Will Gladstone, an amateur birder, was in his 5th-grade science class in Newton, Massachusetts, when he first heard of an eye-catching bird. It’s called the blue-footed booby. The population is declining, he learned. Will decided to raise money to support conservation efforts. As he was brainstorming ideas, his gaze came to rest on his feet, and the idea hit him. Feet, he thought, blue feet! He decided to sell bright blue socks and donate the money to environmental organizations trying to help the birds. His younger brother Matty became his partner. The boys started the Blue Feet Foundation in 2016.
Dance of the Silly Birds
The blue-footed booby is a unique seabird that lives near the Pacific coast, from California all the way to the Galapagos Islands. These goose-sized birds have an impressive wingspan—about five feet (1.5 m) wide. Their distinctive feet are bright enough to send you searching for your sunglasses. During mating season, they like to show off with a unique dance. They lift one blue foot up into the air at a time to give the best possible view. Ornithologists (scientists who study birds) refer to the dance as “foot rocking.” Males whistle as they dance, while females draw attention to themselves by making honking noises. The spectacle transforms them from simply silly looking to laugh-out-loud comical. It’s a sight to behold! The word ‘booby,’ by the way, comes from the Spanish word bobo, meaning “foolish” or “clown.”
Getting the Foundation
Esta historia es de la edición April 2020 de Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Esta historia es de la edición April 2020 de Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.