National Geographic

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Elephants Rescue Hundreds of People From Floods

Video shows the captive elephants being used to wade through deadly flood waters.One of India's most revered animals is helping to rescue those affected by one of the region's worst incidences of flooding.The Associated Press has reported over 250 killed, and thousands more affected. The Red Cross …

Ocean Life Eats Tons of Plastic—Here’s Why That Matters

Fish and invertebrates have been found to gobble up bits of microplastic from the sea, and that has scientists worried.Anchovies are known more as a pickled pizza topping than for their crucial place in the marine food chain. Now scientists have confirmed a disturbing new behavior by these tiny …

Huge Blobs of Fat and Trash Are Filling the World’s Sewers

Mountains of grease and debris known as fatbergs are blocking toilets, breaking pipes, and even being illicitly converted into cooking oil.First, someone might pour molten turkey fat down a drain. A few blocks away, someone else might flush a wet wipe down a toilet. When the two meet in a dank …

Three New Ancient Tombs Discovered in Egypt

The newfound artifacts span decades of Egyptian history—suggesting the tombs were part of a city’s large cemetery.The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has announced the discovery of three rock-cut tombs in northeast Egypt, each more than 2,000 years old.The trio of tombs were found about 125 miles …

How to Watch the Total Solar Eclipse From Anywhere

Tune in here to see the full glory of totality no matter where you are.In a few short days, record numbers of people will flock to a 70-mile-wide swath of the United States to witness an historic total solar eclipse. Millions more across the Americas will get to see a partial eclipse just by …

8 Easy Tips Your Kilimanjaro Guide Forgot to Tell You

A lack of camping and climbing experience shouldn't stop you from taking on this mountain. A little preparation will go a long way.At 19,341 feet, Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa and fourth highest in the world. It takes five to eight days at grueling altitudes to make it to the …

Cannibal Sea Lion Kills and Eats Pup—Never Before Seen

The unprovoked attack on Russia's Medny Island baffled scientists.In a never-before-seen instance of cannibalism, a massive male sea lion was observed brutally killing and eating a pup—and is suspected of doing the same to several more.The baby sea lion did nothing to provoke the attack, and the …

Thousands of Sharks Found on Boat in Huge Illegal Haul

The confiscation of the Chinese ship and arrest of its 20 crew in the Galápagos show just how hard it is to protect marine sanctuaries.On Sunday marine ecologist Pelayo Salinas was on his way back from a 12-day research mission on a Galápagos National Park patrol ship when at 6 a.m. the captain …

Watch a Wildcat Attack a Parrot in Rare Video

Tourists were in for a shock when they saw a wildcat catch a parrot during a birdwatching trip.Macaws are not typically on the menu for ocelots—until the opportunity presents itself.During a recent birdwatching trip in Peru's Tambo Blanquillo private wildlife reserve, tourists were stunned to see …

Watch Giant, Spinning Ice Disk Form on River

The formation looks mysterious but has a scientific explanation.They look too perfect to be natural—large circles of ice slowly spinning in rivers.Video captured in 2016 shows a seemingly symetrical circle of ice in a river near Omsk Oblast, a region in central Russia that sits just north of …

Shark-Fishing Forum Reveals Destructive Practices Despite Good Intentions

A new study identifies hundreds of instances of illegal shark fishing in Florida. The analysis suggests that many fishermen value sustainable fishing but are often skeptical of—or outright resistant to—many of the efforts to promote it.In Florida shark fishing is a popular sport. A quick Google …

Nighttime Pictures Reveal Antarctica's Cracking Ice Shelves

Using satellite images, NASA keeps an eye on the region's shifting ice even during the total darkness of polar winter.You could call it the crack heard 'round the world.For years, scientists had been monitoring the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica, watching as an enormous rift in the ice grew in …

This Pacific Island Is Caught in a Global Power Struggle (And It's Not Guam)

Yawur Village, YapThe islands of Yap are at a crossroads. Should they stay aligned with the U.S., drift toward China, and/or open up to widespread development?On a hot summer’s day in Yap, a crowd gathers in the island’s capital for the annual Homecoming Summer Festival. First a handful of curious …

How a NASA Spacecraft May Help Aliens Find Earth

The pulsar maps on the Voyager probes pinpoint our location in the galaxy—even as some experts debate the pros and cons of signalling ET.Forty years ago, we sent a map to Earth sailing deep into the cosmos.Copies of this map are etched into each of the twin Voyager spacecraft, which launched in the …

Why This Swedish Moose Is Entirely White

The rare color comes from a genetic mutation, and one leading expert has a theory for why it may become more prevalent.One completely white Swedish moose recently gained celebrity status after a local politician captured video footage of it wandering through the water in the Värmland region in the …

