It's World Oceans Day

KEEP OUR SEAS HEALTHY. LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP.

World Oceans Day

Swimming in trash? That's gross and unhealthy—and not just for you. A healthy planet needs a healthy ocean, but our waters face huge risks from overfishing, climate change, and plastic pollution. Luckily, you can help!

This year's World Oceans Day on June 8 is all about saying "no" to plastic trash—and therefore helping protect the ocean. Check out the tips below to find out what you can do to stop plastic pollution (plus other kinds of planet-harming trash) and save the seas.

Here's what you can do to help:

REDUCE YOUR TRASH

Find ways to reuse, donate, or recycle unwanted items instead of tossing them in the landfill.

RESPECT THE BEACH

Always clean up after yourself and consider participating in a local beach cleanup.

TAKE THE BETTER BAG CHALLENGE

Instead of using disposable bags, grab a reusable tote bag when you go shopping. You can even make one out of reused items, like an old T-shirt!

PLEDGE TO THE PLANET

Choose how you’ll contribute by taking the poll on this page.

"WEAR BLUE, TELL TWO"

Participate by wearing blue and telling others two facts about why the ocean is important and how they can help.

JUMP IN!

Ask a parent to take you to a World Oceans Day event near you.

Click on this photo to "see the facts about blue marlin"

Click on this photo to "see the facts about jellyfish"

Kangaroo

CAN LEAP 30 FEET!

Kangaroo

Name : Kangaroo

Scientific Name : Macropus

Family Name : Macropodidae

Habitat : Grassland, Desert

Classification : Mammal

Diet : Herbivore

Kangaroos possess powerful hind legs, a long, strong tail, and small front legs. Kangaroos belong to the animal family Macropus, literally "big foot." Thanks to their large feet, kangaroos can leap some 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound, and travel more than 30 ​miles (48 ​kilometers)​ per hour​. Kangaroos use their strong tails for balance while jumping.​ They are the tallest of all marsupials, standing over 6 feet (2 meters) tall. ​

​Kangaroos live in Eastern Australia. They live in small groups called troops or herds (“mobs” by Australians), typically made up of 50 or more animals. If threatened, kangaroos pound the ground with their strong feet in warning. Fighting kangaroos kick opponents, and sometimes bite. ​

​Female kangaroos sport a pouch on their belly, made by a fold in the skin, to cradle baby kangaroos called joeys. Newborn joeys are just one inch long (2.5 centimeters) at birth, or about the size of a grape. After birth, joeys travel, unassisted, through their mom’s thick fur to the comfort and safety of the pouch. A newborn joey can’t suckle or swallow, so the kangaroo mom uses her muscles to pump milk down its throat. At around 4 months, the joey emerges from the pouch for short trips and to graze on grass and small shrubs. At 10 months, the joey is mature enough to leave the pouch for good. 

Besides humans and wild dogs called dingoes, kangaroos face few natural predators. Heat, drought, and hunger due to vanishing habitat are the biggest dangers kangaroos face.

New Frog

LOOKS LIKE KERMIT

New Real-Life Frog Looks Like Kermit

Calling all Muppets fans: A new species of see-through frog looks just like Kermit. The lime-green amphibian has bulging white eyes with black pupils, much like those of the famous frog puppet. Dubbed Diane's bare-hearted glass frog, the inch-long (2.5-centimeter) amphibian is the first glass frog to be discovered in Costa Rica in over 40 years.

SEE-THROUGH STOMACH

"Glass frogs" are a group of frogs with translucent bellies. Found in Central and South America, these amphibians live high up in tree canopies near streams and creeks. They come down from the treetops when it's time to mate.

The lack of stomach color is still a mystery to scientists. But they think the green coloration on the newly discovered frog's back might help the nocturnal creature stay hidden during the day, when it snoozes while clinging onto the undersides of leaves.

 

FROG VS. FUNGUS

The newfound frog lives in eastern Costa Rica's mountainous forests, which range in elevation from 1,300 to 2,500 feet (400 to 800 meters). It's the altitude at which a deadly fungus called chytrid is most widespread. Chytrid attacks the skin of amphibians, suffocating its victims.

Since the 1980s, several frog species have disappeared from Costa Rica and other parts of the world because of the fungus. Frogs are also threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation. Luckily scientists are working hard to stop the fungus from spreading. They’re also creating breeding programs to maintain the populations of certain frog species threatened by chytrid.

That’s good news for the Diane’s bare-hearted glass frog. What’s more, this amphibian is drawing many fans because of its Kermit-like looks. That’s got to make it a little easier to be green!

Prairie Dog

SO CUTE! THEY GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH NOSE-TO-NOSE NUZZLES.

