Excited to chat about raccoon domestication on Soundside at KUOW Seattle! 🦝 omny.fm/shows/sounds...

🦇🦍🦉 Do you root for the weird, wild, under-appreciated species of the world? The slime molds and sunflower stars; the cormorants and caddisflies? So do we. And we need your help! A donation of any amount goes straight to supporting narrative journalism about biodiversity. Pls spread the word! 🐢🐛🌵

With Trump pushing offshore oil drilling, including around St. Matthew Island (alaskapublic.org/news/politic...), it's a great time to re-up my story about oil and the origins of western marine science in Alaska, and how long-term monitoring helped reveal a different kind of oil "spill" there:

CITES, an international body governing the trade of endangered species, is meeting this week to decide which species get protection. But how do they decide, and what gets left behind? www.biographic.com/triaging-the...

Guess whose story was mentioned on @colbertlateshow.bsky.social! 🦝 youtu.be/seMjC8vSLFY?...

With tiny hands rummaging through rubbish, raccoons are showing early signs of domestication 🗑️🐼 My latest for @sciam.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/racc...

I, for one, welcome our new trash panda overlords. But for real, fascinating science on how we might be seeing the very early stages of domestication in action in wild animals. 🧪 By @marinacoladas.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social

Beaked whales are the most elusive large animals on the planet. They live offshore, dive deep, and are nearly impossible to distinguish from each other visually. But with acoustics and genetics, scientists finally have inroads on how to study these mysterious whales. 🐬🔍 nautil.us/hunting-the-...

We’re doing this work because we believe that informed and inspired people will build a better relationship with the natural world. And we intentionally produce bioGraphic for regular people—not just politicians or professors—because it’s regular people, everywhere, who push our societies to change.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is the world's largest agreement overseeing wildlife trafficking. Yet hundreds of species slip through the cracks. What gets protected? And is there a systematic solution? 🦌🐼🐯 www.biographic.com/triaging-the...

You absolutely need to know about this fish that has Forehead Sex Teeth 🧪

In an alternate universe, I am an epidemiologist. What can we learn about animal burrows when we train cameras on them? Who visits them? Many curious animals and, well, that could be worrisome: www.biographic.com/aardvark-bur... 🧪🦤🌍 #conservation #biodiversity

Filled with blubber, a beluga’s melon is squishy with good bounce. They can make different shapes and movements with these fat stores, and scientists documented how different wiggles are used for communication. #ThrowbackThursday to possibly my favorite comic. hakaimagazine.com/videos-visua...

Bird poop is rich with nutrients and has a huge impact on the environment, yet scientists know next to nothing about scat at sea. Rearview poopcams strapped to shearwaters reveal a lot about these fowl movements. My first for @audubon.org! www.audubon.org/magazine/poo...

There’s an exciting new poop paper, and @marinacoladas.bsky.social is on it. www.audubon.org/magazine/poo...

Tiny backpacks in giant hummers 🥹 www.audubon.org/magazine/sci...

It feels like we're going backward, but there are hopeful projects underway, like the MPA network off the British Columbia coast. If done right, it “could be a real, meaningful model for reconciliation” with First Nations. My latest in @biographic.bsky.social. www.biographic.com/welcome-to-t...

#ThrowbackThursday My first story for Hakai. 👻🐻‍❄️ hakaimagazine.com/news/to-a-sa...

Note to freelancers: I'm open to pitches for @nationalobserver.com! We pay pretty well, and we're flexible with timelines for assigned stories. I don't need a long pitch — think 2 paragraphs — but please give an idea of what your story is. Some recently published freelance pieces:

My first story for New Scientist! 🐬 Turns out it's not just humans that like feeding other animals. The tables have turned.

It’s not just humans that love feeding other animals! A new study documents killer whales trying to feed seabirds, rays, and fish to humans. The behavior shows that kindness and curiosity are more than just human traits. 🐬🍽️ www.newscientist.com/article/2486...

In remote forests of west Africa, wildlife traffickers are filling orders for hundreds of hornbill skulls. The bulbous-billed birds are protected in Asia, but conservationists now worry the market has shifted to African birds. My latest for @nautil.us nautil.us/the-hornbill...

