WWF Travel Blog

Monarch butterflies migrate from Canada and the U.S. to the center of Mexico. © Kevin Schafer / WWF-Canon

SPECIES

• The number of Monarch butterflies in the Midwestern United States is decreasing, because of less milkweed. That is likely one reason the number of Monarchs migrating to the central Mexican highlands each winter have decreased over the past 17 years.
   
• Sea ice loss from climate change is causing polar bears to swim longer distances to find stable ice or to reach land, resulting in greater risk to their cubs, according to a new paper co-authored by WWF expert Geoff York.

PLACES

• What’s it like to be immersed in the land of the midnight sun in the Arctic? An assistant producer with BBC describes the experience on BBC Earth’s always-excellent “Life Is” blog.
   
• The Travelers Zone runs down 15 of the grandest canyons on the planet, including Copper Canyon and gorgeous one in Namibia and several in the Western United States.

HUMAN-WILDLIFE INTERACTION

• Who knew elephants were such scaredy cats? Scientists helping desperate farmers in Kenya protect their crops from nighttime elephant raids came up with an ingenious natural solution – fences made of beehives. Apparently, one of the world’s largest mammals is afraid of honeybees.
   
• Whale researchers from Great Whale Conservatory were exploring Baja’s Sea of Cortez when they discovered a juvenile humpback tangled in fishing lines. They spent hours freeing the whale, using the one knife they had on board to cut the net away. How the whale showed its appreciation was akin to a miracle – all captured on this amazing video.

CONSERVATION

• After years of lobbying by WWF and other conservation groups, a new bill will improve protection of biodiversity in Guyana.
   
• WWF celebrated Mozambique’s strong engagement in conservation initiatives by delivering a “Gift to the Earth,” its highest award for publicly applauding a significant conservation achievement. Mozambique’s president accepted the award last month.

MISCELLANY

• The first aircraft to zip from North America to Europe using biofuel touched down safely in Paris earlier this summer, Green Traveler Guides reported. The biofuel is derived from camelina, a “dedicated energy crop” that does not compete in the food chain.
   
• One of my most valuable possessions is a postcard I mailed myself from the Amazon, from the airport at Iquitos. We’re all about being modern and techie on the road, but there’s something so special about sending and receiving postcards. Call us old school, but we agree with Vagabondish writer Isabel Eva Bohrer about why writing postcards is worthwhile.

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