Prairie Dog

Name : Prairie Dog

Scientific Name : Cynomys

Family Name : Sciuridae

Habitat : Grassland

Classification : Mammal

Diet : Herbivore

Prairie dogs may bark like dogs—that's how they got their name—but the little guys are rodents, not canines.

CUTE ALERT

Up to 15 inches long, the prairie dog is related to the squirrel. And this mammal is all about family time. Prairie dog family groups, which contain up to 26 individuals, share food, groom each other, and even greet one another with nose-to-nose nuzzles.

COUNTRY HOME

Prairie dog families live with hundreds of others in networks of tunnels dug below North America's grasslands. Most of these communities, called dog towns, cover less than half a square mile. But one in Texas stretched a hundred miles!

How are prairie dogs able to construct these rodent residences? The animals' sharp claws make them expert diggers. They also have excellent vision and hearing, which allow them to easily detect predators such as coyotes and snakes when aboveground. Once a prairie dog senses danger, it alerts others by barking. It even uses different barks for different enemies.

OUTDOOR RECESS

When hungry, prairie dogs emerge from their tunnels to forage for food. Using their sharp teeth, they act like little lawnmowers, trimming and gulping down grass. Outside, they also have some fun: Prairie dog pups enjoy romping around their burrows. Talk about party animals.

Brown Bear

WINTER HIBERNATOR

Brown Bear

Name : Brown Bear

Scientific Name : Ursus arctos

Family Name : Ursidae

Habitat : Grassland, Mountain

Classification : Mammal

Diet : Omnivore

As winter approaches, brown bears—often called grizzly bears—prepare for a long hibernation. During the fall, a brown bear eats practically around the clock, stocking up for the four to seven months when it'll have to live off stored body fat. A grizzly may chow down on 90 pounds (40 kilograms) of food each day. 

As the cold swoops in, the fattened bear waddles into a den among rocks or one it dug out among tree roots. The female brown bear enters her den pregnant with one (sometimes two or three) baby bears. Mama bear doesn't even wake up as her blind and hairless cub is born midwinter. The tiny bear, about the size of a chipmunk, is just strong enough to crawl into a position where it settles in to nurse. A female brown bear's milk is very rich in fat and calories, so the cub grows quickly. ​

​By the time the adult grizzly wakes up in the spring, her baby is strong enough to follow her out of the den. Cubs live with their mothers for up to three years, and then they're usually ready to face life on their own.

Narwhal

TOOTHY WHALE

Narwhal

Name : Narwhal

Scientific Name : Monodon monoceros

Family Name : Monodontidae

Diet : Carnivore

Long, white tusks break the surface of the icy Arctic water. It’s not a waterlogged herd of unicorns—it’s a pod of narwhals! This species of whale is best known for its tusk—a long, spiraled tooth that usually only the males develop. (Females occasionally do.) The tusk can grow to 9 feet (3 meters) long and weigh more than 22 pounds (10 kilograms).

MYSTERY TOOTH

Scientists don’t know exactly why narwhals have tusks—though they might be used to impress females or fight other males. But tusks are more than battle swords—they're packed with nerves and covered in tiny holes that allow seawater to enter. This gives tusks a sensitivity that could help narwhals detect changes in their environment such as temperature or even the water's saltiness. Clues like these might help narwhals find prey or survive in other ways.

REAL-LIFE UNICORN

Narwhals' Arctic habitat makes them difficult to study, and scientists still have plenty to learn about them. These unicorns of the sea might be mysterious, but they're certainly no myth.

Meet Sparklemuffin

NEW PEACOCK SPIDER FOUND

Say Hello to Sparklemuffin

Photograph by Jurgen Otto

If you don't think of spiders as cute and cuddly, then you've never met Sparklemuffin. Scientists have identified the adorable arachnid as one of three recently discovered species of peacock spider in eastern Australia.

Less than a quarter-inch (five millimeters) long, male peacock spiders are known for their bright colors and flashy mating dance. These colors—like the vibrant red and blue of Sparklemuffin's stripes—make it easy to tell the difference between species. Many female peacock spiders, though, look alike, even to the males.

So how do peacock spiders like Sparklemuffin—a pet name given to this new species—break it down? When a female is nearby, the male begins his dance by raising the third pair of legs from his front and waving them around. Then he unfolds the flaps over his belly and waves those around. As the female comes toward him, he starts shaking and rolling his body, sending vibrations through the ground that the female can sense.

Fifty-three species of peacock spider, which are found only in Australia, have been named so far. But photographer Jürgen Otto thinks many more are waiting to be discovered. Because not many scientists are studying these spiders, he says photographers and nature lovers will probably be the ones to find new spiders. We can't wait to see what name they come up with next!