South African aviators reflect with sadness on hearing about the recent death of Mpho, the cheetah. For nearly a decade, the fleet-footed predator had helped spare them calamity by keeping warthogs and other small game off the runways in one of the wilder parts of South Africa.
Sharks have survived some 400 million years on Earth. Could their longevity be due in part to an extraordinary resistance to cancer and other diseases? If so, humans might someday benefit from shark secrets—but leading researchers caution that today's popular shark cartilage "cancer cures" aren't part of the solution.
Each fall, more than 80,000 paddlers descend upon a 28-mile-stretch (48 kilometers) of West Virginia's Gauley River to raft and kayak a river at times sublime and extreme. For insights into this white-water mecca, National Geographic Adventure spoke with veteran guide Blaine Honea. His advice? Bring a wetsuit—and some jokes.
Humans and gorillas share much of the same genetic makeup—but that doesn't mean they always get along. Researchers in the dense forests of central Africa are working to bring the two together for ecotourism. Ensuring that the animals are worth more alive than dead may be their only shot at survival. This story airs on Ultimate Explorer, in the U.S. Sunday, 8 p.m. ET/PT on MSNBC.
Cowboys make a Hollywood comeback in Kevin Costner's new movie, opening today. Open Range focuses on the struggle between free-grazers and landowners, spotlighting the West's original cowboys, the tough vaquero.Includes a gallery of images from photographer Kendall Nelson's recent book, Gathering Remnants, a study of the last surviving cowboys.
Every year there are a half billion visits to America's national parks and forests. Tourists provide 78 percent of the national forest's contribution to the economy. That's why the government's Healthy Forests Initiative is being considered, although environmentalists decry it as bad policy for the National Forests.
For much of his career, photographer David Alan Harvey has trained his lens on the Hispanic world. Now the long-time National Geographic staff photographer has published a new book, Divided Soul.National Geographic News recently spoke with Harvey about it, and his abiding passion for Latin America. Includes a gallery of David Alan Harvey's photography.
A large shark seen feeding yards from the English coast could mark the first recorded sighting of a great white in U.K. waters, marine biologists say. Spotted by a teenager on vacation, experts say the detailed description closely matches that of the super-predator.
In 1963, a dam plugged the flow of the Colorado River through Glen Canyon, giving rise to Lake Powell. But a severe, five-year drought in the Western United States has starved the reservoir, providing a tantalizing peek at the lost canyon.
Sky watchers are readying their telescopes for a close look at Mars. On August 27, the red planet will be the closest it's been to Earth in 60,000 years. Mark your calendar, because the next time Mars gets as close won't be until the year 2287.
As aid workers return to war-weary Liberia they are finding a country in complete ruins. The needs are overwhelming. One million Liberians have been displaced. Malnutrition is soaring. Perhaps worst of all, a cholera epidemic is lurking around the corner.
Along a shoreline in northwest Africa, scientists made a gruesome discovery: the carcasses of 230 dolphins, a pilot whale, and 15 endangered sea turtles. These animals were probably killed as "bycatch"—unwanted creatures accidentally hauled aboard fishing vessels. Bycatch totals at least 30 million tons of sea life each year.
Twenty-five years ago, it would have been impossible to find a woman smokejumper in the United States. Today, 27 serve in the elite corps that drops by parachute into the nation's backcountry to fight wildfires.
According to the "small world" theory, you should be just six
handshakes or e-mail messages away from Madonna, Tiger Woods, or Nelson Mandela. But can anyone in the world really reach anyone else through a chain of just six friends? Yes, say researchers at Columbia University.