Each summer, we publish the best shots from the BigPicture Photography Competition, along with the stories behind the shots. From self-heating plants to land-dwelling fish, this year's winners highlight the remarkable diversity of life on Earth. Take a look 👇 📸 🧪

Uji, the world's top destination for matcha, has sold out of the green tea powder. Have tourists taken the matcha madness too far? 🍵❌ A couple of my observations from Japan, for BBC Travel. www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

You'd think that with a grapefruit-sized eyeball, humpbacks would be able to see the nets they swim in to. But a dissection shows why whale vision may not be so simple. My latest:

So excited for first story with @sciam.bsky.social! Baby pilot whales have been spotted swimming among a pod of orcas three times now. But were the interactions predatory or playful? 👶🐬🤷‍♀️ www.scientificamerican.com/article/icel...

This team puts so much thought and effort into each story they put out. In this day and age, it's so important to support deeply researched thoroughly reported journalism.

📣 Today, we’re launching the Insiders program for recurring donors. Your support helps us continue publishing in-depth journalism free from ads, paywalls, and AI-generated content. You choose the amount, and every little bit helps. Join us: bit.ly/430NTrR

Back from traveling around Asia and ready to hit the ground running with freelance work! I write a lot about wildlife and the environment, with the occasional fun travel story. Also happy to do fact-checking. Any interested editors hit me up :). 🧜‍♀️ @thenarwhal.ca @thewalrus.ca

My first story for bioGraphic! Schaus' swallowtail are critically endangered. Scientists worried they would be wiped out by a hurricane, but the species are surprisingly resilient.

Happy Lunar New Year! 🧨🏮 Here annually to plug this article: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lio...

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This yearly roundup is way better. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/25/s...

Even though we’ve had 6 months notice, it feels strange, surreal, and so sudden that Hakai Magazine has come to a close. I’m eternally grateful for the wonderful people I’ve had the privilege of working with, and there’s so much that I’m going to miss.

Today is my last day with @hakaimagazine.com. They gave me one of my first breaks as a freelancer nearly a decade ago, and I've had a relationship with them ever since. It's bittersweet to say goodbye, but I'm excited for the next chapter. Here's a 🧵 of some stories I've worked on over the years

Hakai/bioGraphic's official fundraising campaign may be over, but there's never a wrong time to sign up to support independent, science-based journalism. www.biographic.com/hakai-magazi...

Some fun with killer whale research. How do we know who is who, and which population they belong to? Nicely done, @marinacoladas.bsky.social! hakaimagazine.com/videos-visua...

My latest comic: 🎨

These are my nudibranch chopstick rests.

ICYMI, Hakai Magazine will be joining forces with bioGraphic. But we need your help to hit the ground running! Please help us raise $150K by Giving Tuesday on Dec 3. We’re a little over a third of the way there, and no amount is too small. 🐳💙 www.biographic.com/hakai-magazi...

African penguins can distinguish each other from the speckles on their chest. By @marinacoladas.bsky.social hakaimagazine.com/videos-visua...

Humpback mothers and calves prefer inshore habitats, but in Hawaii, vessel traffic is driving them into deeper waters where predators and threatening male humpbacks lurk. By @marinacoladas.bsky.social. hakaimagazine.com/news/humpbac...

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Wow, we're excited to have so many new followers! Here's a look back at some of our favorite stories over the years (a 🧵): A well-preserved whale barnacle is the perfect time-traveling tracking device. 🐋 ow.ly/eM1B50IQrgh

The Hakai Team has been working tirelessly to find a new home, and it's finally happening! @hakaimagazine.com and bioGraphic will be joining forces. But we need your help! If you're able, please donate. No amount is too small. 🐳🧜‍♀️💙🙏

POV: You're a salmon and you get eaten by a spirit bear because it looks like a cloud in the sky. -a throwback to my first story @hakaimagazine.com hakaimagazine.com/news/to-a-sa...

"The real ecological magic happens when sunlight strikes a cloud of whale crap. This can trigger a bloom of phytoplankton—the base of most marine food chains." 🐳💩 hakaimagazine.com/news/craftin...

Whale feces adds nutrients, sequesters carbon, and helps form the basis of the marine food chain. It’s so valuable that scientists are working to mimic it. 🐳💩 By Sandy Ong. hakaimagazine.com/news/craftin...

Flocculence: resembling wool, especially in loose, fluffy organization. My latest comic:

Excited to share my latest comic! 🦭💓