Deerness Christmas tree. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons Once the ornaments come down and the lights are packed away, most Christmas trees are set out for collection. In California, though, thousands of them take a very different route: into the water. Every January, wildlife agencies in several regions of the state gather donated trees, weigh them…
Representation of Bahrain’s sunken Boeing 747, transformed into an artificial reef attracting marine life and divers. Image Credits: ChatGPT. In June 2019, a Boeing 747 made an unusual final journey in Bahrain. Instead of heading to an aircraft graveyard, the 70-metre-long jumbo jet was towed out to sea and lowered onto the seabed to become…
Aerial view looking east to Diamond Peak and Crescent Lake in the Diamond Peak Wilderness in the Oregon Cascade Range. Credits – Wikimedia Commons In September 2006, Oregon officials took the drastic step of treating Diamond Lake with rotenone after an invasive fish had pushed the lake’s trout fishery into collapse. The fish was tui…
A bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) at the University of Mississippi Field Station. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons When Crown Prince Akihito visited Chicago in October 1960, his sole request was to visit the city’s Shedd Aquarium. The 26-year-old heir to the Japanese throne was already a serious student of fish biology, and the aquarium stop was less…
Ferrets were released on Rathlin Island in the mid-1980s, off the north coast of Northern Ireland, to deal with the island’s rabbit population | Wikimedia Commons Ferrets were released on Rathlin Island in the mid-1980s, off the north coast of Northern Ireland, to deal with the island’s rabbit population. The ferrets established a feral population…
With a heavy heart, the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) pays tribute to actress Ananya Raj.(Image Credit: Instagram) On Sunday, August 16, 2026, the entertainment industry was hit with the shocking news of actress Ananya Raj’s demise. The artist, who worked in both Bollywood and regional cinema, was known for her performances in ‘7…
Mushers and sledge dogs prepare for the start of the Iditarod Trail Sledge Dog Race in Alaska, a demanding long-distance competition that would later be won by Libby Riddles in 1985. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons. When Libby Riddles left the Midwest for Alaska as a teenager, she was not setting out to make history. She…
Tiritiri Matangi Lighthouse | Wikimedia Commons Ray Walter arrived on New Zealand’s Tiritiri Matangi Island as a lighthouse keeper in 1980, when the job was already approaching its end. The country was automating its lighthouses, and in 1984 Walter’s position disappeared when the Tiritiri Matangi light was automated. He did not leave the island. Instead,…
Small Indian Mongoose Oʻahu, Hawai. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons SSugarcane fields once dominated Puerto Rico’s economy and rats were a major pest in those fields, leading plantation owners to introduce the small Indian mongoose as a biological control measure. In the 1870s, plantation owners across the Caribbean imported the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) from…
Hut in Scolt Head Island, Norfolk. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons In 1923, pioneering British bird photographer and ornithologist Emma Louisa Turner volunteered for an unusual conservation project: to become the first resident watcher on Scolt Head Island, a roughly 1,200-acre barrier island off the north Norfolk coast. Turner spent a total of 18 months on…
