10+ hour, 14+ min ago   (873+ words) Where it grows: Central Washington in the Columbia Basin, particularly in Douglas, Franklin, Grant and Walla Walla counties. Appearance: Light purple; can grow 12-18 inches tall. Washington Jacob’s Ladder has existed on the Columbia Basin for thousands of years. Now, scientists…...

2+ day, 12+ hour ago   (365+ words) A wildlife center west of Sacramento, California, is expecting a speedy recovery for a river otter brought in Friday morning after the male was hit by a car. The young river otter suffered no broken bones or fractures in the…...

3+ day, 15+ hour ago   (1709+ words) Much like the owls she has long studied, Katy Duffy feels very at home and comfortable while alone in the forest at night, even when the forest is in Yellowstone or Grand Teton national parks where large carnivores like mountain…...

5+ day, 15+ hour ago   (288+ words) From 1976: Roberta Kinley was operating a business called the Hayden Lake Animal Orphanage – and the neighbors were not pleased. “It’s this continual howling and barking that grates on a person’s nerves,” said one neighbor. The orphanage provided “shelter, food, and…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago   (713+ words) Dear Dr. Universe: How can a regular person make a big difference in society? – Zachary, 11, California Butterflies are in trouble. That’s what I learned when I read the first ever complete report about them. It was produced by the Xerces…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago   (510+ words) Dr. Universe: Would it have been possible to domesticate bears instead of wolves? – Florian, Austria Humans have lived in partnership with cats for a long time. The earliest evidence for our friendship is 9,500 years old. Archaeologists found cat and human…...

3+ week, 2+ day ago   (461+ words) As any birder will tell you, the best time to observe birds is early morning. But to get a glimpse of the delightfully weird-looking common poorwill, you’ll have to be a night owl. Denizens of darkness, poorwills inhabit the semiarid…...

3+ week, 2+ day ago   (586+ words) A great egret at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. A sprawling swamp in Georgia on Saturday joined Yellowstone National Park, the Great Barrier Reef, the Taj Mahal and other iconic places around the globe as the latest UNESCO…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago   (360+ words) A newly published satellite image of Antarctica’s frozen tundra captured what looks like the plumage of a humble hummingbird in flight. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, otherwise known as NISAR, is attached to a satellite developed by NASA and a…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago   (177+ words) The Spokesman-Review Local journalism is essential. Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in…...