3 Incredible Interspecies Moms

With Mother's Day on the horizon, we've become a tad sentimental about how amazing mothers are. Check out the squee-inducing evidence that motherhood knows no (species) bounds.

A cat nurses baby squirrels:

A monkey bottle-feeding a tiger:

6 of America's Most Dangerous Hiking Trails

With temperatures rising, many of you are gearing up for a vacation with family or friends. You might be dreaming of the world's most stunning canyons or America's newest monuments, but we know that some of you are also looking for a serious challenge this year. For those who are brave enough, prep those hiking boots, gather your supplies, and tackle some of America's most challenging and scenic hiking excursions.

Mist Trail, Half Dome, California

Tucked away in world-renowned Yosemite National Park, the Mist Trail attracts thousands of visitors every year to climb to Half Dome's 8,836-foot-high peak. Hike through beautiful pine forests, bustling waterfalls, and what seems to be a vertical staircase before reaching the steel cables that will take you the last 400 vertical feet to the top of the dome.

Even with cables to assist, the final ascent to Half Dome requires extreme strength and is only for the brave at heart. Without the cables, the hike to the summit of this beautiful landmark would be virtually impossible. And even with this assistance, there have still been unfortunate causalities on this Californian adventure. Since 1995, six deaths have occurred at Half Dome -- one when a hiker was attempting to pass other climbers on the cables.

5 Fascinating Animal Mating Behaviors

We'll assume you've gotten the birds and the bees talk, so without ado: Animals reproduce, usually (though not always) through sex. And while that might evoke scenes of cuddly coitus, à la March of the Penguins, procreation isn't always so pretty. It can be strange, scary -- even downright deadly. But behaviors that might seem bizarre in the boudoir are actually completely normal in nature. Today we bring you five fascinating animal mating habits and explain why natural selection might sometimes favor the kinky. 

Banana slugs:  They might look cute, but these bright yellow critters, which inhabit damp, coniferous forests along the north Pacific coast of the U.S., take tough love to a new level. They’re also enormously endowed. As an adult, the banana slug measures roughly 6 to 8 inches in length -- and so can its penis when erect. The organ emerges from a genital pore on its head.  Since slugs, like their snail cousins, are hermaphrodites, the banana slug also has female organs.

Banana slugs begin their tryst with some rough foreplay, lunging, biting, and hitting one another with their tails. Then they curl around each other, like two chubby, slimy commas, and insert their penises. Sometimes one partner gives sperm while the other receives, but usually they exchange sperm. The partners can remain enjoined for several hours. Normally, they then retract their organs and crawl on their merry way. But things can take a grisly turn.

Green Stars: 5 Luxury Eco-Hotels and B&Bs

With the summer months fast approaching, many of us are starting to plan vacations with family or friends. But wait! Before you book that five-star hotel room, did you know that hotels contribute more than 60 million tons of CO2 emissions annually? U.S. hotels spend over $7.5 billion on energy and generate 1.9 billions pounds of waste each year. Thankfully, there are some amazing alternative lodging options for the more environmentally concerned. And they don't require you to sacrifice that five-star, luxury ambiance. Best of all, they are located in vibrant locations, surrounded by tons of eco-activities.

Conservation Art: Jane Kim's Migrating Murals

Mt. Williamson Motel in Independence, California, might be the only place in the world where you’re guaranteed a glimpse of the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, one of the country's most majestic -- and elusive -- creatures. Although conservation efforts have helped boost the numbers of the endangered species, only about 500 of them exist today.

A mural of an adult bighorn standing amid the rugged Sierra Nevada bedecks one side of the motel. On the other, a second mural illustrates the sheep's growth stages, from prancing lamb to regal ram, crowned with iconic spiraled horns.

"Not everyone can physically see them, but they can see life-size paintings of them," San Francisco-based artist Jane Kim said of the sheep, which she grew "obsessive" about sighting during a fellowship with the Sierra Nevada Research Institute. The field biologists she shadowed rarely saw the animals, even through their spotting scopes.

Kim finished the Mt. Williamson Motel murals late last year as part of the first installment of her Migrating Murals project to paint endangered wildlife along their migration routes. Mt. Williamson Motel sits at the edge of Highway 395, which roughly follows the bighorn's seasonal trek.

Merging scientific detail with artistic insight, Kim's murals inform as well as enthrall. For her, science and art have always gone hand in hand. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003, she found herself frequenting science museums more than art museums. As she leafed through National Geographic and academic journals, she dreamt about her own illustrations filling their pages.

In 2009, Kim decided to get her science illustration certificate at California State University, Monterey Bay. More than conveying scientific data, she wanted tell stories about science.  

"The visceral connection, the draw of people becoming fascinated with a certain topic because they saw a really beautiful piece of artwork that made them shift their perspective on something -- I thought it could be such a powerful tool to providing new information to a new demographic," Kim said. Ideally, everyone, even those without a scientific background, would understand her drawings.

