Bears Repeating
Autumn in Alaska is stunning. The leaves change color, baby bald eagles leave the nest, and brown bears feast on salmon swimming upstream. The autumn is a crucial time for bears to fatten up before winter’s hibernation. And in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, the fattest bear wins, literally. Fat Bear Week has become an annual tradition, as voters choose their favorite bear, with before-and-after pictures illustrating the transformation—yet another stunning sight of autumn.
Watch as Brown Bears Go Fishing for Pacific Salmon
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All About the Brown Bear Family, Which Includes the Grizzly
© Art Wolfe—Mint Images/Getty Images
Enter the World of the Kodiak Bear, the Largest Carnivore on Earth
© Richard Fitzer/Shutterstock.com
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Consider the Octopus
Sunday is World Octopus Day, celebrating those smart sinewy cephalopods that have captivated our imaginations for centuries. Here are just a few of the facts that make them such fascinating denizens of the deep.
Camouflaged
The common octopus has highly developed pigment-bearing cells and can change its skin colors to an astonishing degree and with great speed. The giant Pacific octopus can reportedly change color in one-tenth of a second, quickly blending in with rocky and coral surroundings.
Inking for a fight
They don’t just hide. When alarmed, an octopus may shoot swiftly backward by ejecting a jet of water from its siphon. But when endangered, they’ll eject an inky substance, which is used as a screen—and some species can even produce ink that paralyzes the sensory organs of the attacker.
Very handy
Like the common octopus, the veined octopus is known for its intelligence. In 2009 biologists reported having observed the animals excavating coconut half-shells from the ocean floor, and carrying them to use as a portable shelter.
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