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THE MADNESS AND MAYHEM RETURN

Thursday, November 18, 2021

In this newsletter, more Tiger King mayhem on Netflix; caracal are making themselves at home in the big city; climate change is shrinking birds; … and Joel Sartore documents 12,000 animals.

PHOTOGRAPH BY HELEN H. RICHARDSON, MEDIANEWS GROUP/THE DENVER POST VIA GETTY IMAGES

By Rachael Bale, ANIMALS Executive Editor

All the odds are in my favor
Something’s bound to begin
It's got to happen, happen sometime
Maybe this time I’ll win

Cabaret’s Sally Bowles singing “Maybe This Time” has been stuck in my head all morning, and that’s not because I just watched the musical (though plausible, because everyone knows I love a good Broadway power ballad). It’s the soundtrack to the Tiger King 2 trailer (caution: bad language), which I’ve watched several times this morning.

Maybe it’s because I woke up with a headache, but thinking about another round of the Netflix docudrama—and all the people who are going to come away from it still idolizing its campy main character, Joe Exotic, makes me want to go back to bed. I truly don’t understand how so many people have looked past his mistreatment of animals and turned him into a folk hero.

My kvetching may sound to some like an “opinion,” but I’m perfectly OK with saying this: Forcing female tigers to breed over and over, passing around young, scared cubs to hundreds of people, and shooting tigers to make room for more (one of the instances that resulted in Joe Exotic’s imprisonment) is objectively a bad thing. Tim Stark, “Doc” Antle, and Jeff Lowe—who also make appearances in the show—have dismal records on animal welfare too. In fact, the ongoing legal cases against them could transform the cub-petting industry, as we reported earlier this year. (Pictured above, two young tiger brothers that were rescued from Joe Exotic’s former zoo.)

I’d like to end on an insightful note, but Liza Minnelli is still belting songs from Cabaret inside my skull, so it’s hard to think clearly. Instead, before rushing to check out Tiger King 2 or Carole Baskin’s new show, check out this story about what Tiger King got wrong, and catch up on the legal woes plaguing the show’s stars. Also, stay tuned for an upcoming story on the conclusion of the government’s case against Lowe.

Subscribers also can read about how tigers in the United States outnumber those in the wild—and why it’s a problem.

Do you love animals and wildlife? Want unlimited digital access to Nat Geo’s animal and wildlife stories and images? Subscribe here.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY @REIKO.ALICE.TAKAHASH I

Where the jellyfish float: Off Kagoshima, Japan, the relatively gentle currents, moderate water temperature, and plentiful plankton attract these beautiful, often stinging wonders. Photographer Reiko Alice Takahashi took this image one evening, removing half of the lens port from the water and setting the underwater stroke to emit light under the surface. One of us at Nat Geo is fascinated/mesmerized by jellyfish—he spent half of a wedding reception at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut watching moon jellyfish push up and float down in their vertical tanks. Here’s more on jellyfish that can sting without touching you.

TODAY IN A MINUTE

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY PHILIP STOUFFER, LSU

Shrinking birds: Climate change is hitting the avian inhabitants of the Amazon. New research shows that 36 of its resident bird species have lost substantial weight, Nat Geo reports. Meanwhile, all the bird species in the rainforest lost body mass, and a third grew longer wings. (Pictured above, a musician wren, one of 77 species researched from 1979 to 2019.)

It’s a law: President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan earmarks $350 million for animal-friendly infrastructure known as wildlife crossings—bridges, underpasses, and roadside fences—designed to prevent roadkill, Vox reports. Crossings include everything from overpasses for grizzly bears to tunnels for salamanders.

Snow leopards die from COVID: Lincoln Children’s Zoo in Nebraska says the deaths of Ranney, Everest, and Makalu, three of their snow leopards are “truly heartbreaking,” the Guardian reports. Two Sumatran tigers also with the virus are recovering.

Horses ‘don’t care at all about medals’: PETA is bracing for a long campaign, continuing its push for all equestrian events to be removed from the Olympic Games, ESPN reports. Horse riding is already on course to being replaced by cycling in modern pentathlon after Paris 2024. Equestrian events at the Olympics include show jumping and dressage.

THE BIG TAKEAWAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO ARK

12,000: Photographer Joel Sartore is on a mission to document 15,000 species living in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries—before some disappear. In September, he added the Arabian eagle owl, the northwest African cheetah, the Arabian sand gazelle, and the critically endangered Arabian leopard to National Geographic’s Photo Ark. While in the Middle East, the Nat Geo Explorer documented species No. 12,000 for the ark. He wasn’t sure which animal set the milestone, so he chose the Arabian cobra (pictured above).

Subscriber exclusive: Why Joel Sartore founded the ‘Ark’ 15 years ago

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAY CABOZ

Life in the big city: Runners and hikers around Table Mountain, overlooking Cape Town, South Africa, are accustomed to spotting Hermes. Believed to be four or five years old, the male caracal has become a poster animal for wildlife conservation around the city, Heather Richardson writes. The felines aren’t in danger of extinction but they do face threats from vehicle collisions.

Subscriber exclusive: Out of the shadows, the wildcats you’ve never seen

Coming tomorrow: A special edition on Nat Geo’s Best of the World 2022—a look at 25 travel destinations for escape, knowledge, spirituality, and extreme (or not-so-extreme) outdoor adventure. Don’t miss it!

This newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Monica Williams, Jen Tse, and Heather Kim. Do you have an idea or a link for the newsletter? Let us know at [email protected]. Have a good weekend ahead.

PREVIOUSLY ON NAT GEO TODAY ...

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