THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT BOB

January 5, 2023
by RJ Hamster

Thursday, January 5, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we’re bringing back Flamingo Bob, seeing the beauty in pigeons, and catching a snacking southern ground hornbill in the Serengeti. Plus, we find even brief exercise could extend your life … and taste the hardy grapes that may survive climate change.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASPER DOEST

Once in rough shape, Bob now enjoys breakfasts of caviar, dips in his own saltwater pool, and gets biweekly foot massages on the beach. Bob is a bit of a star these days, teaching kids and inspiring people worldwide after recovering from slamming into a hotel window.

Oh, about that: Bob (pictured above) is a flamingo.

He’s at the center of one of the most beloved Nat Geo stories in recent years, which we’re bringing back for today’s National Bird Day.

Read the full story here.

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Winged educator: Bob often appears before schoolchildren. At this school on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao, an eight-year-old listens to Bob’s heartbeat as he is held by veterinarian Odette Doest. “When Bob starts flapping his wings,” says Doest, cousin of photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Jasper Doest, “children start to flap their arms, and so do grown-ups.” She tells the kids about the plastic pollution and discarded fishing gear that harm the flamingos. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

How the body accumulates ‘zombie’ cells as we age. They never die.

No time to exercise? Just 5 minutes could make a big difference.

How soldiers stumbled upon a 2,400-year-old tomb on the battlefields of WWII

For centuries, the resting place of this lavish biblical villain was hidden. No more.

The natural, maximum human life span is 125 years. Will science get us there?

Poached for its horn, this rare bird struggles to survive

Animal cannibalism is more common than you think

What sugar and fat do to the body

Prone to motion sickness? This may help.

What color is the moon? We studied 48 hues. See them!

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLIE HAMILTON JAMES

Snap! This southern ground hornbill opens and closes his beak to eat a locust in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. Nat Geo Explorer Charlie Hamilton James captured the moment as part of our story on the challenge to birds and other animals in the Serengeti. The rise in endangered bird species prompted the Avian Welfare Coalition to create National Bird Day to raise public awareness and to promote action to help. The day is celebrated every January 5 in the U.S.

PROTECTING THE SERENGETI

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAKE NAUGHTON

Grapes to the rescue: What might save the booming wine industry in Baja California from the ongoing 20-year “megadrought”? Grapes that Spanish missionaries lugged across the Atlantic 500 years ago. With little to no irrigation, hardy misión grapes (a ripe bunch, above) produce triple or more grapes than other popular varieties. And the wine? Surprisingly delicious—one vintage was light bodied, gently fruity, and slightly herbal.

ANCIENT GRAPES,
FINE WINE

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE

Who knew pigeons were beautiful? We found a few of the most striking of more than 300 varieties of the bird often derided as “rats with wings.” Several species are vulnerable to extinction, including the Scheepmaker’s crowned pigeon (photographed above by Nat Geo Explorer Joel Sartore). “It’s past time the lowly pigeon gets its coo,” writes Jason Bittel. Do you agree? Let us know.

BEHOLD, THE PIGEON!

Today’s soundtrack: Flamingo, Duke Ellington

This newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Sydney Combs, and Jen Tse. If you’d like our daily newsletter, sign up here.

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RJ Hamster

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THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT BOB

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT BOB

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