In Northern California, sheriff's deputies helped a large bear get out of a locked trash bin, which the bear somehow managed to get stuck inside while dumpster diving for dinner. Read the rest

Vegetation is overtaking the Fukushima exclusion zone, eight years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster. Read the rest

A reptile breeder in the SF Bay Area says he'd just finished giving a talk and was packing up in the parking lot when thieves stole one of his duffel bags containing four live snakes. Read the rest

Scroll down, now you have! Read the rest

You need this. Read the rest

When you say you're super into the great outdoors and nature and -- something weird shows up. Read the rest

The amazing Owl's Nest Sanctuary For Wildlife shared images of this incredibly beautiful blue-eyed baby deer on their Facebook page. Read the rest

Above is a three-millimeter long maggot launching itself into the air for a distance of up to 36 times its body length. Researchers from Duke University and their colleagues studied how these larvae of gall midges leap between plants with the greatest of ease, even rivaling some jumping insects with legs. Their research could have applications in soft robotics and adhesives. From the Journal of Experimental Biology:

They store elastic energy by forming their body into a loop and pressurizing part of their body to form a transient ‘leg’. They prevent movement during elastic loading by placing two regions covered with microstructures against each other, which likely serve as a newly described adhesive latch. Once the latch releases, the transient ‘leg’ launches the body into the air. These discoveries integrate three vibrant areas in engineering and biology – soft robotics, small, high-acceleration systems, and adhesive systems – and point toward a rich, and as-yet untapped area of biological diversity of worm-like, small, legless jumpers.

(via Scientific American)

Read the rest

From the Palm Beach Post: "an unusual bolt of lightning up to 10 times stronger than a typical flash that was caught on video by Boynton Beach resident Erica Hite on Sunday. The so-called continuous current, or positive lighting, which was identified by the National Weather Service in Miami after seeing the video, hit outside Hite’s apartment when she was taking video to show her family how bad the weather was." Read the rest

“Big friendly potato boy thoroughly examining my canoe.” Read the rest

"Run, Daniel, run!"

(via /u/TheNatureLover) Read the rest

“Feels like summer in Norway,” says Tomasz Furmanek, who shot and shared this serene and beautiful video of kayaking down a lazy river on a beautiful April day. Read the rest

Scientists have identified what is likely one of the world's tallest trees, a 330.7-foot (100.8 meter) yellow meranti tree in the rainforest on the island of Borneo. They spotted the tree growing in the Malaysian state of Sabah during an aerial laser scan of the forest. The rainforest is protected yet Yellow meranti trees are are highly endangered because they're relentlessly chopped down in other parts of Borneo for construction use. To accurately measure the tree, arborist Unding Jami of the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership climbed it with a tape measure in hand. From National Geographic:

What was it like to climb?

I knew it would feel very exposed [to climb], like you are just hanging in the air. There were really strong winds and a Colugo (flying lemur) nest! It was flying all around as we were trying to shoot the line up into the tree.

It took me 15 attempts to shoot that line 86 meters (282 feet) up to the lowermost branches. Honestly, I almost gave up. We were so lucky to be able to finally shoot the rope over the lower branch.

Once we had the rope up I took nearly an hour to climb up to 86 meters. And then another two hours from there to get to the top to take the final measurement. That last two hours the wind was very strong, and it rained, which slowed me down...

It’s not easy work to do. I climb up slowly, checking the trunk every meter for centipedes, snakes, and things.

I like these albino turtles. Read the rest

“Tell tha chef it's excellent.” Read the rest