Great BIG Nature showcases the wonders of nature.
Our award-winning stories spark conversations, shift perspectives, and inspire new ideas, helping to not only shed new light on our planet’s most pressing environmental challenges, but to also drive change! We tell stories that matter!
Wonderful photo of Great Gray Owl.
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Photo: Ken Nguyen
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A stunning moment captures a Mozambique spitting cobra (Naja mossambica) unleashing a stream of venom into the air. This highly venomous snake, known for its defensive instincts, can spit venom with remarkable accuracy, reaching up to 60 cm from its fangs.
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In a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B., researchers adapted the famous "marshmallow test" for marine creatures, challenging them to forgo a less preferred food (prawns) in favour of a delayed but more desirable meal (live shrimp). Common cuttlefish demonstrated the ability to delay gratification, a skill traditionally associated with humans and other highly intelligent animals (primates, crows, and parrots.) Researchers speculate this ability evolved to help them survive their predator-filled environments, where breaking camouflage to forage requires careful timing and precision.
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Learn more: royalsocietypublishing.org/.../10.../rspb.2020.3161
Image: IRC
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The fight is on!
Churchill, Manitoba., Canada / Nov 2024.
Photo: Brian Keating
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Hera the European roller has seen some stuff. This is her journey over the last nine months, ending just before Christmas 2024.
*Red Line – Spring Migration (departing South Africa)
*Yellow Line – Autumn Migration (returning to South Africa)
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White abalone once numbered in the millions, their populations stretching over 800 miles from the shores of Santa Barbara, California to Punta Abreojos, Mexico. By 2017, only about 2,000 isolated survivors remained along California’s coast, where the species is considered functionally extinct.
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Photo: John Burgess
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Meerkat love! ... See MoreSee Less
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The pink fairy armadillo is like a fuzzy caterpillar crossed with a lobster. It’s the smallest species of armadillo at about 13 cm (5 inches) in length. Living in the sandy plains of South America, it’s also known as the sand swimmer, thanks to its ability to quickly navigate the subterranean sands. Their unique pink colour comes from blood being pumped into their shell for thermoregulation, which helps them maintain a steady core temperature in the hot, arid climate.
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Sunset on beach at Manuel Antonio National Park / Costa Rica.
Photo: Bryan Smith
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Sometimes called “the cockroaches of the sea”, European green crabs have the distinction of being listed as “one of the 10 most unwanted invasive species in the world”. They were first transported to the North American east coast over 2 centuries ago in the ballast of wooden merchant ships. They have been spreading ever since, arriving on our own west coast in the 1980’s. Why have they become such a problem? They left all their natural controls back in Europe, whatever they are. Having done so, their numbers have grown exponentially and unchecked. With voracious appetites so they outcompete other species. They rip up eelgrass, a critical habitat for salmon fry & other fish, basically laying to waste the coastal waters from California to Alaska. To make matters worse, the females can produce up to 185,000 babies at a time! If we can’t beat ‘em, can we eat ‘em? They are too small to manually shuck. Mechanical means of extracting the meat is being investigated, but there are some exciting natural controls that are making the news right now. I’m talking otters. Sea otters, to be specific. Nearly wiped out from 150 years of slaughter, sea otters are returning. At one bay in California, 150 otters, (up from 20 just two decades ago), are eating up to 150,000 invasive green crabs a year! A trap set in in the early 2000’s would catch 100 crabs a day, now those same traps hardly catch 5. The eelgrass hasn’t looked as lush and extensive as it does now in decades. The biodiversity has increased, the water is clearer, and the coastal ecological health is excellent. The otters have locally solved a problem that has plagued that part of the coast for years. Green crabs are not entirely gone, but researchers suggest that they may be “functionally eradicated”, which may be enough to avoid any major environmental impacts. It’s good demonstration that bringing back the top predators - not just marine mammals like otters, but also large fish & birds of prey - can make a huge difference.
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Photos: Brian Keating / Hans Hillewaert
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A pair of Great Egrets mating, return annually to a rookery nestled just outside of downtown Dallas, Texas. Great egrets' nests are typically unstable platforms, made of stems, sticks, and twigs. Great egrets rear one brood of chicks a year. The female lays the eggs, after which both parents take part in the incubation for 23-24 days. An average egret clutch contains 3 to 4 eggs.
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Photo: Nicole Land
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