the odds are 1 in 50 million to find a split-colored lobster like Ethel. As for the other colors, the chance of finding a red lobster is 1 in 10 million, and 1 in 100 million for an albino or cotton candy lobster.

Crustaceans tackling climate change

Now that they are at GMRI, Gertrude, Ethel, and the institute’s other fish and crustaceans will be on display for fifth and sixth grade students from across the state who visit during the LabVenture field trip.  Since the program began in 2005, LabVenture has provided a hands-on lab to over 170,000 Maine middle school students free of charge. 

“The display tank that Gertrude and Ethel are living in is always a highlight of the field trip for our students,” Zoë Kennedy, LabVenture’s Lead Educator, tells Popular Science. “Many of them have spent most of their lives living right next to the Gulf of Maine but being able to see what the ecosystem looks like beneath the water brings a whole new perspective and sense of wonder.”

A landmark 2015 study found that the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99 percent of the ocean due to climate change. While the water has been cooling off a bit since 2021, a report published by NOAA in July 2026 found that the environment in the Gulf of Maine remains unstable. According to the GMRI LabVenture team, building more climate-ready communities, a strong waterfront workforce, and a blue economy in the face of this upheaval all starts with education.

“Our LabVenture program builds that foundation early by teaching students to interpret real, authentic climate data, while sparking the curiosity that drives them to keep asking questions about the world around them,” says Kennedy. 

The post Pair of rare, colorful lobsters have a new home in Maine appeared first on Popular Science.

Following an outpouring of support for Jackie, a famous bald eagle mother watched by millions, the California State Senate passed Senate Resolution 140. The bipartisan measure honors Jackie and proclaims that Friday September 4, 2026 is California Wildlife Day to honor her memory and celebrate the Golden State’s biodiversity.

The resolution was introduced by State Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) and is sponsored by KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles. It recognizes the eagle’s role in connecting people with wildlife conservation, while highlighting the state’s biodiversity. 

“Jackie captured the hearts of people in California and around the world, giving so many of us a front-row seat to the beauty, strength, and resilience of wildlife,” Senator Strickland said in a press release. “Her story reminds us that wildfire conservation brings people together. As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday this year and reflect on the values that unite us, it is especially meaningful to honor the Bald Eagle and Jackie’s incredible legacy here in California.”

Amy King, the host of “Wake Up Call” on KFI AM640 in Los Angeles, said it was clear how many humans connected with these eagles and their story. 

“Over the past decade, many of our listeners watched the webcam and witnessed the beautiful life Jackie, her mate Shadow, and their eaglets created together,” King added. “Jackie’s story brought people together across generations and communities. As storytellers, we believe stories can connect people, inspire compassion, and create a shared sense of community. It has been an honor to share Jackie’s story with our listeners and to be part of the community that followed her remarkable journey.”

Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), the nonprofit organization that runs the nest cameras that brought Jackie and Shadow to the world, are also planning a memorial service for October 3. 

Jackie’s story

Jackie was born, raised, and lived in Big Bear Valley in southern California. Prior to the 2011-2012 nesting season, no bald eagle chicks were known to have ever hatched in Big Bear Valley. Then came Jackie, named after a forest ranger and born to parents Ricky and Lucy in 2012. 

During the 2016-2017 nesting season, Jackie took over a nest where Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) had a camera stationed. In 2018, she had two chicks named Stormy and Big Bear Baby (or BBB) with her first mate, Mr. B. 

Her long-time partner Shadow entered the picture in summer 2018. He showed up at the nest and would not leave. FOBBV called the new male Shadow because he appeared so determined to stay in the nest, and the team initially believed he was one of Jackie’s siblings, also named Shadow. The eagle’s plumage indicated he was one year older than the other Shadow and not Jackie’s sibling, but the name stuck. 

Shadow continued to hold his ground and Mr. B gave up and eventually left. Jackie then accepted Shadow as her new mate.

Wildlife cameras documented Jackie and Shadow’s life together, offering viewers a direct look into the brutality and beauty of nature. The pair successfully raised chicks in 2019 (Cookie and Simba) and 2022 (Spirit). The pair’s eggs failed to hatch in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, Jackie laid three eggs that all hatched in early March. However, a strong snowstorm dumped up to two feet of snow and battered the nest with strong wind and only two of the chicks (Sunny and Gizmo) survived.  

In January, Jackie laid two eggs in the nest, but ravens destroyed them. She later laid two more eggs that hatched in April and named Luna and Sandy. The name Sandy is in honor of FOBBV’s former executive director Sandy Steers who died from cancer in February. 

Jackie’s injury

On July 17, Jackie was found injured on the ground near Dana Point Park, California. Cell phone video from a witness confirmed that she had an altercation with two other subadult eagles. She successfully fended off the other eagles by turning over and using her talons, but could not fly far away. 

She was transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center for care, where she was diagnosed with severe anemia. Her anemia worsened during the first week of August, the Ojai Raptor Center said that she was in unstable condition on August 9. Her packed cell volume (PCV) fell below percent, before rising to nine percent. She died early in the morning on August 10 and a full necropsy report is still forthcoming. 

Jackie’s resilience inspired millions of people around the world. 

The post California Wildlife Day to honor beloved bald eagle Jackie appeared first on Popular Science.

Japan’s bears are still causing problems. The hefty predators continue to stray from mountainous forests in search of food, putting them in direct contact with the nation’s rapidly aging and dwindling population. According to the country’s Environment Ministry, bears have killed six people across the country since April 1, while a record 13 victims died during the previous fiscal year. It’s gotten so bad that Japan called in the armed forces to help, and companies are even running out of their popular robotic wolf deterrents.

