Beneath the Fin

Sharks are among the ocean’s oldest survivors. They have cruised through Earth’s seas for more than 450 million years — long before the first trees grew or Saturn formed its rings.

Silky sharks in Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina.

Going Up

Every night as the sun slips below the horizon, countless aquatic creatures begin migrating up from the deep in what is quite possibly the greatest show on Earth. Seeking nourishment in shallow water, zooplankton must risk a perilous journey upward, avoiding a gauntlet of predators while remaining in the safety of darkness and then returning […]

The Evolutionary Puzzle of Fish Colors

The wild, psychedelic colors of reef fish are often what first enraptures divers. Is there an evolutionary explanation for why small, tasty animals adorn themselves in vivid colors instead of camouflaging themselves from hungry predators?

Milletseed butterflyfish

Imps of Darkness

IT IS DAY FIVE OF THE VOYAGE, and our liveaboard has finally finished the overnight crossing south from the warm waters of Darwin and Wolf islands to Cape Douglas, Isla Fernandina. Although we don’t travel a great distance …

Galápagos marine iguana underwater

Orcas in Norway

Learn how orcas in Norway adapt their hunting skills to thrive in diverse ecosystems and follow the herring migration.

A freediver photographs an orca

Imps of Darkness

IT IS DAY FIVE OF THE VOYAGE, and our liveaboard has finally finished the overnight crossing south from the warm waters of Darwin and Wolf islands to Cape Douglas, Isla Fernandina. Although we don’t travel a great distance …

Galápagos marine iguana underwater

The Edge of Extinction

I WAS HOOKED THE FIRST TIME I saw a southern sea otter bobbing in the surf off the coast of California’s Big Sur. I didn’t know then that I would be as spellbound by these rare creatures decades later as I was at that very first sighting.

southern sea otter

Birds of the Sea

One of the greatest symbols of wildlife in the animal kingdom, penguins endear themselves with their comical antics and wow us by thriving in unbelievably hostile environments.

king penguins

A Snail’s Tale

AN EDIBLE, SLOW-MOVING ANIMAL that lives in clear, shallow waters doesn’t have a high chance of survival these days. Conchs, specifically queen conchs, used to be widespread throughout the Florida Keys and the Caribbean.

two women snorkelers with a conch

Blue Whales

SHARING SPACE WITH WILD ANIMALS in nature is one of the greatest gifts life has to offer. Maybe you’ve locked eyes with an orangutan in Borneo, or perhaps you’ve watched a clownfish gently tend its eggs on a reef. You may have spied an army of leafcutter ants marching plant clippings back to its colony or peered over the bow of a boat only to catch the gaze of a dolphin.