National Wildlife Federation

Just Keep... Breathing 🛫 Did you know lungs help birds soar longer? 👀 In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have identified a specialized air-filled sac attached to the lungs of soaring avian species, including such diverse birds as bald eagles, turkey vultures, brown pelicans, and western gulls. The structure seems to boost the power of these birds’ flight muscles while soaring, allowing them to remain aloft for long periods without flapping their wings. Called the subpectoral diverticulum, the air sac has evolved only in lineages of soaring birds. Read the National Wildlife Magazine Winter 2025 Issue 📚: https://ow.ly/vIKg50UEvbx #wildlife #nature #birds #flying #science #evolution

Young people advocating with the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) are making a BIG splash along the California Central Coast. In 2022, youth leaders successfully advocated for the expansion of nature trails in northern Santa Barbara County. 🎉 Read or listen to learn more about the power of youth in action 📲 https://ow.ly/GLWp50UCcpn

How can conservation institutions better support youth leadership? 🙋♂️ NWF fellow Seth Thomas attended a regional meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to help answer that question and speak on the importance of youth involvement in conservation. Learn more: 📲 https://ow.ly/mKAG50UCEmf #Conservation #IUCN #YouthLeadership

Transparency ☠️📸 Despite the challenges of focusing a camera lens underwater—at night, no less—“on a transparent piece of jelly,” Pardau photographed this Cystisoma, a 2-inch-long amphipod, in March 2024 about 3 miles off the Big Island. There, at what he calls “the home of blackwater diving,” he and others hover at depths of 10 to 80 feet to view nocturnal creatures that remain as much as 3,000 feet deeper during the day. The ocean at night makes for a discombobulating environment, “where your only ability to orient yourself is knowing your bubbles go up,” Pardau says. 🏆 Grand Prize | 📸 Bo Pardau 2024 National Wildlife Photo Contest Winners 📲: https://ow.ly/k1FK50UAyEr #wildlife #photography #nature #underwater #photocontest

Feeling crabby? Wednesdays amiright 🦀 A female red crab with thousands of baby red crabs on Christmas Island, Australia. 🏝️ 2023 National Wildlife Photo Contest Honorable Mentions 📲: https://ow.ly/W9sb50Uul0M 📸 Zhengze Xu | Other Wildlife #wildlife #nature #crabs #photography #photocontest

Need a reminder of all the beauty that surrounds us? 👀 In National Wildlife Magazine's Winter 2025 Issue browse the inspiring winners of our 53rd annual photo contest. 📸 Also in the issue: the wonders and limits of rapid evolution; how climate change is shifting ancient migrations in Arctic Alaska; and the latest advances in canine conservation, courtesy of some very good dogs. 🐕🦺 Read the issue 📚: https://ow.ly/xZFa50UAwAa #winter #nature #photocontest #wildlife #conservation

New Year's diet starts to....morrow 🐠 An eastern gobbleguts carries eggs in its mouth in Sydney, Australia. See more of the 2023 National Wildlife Photo Contest Honorable Mentions 📲: https://ow.ly/W9sb50Uul0M 📸: Daniel Sly | Other Wildlife #newyears #resolution #wildlife #fish #underwater #nature

Penguin Parents Power Nap 🐧💤 Throughout the birds’ several-month-long nesting season, males and females each spend several days straight guarding their pebble nests from predators while their partners are away feeding. Extended periods of sleep would put the penguins’ offspring at risk of predation, but according to research reported in Science, the birds have evolved a surprising solution: the power nap. They discovered that the penguins nod off more than 10,000 times per day—but only for about 4 seconds at a time. Read the National Wildlife Magazine Fall '24 Issue 📚: https://ow.ly/saeT50UqVu4 #wildlife #nature #sleep #winter #penguin #survival

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉 Ranger Rick has been named a favorite kids’ magazine by Wirecutter! 🦝 ✨ We’re so proud to be recognized for inspiring kids to explore nature and fall in love with wildlife. 🌿💚 👉 Check out the article and see why Ranger Rick is a top pick— RangerRick.org  🔗

POV: Going to the gym after New Year's 🐢🌊 Newly hatched olive ridley sea turtles rush to sea in Odisha, India. See more of the 2023 National Wildlife Photo Contest Honorable Mentions 📲: https://ow.ly/IO9u50UulxN 📸: Saurabh Chakraborty | Baby Animals #newyears #resolution #wildlife #turtles #ocean #nature