EXCLUSIVE: 500 baby sharks to be released in unprecedented mission

RJ Hamster

1 year ago

Thursday, March 16, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we watch the first of hundreds of sharks get released into the wild; discover that Venus is volcanically active … and learn how Catherine became great. Plus, happy National Panda Day.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID DOUBILET AND JENNIFER HAYES

Scientists are trying something new—a massive effort to ward off extinction by releasing hundreds of sharks reared in tanks back into the sea.

In Indonesia, a 15-week-old zebra shark named Charlie is pioneering an attempt by aquariums to save fast-disappearing sharks. Experts say this effort might even work—and end up saving many other shark species, too. So which species are next?

Read the full story here.

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Meet Kathlyn: At top, scientist Nesha Ichida releases a young female named Kathlyn into Indonesian waters just 20 minutes after Kathlyn’s sibling, Charlie, swam into the wild. Above, a female juvenile shark named Aubrey cruises a sea pen in Indonesia. The images were taken by Jennifer Hayes and Nat Geo Explorer David Doubilet. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY NASA/JPL

Stunning new find shows that Venus is volcanically alive (above, a simulated view of the volcano Maat Mons)

How a stranger’s kindness during WWII helped give us the Big Bang Theory

Reduce inflammation with these foods

What archaeologists say about the real Jesus

Think someone’s lying? Here’s how to tell.

What made Catherine The Great so, um, great?

The truth behind 5 St. Patrick’s Day symbols

A wooden ship under this potato field may be the biggest Viking discovery of the century

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY KENDRICK BRINSON

Attitude, outlook, and longevity: Eating well and staying active have proven health benefits—and so does positive thinking, according to science. Like members of the Sun City Poms pictured above, those with positive mindsets about aging have better self-efficacy and self-mastery, and regulate their impulses in order to live a longer life, Fran Smith reports for Nat Geo.

LIVE LONGER

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY AMI VITALE

Panda repopulation: Giant pandas used to roam freely in China, Myanmar, and Vietnam; they’re now found in maybe 1 percent of their historic range, Nat Geo reports — but they’re on the mend.

“Some local people say giant pandas have magic powers,” says Zhang Hemin aka Papa Panda (pictured), who directs many of China’s panda conservation efforts. “To me, they simply represent beauty and peace.”

Learn more about how China breeds these gentle giants—and the problems the bears face when they’re released into the wild.

PANDAS, PLEASE!

Today’s soundtrack: Baby Shark by Pinkfong
Correction: Yesterday’s newsletter mischaracterized the excavation of a 1,200-year-old burial ship in Norway. It was
the first intact Viking ship discovered in decades and declared a “hundred-year find” by archaeologists.
Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Hannah Farrow, and Jen Tse. Let us know what you think and send us story ideas
here. Have a friend who might want this newsletter? Here’s the signup.

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