Culling strategies are reducing bear numbers, with around 14,000 killed during the last fiscal year. But in the central prefecture of Nagano on the main island of Honshū, conservationists are promoting a different approach to keeping both humans and bears safe. Using a combination of sensors, traps, and GPS monitoring, researchers are avoiding unnecessarily killing bears while improving the overall population’s wellbeing at the same time.

“By not killing too many of them, more bears survive to live out their expected lifespan. In that sense, a healthy bear population is being formed,” biologist Akiko Takii explained in a recent interview with AFP.

Takii is participating in a program with an over 30 year head start. In 1995, local authorities discovered bear numbers suddenly shrinking on Honshū, and slowly enacted new strategies like GPS monitoring and installing over 2,000 miles of fencing. But concerns for the animals have dwindled in recent years, as attacks and deaths continue to mount across Japan. 

Takii and her supporters argue that simply culling bears is not a practical, ethical, or necessarily long-term solution strategy. Instead, members of Nagano’s Shinshu Asian Black Bear Research Association are using catch-and-release tactics to monitor animal movements and keep locals out of harm’s way. Meanwhile, Takii is overseeing school outreach classes to educate children and their parents about bears, as well as humanity’s relationship to them. While a combination of culling and conservation is likely the path forward, advocates like Takii hope officials will see the added benefits of humane interventions

“I am convinced it’s safe to live with them as long as humans don’t offend them,” a school principal recently told AFP , following one of Takii’s presentations.

The post Japan’s continuing bear problems can’t be solved by culling alone appeared first on Popular Science.

The deepest parts of our ocean are more like the fare reaches of space than planet Earth. We never really know what we’ll find down there. A team from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Ocean Exploration team experienced that first hand when they spotted a very tiny fish in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New England.

The team estimated that it measured only five millimeters (0.19 inches) to one centimeter (0.4 inches). It is still unclear what species this fish is, but scientists speculated that it could be a juvenile toadfish (family Batrachoidida) aka the sea toad. They have a sad-looking “Monday Face” and dwell on the sea floor to  hunt whatever comes within their reach.

This particular little fish was spotted during Deep Connections 2019: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts of the United States and Canada. However, these kinds of deep-sea discoveries are not over. NOAA just completed their 2026 Cook Islands ROV Exploration in the Pacific Ocean, where they recovered a whale beak, observed an ethereal type of sea sponge called glass sponge (class Hexactinellida), and more.

Currently, NOAA is partnering with Nautilus Live to explore the deep sea near Wake Island. The island is about halfway between the Hawaiian and Mariana Islands, and is one of the most isolated land masses on Earth. The 30-day expedition will utilize remotely operated vehicles (ROV), mapping technology, and the E/V Nautilus to collect baseline data about the 157,236 square-mile area and the marine life that lives there. 

The expedition could find potential maritime heritage sites associated with the Battle of Wake Island. From December 8 to 23, 1941, a small force of United States Marines and civilian defenders fought off parts of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Japanese Navy ultimately took Wake Island, but at great cost. According to the National World War II Museum, the Japanese Navy ultimately sacrificed two destroyers, one submarine, 21 aircraft, and 900 to 1,000 lives just to conquer Wake Island. Despite the loss, fewer than 100 Americans died during the 16-day siege, including 46 Marines and three sailors.

The Wake Island expedition is scheduled to end on September 18. 

The post NOAA scientists spot ‘outrageously tiny’ fish appeared first on Popular Science.

Fashionistas of a certain age no doubt remember the late designer Stephen Sprouse, who gave Blondie's Debbie Harry her distinctive Bowery punk style. Sprouse's first collections in the mid-1980s made a major splash, melding graffiti prints, a playful '60s aesthetic, and bright Day-Glo colors that won admirers such as Andy Warhol.

Several examples of Sprouse's work are preserved in the textiles collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, where conservationists are trying to learn more about the phosphorescent and fluorescent pigments the designer used in his creations in order to keep the colors from dulling over time. They described recent advances in that research at a meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) held this week in Chicago.

Scientists began describing minerals that glowed in the dark as phosphors in the Middle Ages. Typically, such materials take on a charge when exposed to light, storing the absorbed energy and releasing it gradually as re-emitted light. Henri Becquerel discovered radioactive decay in 1896 because of his work with phosphorescent uranium salts: He left the salts in a closed drawer with photographic plates, which fogged up even without a light source. DayGlo paints and similar materials exploit the related phenomenon of fluorescence. DayGlo pigments fluoresce in daylight by essentially converting UV light into visible light to produce brighter, more vibrant colors.

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© Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Gift of Joanne Sprouse, in memory of her son Stephen Sprouse, 2020.58

It’s very much a real-life doco version of ‘The Lion King’, with Jon Favreau executive producing, and music from Hans Zimmer echoing themes from the Disney classic. It took Disney+ and BBC Studios’...

The post ‘LION’ – new TV series chronicles four-year journey of lion cub Kio first appeared on Science Illustrated.

Emergency crews say situation remains ‘dynamic’ as more than 100 firefighters battle Dunwich Heath blaze

A wildfire near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station has caused “total devastation” to one of the UK’s most important landscapes, as fire crews said the situation remained “dynamic”.

More than 100 firefighters have been battling the blaze on Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, on the Suffolk coast since Wednesday evening. The fire service said on Friday afternoon the situation was stabilising but remained a “major incident” that was “dynamic and potentially changeable”.

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© Photograph: Humphrey Nemar/PA

© Photograph: Humphrey Nemar/PA

© Photograph: Humphrey Nemar/PA

Thousands of native milkweeds are transforming North Florida roadsides into experimental pollinator corridors. Along rural two-lane highways in North Florida, newly installed signs now identify grassy roadside slopes as wildflower areas. At this time of year, the labels may seem unnecessary. Thousands of milkweed plants are already producing dense clusters of five-sided buds and open [...]