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HIGH ABOVE THE AMAZON, AN ECOSYSTEM UNTOUCHED BY TIME

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEO BY RENAN OZTURK

Imagine 1,000 species of frogs discovered in equatorial jungles in recent decades—while up to 200 others have died out. The urgency of identifying and perhaps saving new species—with possible life-saving uses for medicine—helped spur a National Geographic expedition to a wild corner of South America. (Pictured above, an expedition guide navigates a tangle of fallen trees as the team pushes into a remote rainforest in Guyana; below, two species of frogs in the cloud forest.)

LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN VALASEK; RIGHT: PHOTOGRAPH BY RENAN OZTURK

Another lure: the mysteries of the flat-topped mountains known as tepuis—also known as sky islands—that rise from the jungle and poke through the sky. The sandstone and quartzite tepuis are the remnants of an ancient plateau from the eons in which South America was connected to Africa. Giant waterfalls shoot out from their sides.

“Tepuis are like the Galápagos Islands,” says conservation biologist and Nat Geo Explorer Bruce Means, “but so much older and more difficult to study.” (Above, the team on the 40-mile trek through the dense jungle.)

See and read about this arduous journey of discovery, the cover story of April’s National Geographic. (The nine-mile-long east face of Roraima, Guyana’s highest point, towers above the Paikwa River Basin.)

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ONE MOMENT

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ZEB HOGAN

Can freshwater fish be saved? Scientists certainly hope so. This month, a group of them released some of the world’s largest and most critically endangered freshwater fish into Cambodia’s Tonle Sap in Southeast Asia. The lake flows into the Mekong River, home to about 1,000 fish species. Researchers hope the release, which included the five-foot-long Mekong, is the first step in rebuilding fish populations, Stefan Lovgren reports. (Pictured above, Nat Geo Explorer Zeb Hogan and a Cambodian colleague with a giant Mekong catfish.)

The National Geographic Society funded Zeb Hogan’s work. Learn more about the Society’s support of explorers highlighting and protecting critical species.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Tree planting is booming. Here’s how that could help, or hurt, the planet

Can India clean up its holiest river? It will take a village.

The states that want to punish fossil fuel divestment

What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

The 1918 pandemic mistake that changed medicine forever

70 degrees warmer than normal In Antarctica: Scientists are flabbergasted

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE

Panda-monium: The red panda is in the spotlight as of late, as a star of the big screen. Red pandas and giant pandas have similar names, but how similar are the animals? The red panda is more like a fat cat, or red raccoon, than the fluffy, black-and-white animal. So why do they share the “p” in their names? One theory is that the word “panda” is from either the Nepali nigalya ponya (‘bamboo eater’) or paja (‘claw’). One thing is certain: The red panda had the name first. (Pictured above, a six-month-old red panda at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, photographed by Nat Geo Explorer Joel Sartore for National Geographic's Photo Ark project, which aims to document every species of animal living in captivity around the world.)

RED PANDA PICTURES

IN A FEW WORDS

QUOTE

Everyone understands that just walking around the block won’t make you lose 15 pounds on its own but it helps make a difference. I want the environmentalist mental space to make that leap. Just like recycling or developing sustainable practices alone won’t be enough to counter climate change, it’s still needed.

Jonathan Cybulski

Historical and geochemical ecologist, Nat Geo Explorer

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY JESAJA CLASS

‘Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?’ A grizzly pauses along the banks of the Atnarko River in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, where First Nation communities and bears have shared space. A new study suggests that humans and bears once had a closer bond that was based on reciprocity, not fear, Nat Geo reports. Resorts in the Canadian rainforest already offer responsible bear-viewing outings, in accordance with British Columbia rules. Researchers are hoping the findings of the study lead to richer wildlife watching experiences for travelers.

Also: These Indigenous women are reshaping Canada’s tourism industry

We hope you liked today’s newsletter. This was edited and curated by Monica Williams, Heather Kim, and David Beard. Have an idea or feedback for us? Let us know! We appreciate you stopping by today.

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