Amazing Places Preachers Rock, Preikestolen, Norway Blue Caves - Zakynthos Island, Greece Skaftafeli - Iceland Plitvice Lakes – Croatia Crystalline Turquoise Lake, Jiuzhaigou National Park, China Four Seasons Hotel - Bora Bora Ice skating on Paterswoldse Meer, a lake just South of the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Marble Caves, Chile Chico, Chile The Gardens at Marqueyssac Ice Canyon - Greenland Capilano Suspension Bridge, Vancouver, British Columbia Valley of the Ten Peaks, Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada Multnomah Falls, Oregon Seljalandsfoss Waterfall on the South Coast of Iceland Petra - Jordan (at night) Verdon, Provence, France Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania, Australia Norway Alesund Birdseye of City Benteng Chittorgarh, India Riomaggiore, Italy Keukenhof Gardens - Netherlands. Sky Lantern Festival - Taiwan. Mount Roraima - Venezuela. Seychelles East Iceland. Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. New York City.
China Fences In Its Nomads, and an Ancient Life Withers Photo MADOI, China — If modern material comforts are the measure of success, then Gere, a 59-year-old former yak-and-sheep herder in China’s western Qinghai Province, should be a happy man. In the two years since the Chinese government forced him to sell his livestock and move into a squat concrete house here on the windswept Tibetan plateau, Gere and his family have acquired a washing machine, a refrigerator and a color television that beams Mandarin-language historical dramas into their whitewashed living room. But Gere, who like many Tibetans uses a single name, is filled with regret. “We don’t go hungry, but we have lost the life that our ancestors practiced for thousands of years,” he said. In what amounts to one of the most ambitious attempts made at social engineering, the Chinese government is in the final stages of a 15-year-old campaign to settle the millions of pastoralists who once roamed China’s vast borderlands. Continue reading the main story Not everyone is dissatisfied.
Disappearing Rusty Patched Bumble Bee is One Step Closer to Getting Protection Conservationists have been pushing for protection for a bumble bee that’s disappearing at an alarming rate and are now hopeful that it will get the help it needs as the first bee species to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The rusty patched bumble bee, which can be identified by a rust-colored patch on its abdomen, was once a commonly seen pollinator from the midwest to the east coast, but scientists believe that it has disappeared from 87 percent of its historic range and that its population has declined by a startling 95 percent in just the past few decades. According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation their main threats include pesticides, habitat loss, climate change and disease, but one of their biggest problems now may also be attributed to the spread of pathogens from bees who are raised and sold commercially to wild bumble bees. In 2013, the Xerces Society the U.S.
Rare White Whale Makes Surprise Appearance in New Zealand Scientists got a special thrill this week when they got to experience an unexpected encounter with a rare white humpback whale who made a surprising appearance off the coast of New Zealand. A research team with the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) were out conducting an annual survey of humpback whales in Cook Strait to see how they are recovering after commercial whaling was banned in 1964. The whale they spotted is believed to be Migaloo, which is aboriginal for ‘white fella,’ who was first spotted off the coast of Australia in 1991 and has continued to make appearances there every year. According to a statement from the DOC, two whales were first spotted before the team realized one of them was very much not like the other. “I thought, wow that whale is white, that is amazing!” The white humpback whale with a normal humpback whale. The white whale’s distinctive dorsal fin and spiny protuberances behind the fin. “This is so unique. The white whale’s head.
Morin khuur The morin khuur (Mongolian: морин хуур), also known as horsehead fiddle, is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongol people, and is considered a symbol of the Mongolian nation. The morin khuur is one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity identified by UNESCO. Name[edit] The full Classical Mongolian name for the morin khuur is morin toloγai tai quγur, ᠮᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠲᠣᠯᠣᠭᠠᠢ ᠲᠠᠢ ᠬᠣᠭᠣᠷ, (which in modern Khalkh cyrillic is Морин толгойтой хуур) meaning fiddle with a horse's head. Construction[edit] The instrument consists of a trapezoid wooden-framed sound box to which two strings are attached. The bow is loosely strung with horse hair coated with larch or cedar wood resin, and is held from underneath with the right hand. Traditionally, the frame is covered with camel, goat, or sheep skin, in which case a small opening would be left in back. Morin khuur vary in form depending on region.
