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THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT BOB

RJ Hamster

BEAUTIFUL… PIGEONS? VIEW ONLINE
THERE’S SOMETHING
ABOUT BOB
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.

Please consider getting our digital report and magazine by subscribing here, for as little as $1 a week.
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.

Related: A hot pepper surviving Italy’s extreme heat waves
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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