Mrill Ingram

Motion-triggered cameras show us some unexpected behavior from night life on the wild side.

It all started with a jaguar's butt.

"We got cats!"

A photo posted by Northern Jaguar Project (@northernjaguarproject) on Mar 20, 2015 at 11:29am PDT

This pic of a jaguar's butt, taken by a motion-triggered camera over a decade ago, told a group of wildlife conservationists exactly where they could find jaguars.

That was the beginning of the Northern Jaguar Project, a group that now runs a 50,000-acre reserve dedicated to helping protect the big cats.

Since then, they've collected a lot of great photos of the whole animal.

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Is it wrong to feed wild things?

Over 11 million people liked what he did, but some say it was wrong.

Is this man making a mistake?

João Silvestrini from São Paulo, Brazil, posted a video on Facebook of one of his daily visits from a young swallowtail hummingbird. It's a totally heartwarming scene — he calls from his kitchen window, and the bird slips inside and darts around a feeder. All the while, the gentleman keeps up a string of chatter — to us and to the bird.

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Mrill Ingram

Their wounds belong to all of us.

Photographer David Jay specializes in fashion and beauty, stuff that's "beautiful and sexy — and completely untrue," as he puts it. But that's not all he photographs.

Pictures like these help those of us who remain at home to begin to comprehend the true human cost of war.

This is one crazy life cycle.

Nothing better than singing in the bathroom.

But next time you're in there, take two minutes between songs to look at what you might be using on your face...

...or your teeth.

A lot of personal care products contain itty bitty pieces of plastic.

Surprised?

The good folks at the Story of Stuff did a bit of investigating. What they found might make you think twice about what you're rubbing on your body.

Those little plastic beads become tiny toxic bombs.

Ban the beads!

He offers an incredibly refreshing take — because he works from experience that few other scientists have.

What were you taught about drugs?

Remember hearing about how even just trying an addictive drug once would mean you were hooked for good?

Well that's what Columbia University professor Carl Hart learned in school too.

Most drug users are not addicts, Hart says. Not even close.

So, why do people keep taking drugs, even when side effects are so damaging?

This is the kind of thinking — and science — that U.S. drug policy really needs.

The challenge to improve is coming even from some of the most repressive countries in the world.

Every four years, each one of the 134 member countries in the United Nations gets a human rights review. The U.S. just had its turn.

Guess what? The United States did not get a glowing review.

There's something deeply disturbing about countries often considered to be repressive or violent holding up a human rights mirror for the U.S. to look into.

OK, so maybe it's a bit ironic to have personal freedom protections questioned by North Korea. But country after country echoed the same concerns:

It's a bad report card to say the least. The rest of the world is saying to the "home of the free": You can do a whole lot better. Don't you agree?

It all started with a jaguar's butt.

"We got cats!"

This pic of a jaguar's butt, taken by a motion-triggered camera over a decade ago, told a group of wildlife conservationists exactly where they could find jaguars.

Cameras continue to be really important. The group pays ranchers near the reserve in northern Mexico for photos of live jaguars — the same amount they used to be paid for a dead jaguar.

The motion-triggered cameras have also captured all kinds of animal shenanigans. (Be prepared for jaguars getting it on.)

Like, since when do skunks chase foxes?

And what exactly is that mountain lion going to do with that gourd?

Hey, handsome!

On a more serious note, the conservationists' work is incredibly important for us here in the U.S.: We pretty much no longer have jaguars.

Thanks to the Northern Jaguar Project, at least some people are keeping an eye on the big picture.

Until that border wall comes down though, they're working with local people to create a beautiful, biodiverse home for some of the most gorgeous (and occasionally goofy) creatures on earth.

Sometimes hearing is believing.

We usually learn about climate change from things that look like this:

and this:

But what do a hundred years of temperature change sound like?

A geographer, a composer, and a group of musicians have given us a way to comprehend a changing climate through our ears.

He shows us how art and science work together to beautifully communicate about climate change. Take a listen.

Over 11 million people liked what he did, but some say it was wrong.

Is this man making a mistake?

Some people sharing the video judged him by declaring, "leave wildlife alone." The argument for this is that feeding and taming wildlife sets a bad example and likely does more harm than good.

So, was he wrong?

It's true, feeding animals can be dangerous — and mostly for the wild things:

But feeding them is often our easiest way of making a connection. And as humans, we crave that connection in a big way.

We physically share their space and our lives are really interconnected.

So how should we interact with wildlife? The best answer is "Do it mindfully."

Sharing the world with animals does involve stepping back, but it takes stepping forward too. Thanks for the inspiration João!