Hokkaido Island In Japan Is Home To 7 Unique Animals Hokkaido, the large island at Japan’s northern end, is home to populations of adorable little critters that can’t be found anywhere else in Japan. There are seven cute little critters in particular that you will absolutely fall in love with! Some of these are just subspecies of other more widely-spread critters, while others are unique natives. All of them, however, are cute. Whether it’s for the winter sports, natural sights, unique culture or cute animals, Hokkaido is definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in Japan. More info: Twitter (h/t: rocketnews24) Ezo Momonga The adorable ezo momonga is a type of flying squirrel unique to Hokkaido. Shima-Enaga The Shima-Enaga is a type of long-tailed tit that lives only in Hokkaido. Hokkaido red fox The Hokkaido red fox is simply a sub-species of the common red fox, but we really love foxes, so we won’t miss the opportunity to post a few more. Hokkaido red squirrel Ezo Naki Usagi Iizuna Ezo Fukuro The Ezo Fukuro is a local sub-species of the Ural Owl.
The adorable “sea bunny” - a nudibranch It’s round, and fluffy and has wiggly little ears! Sort of. These little sea creatures, affectionately dubbed “sea bunnies” have recently become social media celebrities. They’re actually sea slugs, and belong to the wild group of mollusks called nudibranchs. The bunny slug species is Jorunna parva, and was first described by the renowned Japanese marine biologist Kikutaro Baba. ダイブストアエグザイル/Video screen capture As for the “ears”—over on Deep Sea News, Dr. Crawl Ray/CC BY 2.0 All nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, which means they produce both sperm and eggs but cannot fertilize themselves. Jorunna parva have a number of different colorings, and are often yellow with black specks and rhinophores. If there wasn’t enough reason to “aawwww” over sea bunnies, the fact that these creatures are incredibly tiny adds extra points to their adorableness score. And in case your day hasn't had enough bunny cuteness from Japan, check out this island full of (land) rabbits.
Traditional Instruments and Music of the Mongolia people - text in English The traditional Mongolian Folk music is influenced by the large variety of tribes, having been united for the first time in the 13th century under the rule of Genghis Khan with Turkish tribes in order to establish the Mongolian people. The nomad shepherds in Mongolia, like other nomads in Central Asia, use to play string and wind instruments. Percussion instruments, though, were only played in connection with Shamanism and Buddhism, the origins of which can be found in Tibetan Lamaism, as well as with the "Tsam dance", which was performed in Mongolia for the first time in the 8th century. - khuuchir - yoochin - yatga - Vocal music - Urtyin duu (long song) - melismatic and richly ornamented, with a slow tempo, long melodic lines, wide intervals and no fixed rhythm. It is sung in verses, without a regular refrain and with a full voice in the highest register. There are three categories of long songs - Bogin duu (short song) - strophic, syllabic, rhythmically tied, sung without ornaments. Dance
lone hero cares for abandoned animals of Fukushima The untold human suffering and property damage left in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan has been well-documented, but there’s another population that suffered greatly that few have discussed – the animals left behind in the radioactive exclusion zone. One man, however, hasn’t forgotten – 55-year-old Naoto Matsumura, a former construction worker who lives in the zone to care for its four-legged survivors. He is known as the ‘guardian of Fukushima’s animals’ because of the work he does to feed the animals left behind by people in their rush to evacuate the government’s 12.5-mile exclusion zone. He is aware of the radiation he is subject to on a daily basis, but says that he “refuses to worry about it.” See more about his work and what he has seen in the exclusion zone below! More info: Facebook (h/t: vice, bbc, aplus) Naoto Matsumura is the only human brave enough to live in Fukushima’s 12.5-mile exclusion zone “They also told me that I wouldn’t get sick for 30 or 40 years.
Nudibranchs - The Flamboyant Sea Slug nicoboxethai/CC BY 2.0 Nudibranch, or what we usually call sea slugs, blow my mind. Ever since spotting one for myself during a tide pool trip about a year ago, I've been fascinated with these creatures. The one I found is a Hermissenda crassicornis -- the flashy little thing pictured below with bright pinkish-orange cerata waving like a feather boa and neon blue outlines around its tentacles. © Jaymi Heimbuch But this is not exactly an example of what all nudibranch look like. prilfish/CC BY 2.0 prilfish/CC BY 2.0 Elias Levy/CC BY 2.0 Bill Bouton/CC BY-SA 2.0 Derek Keats/CC BY-SA 2.0 See what I mean? From Wikipedia:"A nudibranch /ˈnjuːdɨbræŋk/ is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. You read that right -- over 3,000 species and more are discovered all the time. And part of the flamboyance is because they are in coral reefs. Elias Levy/CC BY 2.0 Tchami/CC BY-SA 2.0