In 1995, 14 wolves were released in Yellowstone National Park.
No one expected the miracle that the wolves would bring.
It started with the wolves hunting the deer, this led to a rapid decrease in the deer population. The wolves' presence also made the deer avoid parts in the park where they were and easy prey.
Thanks to the deer's absence, those parts started to regenerate. Forests of aspen and willow trees started to flourish.
That's when things really started to happen. With trees and bushes came more berries and bugs. As soon as that happened, various bird species started moving in.
With the increasing tree population, also another species was attracted. The beaver, previously extinct in the region, moved back. And the dams they built provided habitats for otters, muskrats and reptiles.
The wolves also killed coyotes, which meant more hawks, red foxes, badgers and weasels in the park. Even the population of bald eagles and ravens rose.
But here's where it gets really interesting. The wolves changed the behavior of the rivers. With more balance between predator and prey came the possibility for other species to thrive. There was less erosion because of increased vegetation. And the river banks were stabilized, the channels narrowed, more pools formed, and the rivers stayed more fixed in their courses.
So the wolves did not only transform the great ecosystem of Yellowstone, they also changed the park's physical geography.
Portugal is crushing it: renewables met 91% of Portugal’s electricity needs in the first 4 months this year & have pushed their⚡️prices to a 4 yr low!
Renewables are carrying an increasing % of their electrcity demand in the first 4 months in 2024:
95% April
91% March
88% Feb
81% in Jan
Portugal’s rapid transition is evidence it can be done: renewables are up from 27% in 2005 & 54% in 2017 with their last coal power plant shut down in 2021. #nature#environment#renewables#earth
A post I made on FB about my favorite animals led to a whole lot of people realizing that pink fairy armadillos are an actual thing, and it is delightful to watch 😆
I guess I'm now spreading the gospel of the pink fairy armadillo. They are real, y'all.
My wife has been pretty active in filling our yard with native plants and pollinators and she was able to catch this amazing video of a monarch in the garden. Hope this brings a smile to someone this weekend! 😀
The 300-square-mile Telescope Array experiment in Utah detected a cosmic ray with an energy of 240 quintillion electron volts. That's as much energy as a thrown brick, jammed into a single subatomic particle.
This is Bøsdalafossur waterfall, the outlet from Sørvágsvatn lake in the Faroe Islands.
The lake sits 40m above sea level, surrounded by cliffs that hem it in, and looks for all the world like it's warped spacetime to inhabit this position.
In case anyone’s not too sure.. this is what a 'spring lawn' is supposed to look like.
Breakdown:
• No irritating lawn-mower lines.
• A multitude of flowers.
• Lawn-mower rests, unperturbed in garden shed.
• No Louis X1V - 'rules over nature'.
• No walking up and down for hours, making a really annoying, loud noise and irritating the neighbours.