Living side by side: The people and polar bears of Churchill, Manitoba

One Canadian town operates a polar bear jail

The town of Churchill has a population of 850 humans and just as many polar bears. In an effort to prevent hungry bears from breaking into homes or attacking residents, the town began imprisoning them for 30-day stints.

Polar bears find refuge in an abandoned Russian village

Russia's Wrangel Island hosts one of the world’s largest seasonal gatherings of polar bears. Hundreds of females come ashore to den and raise cubs, often entering abandoned homes for protection. See videos and pictures of the endangered species mingling on the island.

Explore the Arctic from your living room

Explore the unique ecosystem and wildlife of the Arctic tundra thanks to Google Earth and Explore.org. Captured from a series of stationary and moving live cams, watch polar bears gather as they wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze so they can search...

Life during three months of polar night

In Norway's Svalbard archipelago, night reigns from November to January, as with many communities living within the polar regions. Contrary to popular assumptions about such places, many residents of the region describe the long darkness as peaceful, a time to slow down and draw nearer to neighbors and community. Read more on life in polar night, specifically in the Svalbard town of Longyearbyen, in this essay from a resident there.

A day in the coldest village on Earth

The people of Yakutia, a far northern region of Russia, live a challenging, but harmonious, life with nature, facing some of the world's coldest temperatures. Tag along for the day with 9-year-old Arian and his family to see how they manage the cold, from constant wood-chopping to keep their home warm to the meticulous ice fishing which sustains their diet.

How sea ice decline threatens polar bears

This two-minute video discusses a recent study warning that arctic polar bears are at risk of near-extinction by the end of the century due to the rapid melting of the sea ice they rely on for survival. The study used models based on satellite data...

Watch how wild animals are projected into a mall

Centered around a dynamic, ever-changing watering hole, the experience allows you to meet a diverse range of animals from Africa to the Arctic as they graze, drink, and interact with the environment around them.

Search for psychrotolerant and psychrophilic microorganisms found in Antarctica

Developed following a five-week expedition to the southern continent, "Life Under the Ice" allows users to examine a petri-dish-like microscopic world and uncover recordings of organisms that can withstand, or even thrive, in the harsh environment.

How to dine like they do in 'The Bear'

One of the most exciting aspects of FX's hit show "The Bear" is how it highlights real Chicago restaurants and businesses. This guide to some of the restaurants visited by the show’s characters (and a few that aren’t) includes the real Michelin inspectors’ notes on each spot.

River dolphins manhandle an unlucky anaconda

The natural world around us is endlessly inspiring, and fascinating, and often very odd too: like when researchers snapped a photo of Bolivian river dolphins swimming around with a Beni anaconda snake in their mouths, for example.

The fragility of the alpine tundra

This article takes readers into Rocky Mountain National Park's Alpine Tundra, an area above the tree line where only specially adapted plants can survive. One such plant is the cushion plant, which avoids strong winds by growing close to the ground...

Animals get SAD—especially those in zoos, like pandas

Giant pandas in locations outside their evolved latitudinal range (from southeast Asia to northern regions around Beijing) exhibit more sluggish behavior, even when they were born there. Researchers have observed that similar sensitivities to "photoperiods" (or time with light) impacts many animals, including birds, insects, and our pets. (Nautilus imposes a metered paywall.)

Learn about the Black Bear Sports Group—a hockey conglomerate changing the ice rink industry

Ice rinks are notoriously difficult to operate, due to the complex cooling systems required to maintain the ice itself, and have an average operating lifespan of 25 years. However, Black Bear Sports Group has made millions by buying up failing ice rinks and running robust youth sports programming.

Bears have evolved natural mechanisms to avoid blood clots while hibernating

Movement is essential to keeping blood from clotting, which raises the question of why animals such as hibernating bears don't suffer from clots despite going months lying still. New research suggesting that the animals may have evolved to have lower concentrations of a specific protein may explain this phenomenon.

British Columbia's 'Infinite Coast' is a hidden travel gem

The long expanse of Pacific coast north of the US border includes Victoria, Vancouver Island, the Great Bear Rainforest, fjords, whale watching, and 50 First Nations that manage the coastline. This site presents the region in an engaging interactive format to attract travelers looking for lesser-known areas of natural beauty.

The genetic diversity of dogs is greater within Chernobyl than in surrounding areas

A 2023 study identified that packs of dogs located just 16 kilometers (10 miles) apart within the exclusion zone were more genetically different from one another than from stray dogs hundreds of kilometers away. Rather than radiation, this is likely the result of inbreeding within isolated packs.

How to bridge political divides

Can people who believe in opposing ultimate views of the world really live in peace together? That's a core requirement of individuals living in pluralistic societies. Law professor Samar Ali and public affairs strategist Clint Brewer don't agree on much, but they're great friends. In this TED Talk, the two share why political polarization in the US isn’t as intractable as we might think. Learn some tips for getting along in the free world here.

Niagara’s frozen river once hosted winter carnivals

Before a 1912 collapse, winter ice bridges across the river were so thick that entrepreneurs built bars, photo studios, and entire carnival midways on the frozen surface.

Biologists believe over 5,000 coyotes inhabit LA as of 2025

Panic and fear of coyotes spread in the 1980s after the first recorded instance of a human killed by the animal in American history, but LA and Chicago residents today are learning to live alongside the animal. Research shows that coyotes can even benefit urban ecosystems by helping to control populations of geese and deer, and by improving songbird survival through preying on cats.

What its like to live in the world’s ‘smartest cities’

What’s it like to live in a smart city? The BBC interviewed residents of five of the world’s smartest, as determined by the International Institute for Management Development, to find out. (See previous resource for those rankings.) Common praises included ease of transportation, sustainability initiatives and proximity to nature.

A look inside North Korea through photographs

What does life look like inside North Korea? Get a behind-the-scenes peek through 38 photos in the Atlantic.

A dive into some of the country's stranger Thanksgivings

How did a raccoon intended for the Thanksgiving dinner table end up a beloved presidential pet? History teacher Sharon McMahon’s podcast "Here’s Where It Gets Interesting" takes an episode to delve into some of the more unusual Thanksgivings at the White House, including the Great Cranberry Scare of 1959 and the story of Calvin Coolidge and his "first raccoon," Rebecca.

The American missionary and the uncontacted tribe

When a 26-year-old American missionary set out for a lush island in the Indian Ocean last year, it was with one objective in mind: to convert the uncontacted Sentinelese tribe, who had lived for centuries in isolation, free from modern technology, disease, and religion. John Chau's mission had ambitions for a great awakening, but what awaited instead was tragedy.

Photobombing bird nabs best wedding photo of the year

Just as groom-to-be started in on his vows in the beautiful setting of wild Whistler, Canada, a curious bird alighted upon his dear love's head, and photographer Tara Lilly captured what would become the year's best wedding photograph. See the shot and read the story here.

Why one city in Minnesota isn't on Google Maps

North Oaks, Minnesota, is a city of a little over 5,000 people that spans just nine square miles. It's also the wealthiest place in the state, which is part of the reason it's been able to stay undocumented by Google. In this short documentary, one man attempts to film it himself.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight