Cafe Nature

he White Salmon River in Washington state is flowing again as the nearly 100-year-old Condit Dam was disabled with explosives Wednesday. The reservoir draining took about 2 hours. Further demolition is scheduled in 2012. The event is a significant milestone for river restoration and dam removal nationwide.

Captain Dave Anderson of Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, California, at great personal risk, has recently filmed and edited a 5-minute video that contains some of the most beautiful, jaw-dropping, footage ever taken with a drone from the air of a huge mega-pod of thousands of common dolphins stampeding off Dana Point, California, three gray whales migrating together down the coast off San Clemente, California, and heartwarming close-ups hovering over a newborn Humpback whale calf snuggling and playing with its mom as an escort whale stands guard nearby, filmed recently in Maui.

Guillaume Nery base jumping at Dean's Blue Hole, filmed on breath hold by Julie Gautier.

This is what happens when a coke can meets some flowing lava.

A striated caracara, intrigued by our spy egg-cam, decides to fly off with our camera but in the process captures the first ever aerial footage of a rockhopper penguin colony shot by a flying bird.

Shot with Canon C100, Canon 70-200 F2.8, Canon 1.4 TC.

"Car L" meets the lions. The remote controlled 4x4 camera buggy gets up close and personal as it is stalked by this curious pride of lions in Botswana.

Rich & Laura Howard celebrated their 20th Wedding Anniversary in La Paz Mexico at Costa Baja Resort/Spa. Their dive with the friendly resident sea lion colony was interrupted when whales dropped by.

What do you get when you combine a lightweight, high-definition GoPro camera and an eagle? One of the best YouTube videos I've seen all year. At one point in your life, you've likely seen a bird flying and wondered what it would be like to have the opportunity to soar. This POV is likely the best we'll get to experiencing that rush. This particular video was shot in Chamonix near the Mer De Glace (Sea of Ice) - the longest glacier in France.

A giant ant colony is pumped full of concrete, then excavated to reveal the complexity of its inner structure.

Fog rolling over the long range mountains and burning off as it moves over Lark Harbour, west coast of Newfoundland

What is your theory about why there are holes in the cocoon?

You'd think a snail wouldn't be much threat in the sea, but the cone snail proves deadly to unsuspecting fish.

Paul Nicklen describes his most amazing experience as a National Geographic photographer - coming face-to-face with one of Antarctica's most vicious predators.

The FLIP (FLoating Instrument Platform) is a research vessel that can rotate to a vertical position. It is currently owned by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

In Variables, Patagonia ambassador Kimi Werner strives to find her place in the ecosystem. She treads the line between predator and prey - eventually discovering balance in an unlikely place.

This fall, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Geographic are bringing the Birds-of-Paradise Project to the public. Get an advance look now...and witness diverse strategies of evolution at work and experience one of nature's extraordinary wonders - up close.