Kim's love for wildlife began at an early age. Growing up in suburban Chicago, she felt "a lack of connection" with people but felt a deep kinship with animals. She routinely begged her parents for pets and underwent "phases" of drawing a single type of animal.

"At one point I had my bear phase, and then I had my dog phase, my horse phase," she recalled, laughing. "There was a moment where I was really obsessed with sculpting and painting horses, and then I had a fish phase." During her bear phase, she decided to move to California because of the grizzly on its state flag.

In high school, Kim began filling her portfolio with human anatomical and medical illustrations. But it wasn't long before she returned to her first love -- animals. "I actually find more connection with animals than with people," she explained. "There's something just so beautiful about wildlife that you can't find in anything else."

If all goes as planned, Kim will finish the fourth and final Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep mural in October.  Future Migrating Murals will showcase the North Pacific blue whale, whooping crane, and coho salmon. Kim hopes that her art will help raise awareness about these species, a crucial first step toward conservation. Ideally, her art will also foster community, with cities potentially creating programming around the murals, such as bike races or field trips. "I'd really love to see these murals create that opportunity and have that lasting connection," she said.

Read More:

Nature Art: Keeping a Nature Journal

John Muir: Sketching in the Sierra

Nature Art: Fish Printing by the Chesapeake Bay

Garbage Art and the Environment

(Photos © 2012 Cody Tuttle Media, All Rights Reserved)

Melissa Pandika is an editorial intern at Sierra and a graduate journalism student at Stanford University. Her interests include environmental health and justice, urban environmental issues, and conservation biology. She has a soft spot for cetaceans.

5 Nature-Inspired Innovations

The shifting hues of squid skin, the stickiness of gecko toes, the self-cleansing of lotus leaves. Understanding these and other natural phenomena can yield not only fascinating biological insights, but also fresh solutions to today’s most pressing environmental challenges. Biomimicry — applying the design of natural systems to human problems — has gained momentum in recent years. Last August, the San Diego Zoo opened its Center for Bioinspiration, which works with companies and research institutions to translate zoo scientists’ findings into practical applications. Taking cues from nature makes sense. Plants and animals have a 3.8 billion year head start on scientists in adapting to natural pressures, whether that involves using sunlight efficiently or keeping cool in hot, arid climates. Here’s a look at five biomimicry advances that emerged within the past year.

A Moose and His Girl

The "Survive" department in the March/April issue of Sierra is "Moose Romance," the tale of trail-runner Sallie Shatz's frightening encounter with a pair of amorous moose in Utah's Wasatch range. Our expert commentary was from Matt Heid of the Appalachian Mountain Club, author of Best Backpacking Trips in New England, who knows from moose. "If a moose approaches you, it's generally trying to drive you off because it sees you as a threat," he says. "In most situations, retreat immediately."

Fresh from her encounter with Bullwinkle, Shatz forwards the following clip from the movie Alaskan Moose: A Journey With Giants, "the greatest ode-to-moose movie ever made," according to the Anchorage Daily News. The clip was shot by moose biologist Vic VanBallenberghe, who warns viewers not to try this at home: The woman here raised the moose from a calf, something you also would not want to try at home. Nevertheless, it is quite touching:

 

PAUL RAUBER is a senior editor at Sierra. He is the author, with Carl Pope, of the happily outdated Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress. Otherwise he is a cyclist, cook, and father of two. Follow him on Twitter @paulrauber.

READ MORE:

PHOTO GALLERY: Animal Families

The 178-Day Hike Across America

VIDEO: Bear Rescue Mission

7 Amazing Animal Musicians

From frogs chirping through the night to whales humming across the oceans, nature is full of fantastic music. Not all of it sounds pleasant to the human ear, of course (the droning of cicadas can cause ear damage at close range, and even crickets can wear out their welcome), but it's hard not to admire the way animals make such complex and astounding noises.

There's more to animal calls than just taking a deep breath and hollering. Some animals play their bodies like instruments, and others make sounds that humans need machines to pick up. To highlight some of this diversity, we've compiled a list of 7 unusual animal sounds, some of which make music that seems almost... philharmonic.

Mother Nature's 7 Animal Orchestra

Winter Vacation: 5 Migration Destinations

As the days grow shorter and colder, as the trees shed their leaves and the nights grow frostier, we wouldn't blame you for dreaming of travelling to a more clement climate. Where would you spend the winter, if you could? Hawaii? Mexico? Or maybe you'd rather just hole up in the basement? Well, a lot of animals are one step (or wingbeat, or flipper-flick) ahead of you.

So, whether you're a bird or a worm, listen up. Here are  5 of the most popular vacation destinations. . . for wildlife.

Winter Hibernation Quiz: Which Animal Are You?

For humans, life goes on as usual during the winter, but that's not the case for a few of our furry — and not so furry — animal friends. Some animals hibernate during the winter as a response to the lack of food and warmth their geographical environment offers during this cruel season. Do you ever wish you could take a very long nap when the going gets tough?

Take our quiz to find out which animal you most resemble and learn some cool facts about the critters who enjoy winter siestas.

Quiz: Which Animal Are You?