Surprising Ways Animals React to Solar Eclipses

Giraffes, spiders, and even whales have been seen changing their behavior when the sky goes dark during totality.For a few precious minutes on August 21, darkness will descend across the United States as a historic total solar eclipse crosses the continent from coast to coast.Millions of people …

The Air You Breathe Is Full of Surprises

It has shaped history, powered civilizations, and entertained the puerile.The gases in the air around us are unseen but their influence is surprisingly visible. For instance, did you know that, right now, you are probably inhaling the air from Julius Caesar’s last gasp in A.D. 44? Or that poison …

Virgin Birth, Double Uteri, and Other Wondrous Female Abilities

In nature, some female "superpowers" rival those of Wonder Woman.Wonder Woman certainly got her due at the box office, but many female animals have superpowers that we seldom hear about.Here are some of our favorites, including—no kidding—a magic lasso.Double the UterusThese cartoonish predators, …

Watch: Confused Suckerfish Tries to Latch Onto Diver

The suckerfish, also known as a remora, mistakenly thought the diver was a big fish or a shark.While a scuba diver was swimming off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt, a remora fish mistook him for a shark and tried to latch onto him in the water.In a recently released video of the encounter, the diver …

These Zoo Elephants May Be the Loneliest in the World

An elephant named Hanako was given that distinction in 2015. But others like her are living out isolated lives in zoos across Japan.Miyako is a female Asian elephant who has lived without other elephants since arriving at Japan's Utsunomiya Zoo, just outside of Tokyo, 44 years ago when she was six …

How to See the 2017 Perseid Meteor Shower

Find out the top times and places to see one of the best and most reliable sky shows of the year.This weekend, people around the world will be able to see pieces of a comet streaking across the sky, as the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak.Considered the “old faithful” of sky shows, the …

Ultimate Adventures in the Path of the Solar Eclipse

Mark this momentous event with an equally spectacular trip.On August 21, 2017, people will crowd into parking lots, neighborhood parks, and other outdoor areas to watch the total solar eclipse make its way from one U.S. coast to the other. But some cosmic enthusiasts may be looking for a more …

Tiny Spiders Devour Lizards Three Times Their Size

It's the first time scientists have published observations of jumping spiders eating vertebrates.Spiders are usually meals for reptiles and amphibians, but in a startling role reversal, these arachnids make dinner out of their potentialpredators.At less than a tenth of an ounce, the regal jumping …

This Enormous 100-Year-Old Map of Rome is Still the City's Best

The document is almost as tall as a two-story building. Here's how a 19th century archaeologist made the best map of the most mapped city in history.A 1901 map of Rome is arguably the best map ever made of the most mapped city in human history. The map, created by archaeologist Rodolfo Lanciani, …

Your Greens Might Soon Be Grown in Warehouses

Bowery Farms and other technology-driven businesses are bypassing traditional farming with warehouses and LED fixtures.Transformational ideas can come from anywhere. From anyone. National Geographic’s CHASING GENIUS is now soliciting ideas around three issues: sustainable planet, global health, and …

100-Year-Old Fruitcake Found in Antarctica Is ‘Almost’ Edible

British explorer Robert Falcon Scott likely brought the cake with him to Antarctica, where it's stayed in "excellent condition."Famously indestructible, a fruitcake has withstood a century in the coldest, windiest, and driest place on Earth.Conservators with the New Zealand-based Antarctic Heritage …

How Well Do You Know Guam?

Guam is in the news, thanks to North Korea's threats to attack it. But how much do you know about the island?In a war of (so far only) words with the U.S., North Korea has threatened to shoot missiles at Guam, a remote island and U.S. territory. Internet searches for Guam have soared this week as a …

The New Climate Change Activists May Surprise You

New podcast series explores how some people are taking unique approaches to climate activism.Should those worried about the future of our climate risk getting arrested through direct actions, regardless of their age?In the latest episode of the new podcast series Stepping Up, producer Claire Schoen …

The World’s Best Paddling Trips

See a different side of the globe by exploring it on the water.These paddling adventures run the gamut from whitewater to flat and freshwater to salt. They involve all kinds of muscle-powered watercrafts. What do they have in common? The promise of epic days on the water and memories you'll dream …

Watch Kids Cross a Raging River to Get to School

In the midst of increasingly dangerous monsoons, video shows how Indian schoolchildren are forced to contend with the elements.Children going to school in the Himachal region of northern India face a tough obstacle—a raging river gushing over the side of a rocky mountain.Video taken near a village …