Plus, mysterious monasteries; a king beneath a parking lot; saving domesticated ducks
|  | Wednesday, April 5, 2023 | | | | |
 | | HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY | | The biblical story of an oppressed people fleeing Egypt more than 3,000 years ago has been celebrated since—often by those who have escaped persecution in other lands, too.
The Jewish holiday, which three of four Gospels say Jesus was celebrating at his Last Supper, today often includes mentions of other groups—African Americans who fled the bonds of slavery, even modern-day Ukrainians seeking relief from Putin’s bombs and soldiers. How has the holiday endured? What can all people take from it?
Read the full story here. (Pictured, Moses watches the Egyptians get engulfed by the Red Sea.)
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY THREE LIONS, GETTY IMAGES | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY MAIARA BERTOLUCCI | |
Stick to the stuffed animals: Beyond celebrating Easter with egg hunts and chocolate rabbits, parents often “impulse gift” their children chicks, bunnies, and ducklings. But there's a dark side to these cute presents: Months after the springtime holiday, animal rescuers see an uptick in abandoned adult ducks—many starving to death or dying of illness. (Pictured above, Elsa and Olaf, who were found frozen to a pond on Christmas Eve.)
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 | ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW FAZEKAS
| | April’s Pink Moon: As the sky darkens tomorrow, look for the bright blue-white star Spica next to the moon. It’s the fifth brightest star in the entire heavens, about 14 times the mass of our own sun. And for an even more eye-catching encounter, watch as the waning gibbous moon pairs up with the bright orange star Antares in the south early Monday morning. It’s the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, even though it’s 600 light years from Earth. — Andrew Fazekas
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Beetles, butterflies, and bats: The pine rocklands ecosystem in Southern Florida is home to multiple endangered animals and plants—and Nat Geo Explorer George Gann hopes to protect them (pictured above, a Florida bonneted bat). As part of the recently launched Photo Ark Species Impact Initiative, Gann is the first to receive funding to conserve two of these at-risk species through powerful storytelling.
“The number of rare species in this ecosystem is staggering,” Gann said.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY EDSON VANDEIRA, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION | | Lights out: Light pollution disrupts more than our view of the stars at night—it “seriously impacts” wildlife, too, Nat Geo reports. Birds, insects, and plants rely on natural light cues for when to hunt, forage, and mate. Luckily, there's a simple solution. (Above, the city lights of La Paz, Bolivia.)
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Today's soundtrack: Pink Moon, Nick Drake
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