As the the online natural history editor for National Geographic’s daily news website, I am the guru for anything animal. (My favorite? It’s a tie between the dung beetle and the coyote.)
In my free time, I travel—and often write about my adventures for the Washington Post. I’m happiest roaming abroad—I’ve been to more than 40 countries and reported from six continents, including Antarctica.
My Antarctica trip led to my first book, South Pole, which chronicles Robert Scott’s 1912 expedition to Antarctica. I am also the author of a National Geographic magazine special issue, “Science of the Supernatural Revealed,” published in 2015.
I co-founded and help administer the D.C. Science Writers Association’s Newsbrief Award, which recognizes excellence in short-form science journalism.
I have a masters degree in journalism with a specialty in environmental reporting from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and an undergraduate degree in environmental science and policy from University of Maryland, College Park.
I love pretty much anything outdoors—especially downhill skiing, hiking, and cycling and visiting the many historical wonders of my home, Washington, D.C.
You can email me at rueparadis [at] gmail.com..
Christine Dell'Amore 
why is the dung beetle your favorite…
Thanks for your question! Beetles are my favorite type of insect, since they are so widespread and are generally friendly. I like dung beetles in particular because of their odd lifestyle—rolling poop!
Christine: Have you written a book re: your today`s 5o States of Being?..I`ll be interested in buying..love history,travel.,we did the “Oregon Trail”…thanks..
Ramon Garcia
703 256 8460
I haven’t written a book, but that’s a great idea! Thanks for saying you would read it!
I read your article on the Lincoln Highway and it brought back memories of when I was a teenager (I’m now 86).
I used to listen to a radio program which I think was called simply “The Lincoln Highway”. They had stories about people traveling on it. It was a must for Saturday mornings.
Thank you for writing your article.
Thanks for your comment Patricia! I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I had no idea there was a radio program about the Lincoln Highway, that is so neat. I can imagine people listening to it and getting ideas for their own trips. Best wishes, Christine
Enjoyed your recent article about Hueco Tanks Historic Site. I would encourage you to contact the Rock Art Foundation (rockart.org) about attending their Annual Rendezvous in Oct. A 3 day event and you camp on their property…where the Pecos River meets Lake Amistad. 100-150 people attend. The rock art (pictographs) are awesome! This is the only way you can visit some of the many sites in the area. Basis for an outstanding story.
Thanks for the note, Bob, and for letting me know about the Annual Rendezvous. Does sound like a good story—I go to Texas fairly regularly. Best, Christine
What got you interested in the Bog People? I read your article in National Geographic and it inspired me to do a project.
Thanks for your comment Brooklynn! I actually learned about the bog people while I was covering a conference in Copenhagen last year. What intrigues me most about them is there’s so much mystery surrounding their identities—who were they? Why were they sacrificed? I was also fascinated by the scientists who are using sophisticated techniques to figure out their identities, like testing strontium isotopes in their teeth. That story was one of the most highly engaged stories of the year for us!
Love the Washington Post article Travel section about vacationing an bugs. I too love to travel and I can relate to many of the experiences you shared, burning sensations, excessive swelling, unusual spots. Had six bites around my eye one time. An evening toe dip in Hawaii landed me in the ER twice fortunately at the end of my trip. My whole lower arm turned purple, swelled to the size of a football after a bee sting. I too am never without a collection of repellant sprays. The good news, we recover.
Thanks Tracy! Sorry about the ER visit, that sounds terrible. I got about 20 bites this week just from being outside in downtown D.C.—can’t wait until fall! 🙂 But yes, agree with you the good news is we recover. Maybe someday they’ll make a bug-bite vaccine!
I came across your article on making stem cells into eggs. I was hoping you could shed more light on what stage this process is at. Like is it still just an idea or is it being tested or being used a lot. I have a condition where I have no eggs and I was hoping that this could be a solution for me. If you could respond or email me at Sarah_lepisto@yahoo.com with all the information you think would be helpful for me that would be so great! Thank you for your time!
-Sarah❤️
Hey Sarah,
Thanks for your interest in my article! I would suggest you contact the study’s lead author, Jonathan Tilly, at jtilly@partners.org, for updates on his research.
Good luck!
Best
Hi Christine,
I want to say, that ever since I watched and now have read about the distemper disease spreading in the large cats, I’ve been besides myself.
Please just pass this on. I’m just a guy from Oklahoma. I have no experience with animals except for my Dautchaund Yorkie mixed and adopted dog. You have written and done so much research and discoveries about this phenomenon. I hope this help and is possibly a source of the illness passed to cats.
I’ve noticed that sometimes when the babies are rescued, they are put with a surrogate mother. Sometimes it might be a dog. Nursing on the K9 mother until they are onto solid foods. Eventually once graduating from the rearing process, they are sat free again, back to the wild. Instinctively they will find their way back to other cats and…???…???
This is just a guess. I just was hoping you could pass this on.
My daughter is a journalist for the LA times and loves her job. I know and can tell that you enjoy your also.
Thank again,
Jason Branson
PS.
Sorry I didn’t proof read this. I just skimmed over it. I fat finger my iPhone when I type. 😕
Thanks for your nice note, Jason! I’m glad you are keeping up with news about distemper and big cats, even if it is unpleasant. That’s great that your daughter is a journalist—we are a shrinking lot! Do you know about Panthera? They are a great big-cat conservation group: https://www.panthera.org/get-involved
Best
Christine
Greetings Christine,
My name is Zachary Obrigewitch. I am currently studying media/news coverage imbalance at North Dakota State University. I am conducting a content analysis of news coverage of North Dakota, at a national scale. I have noticed, and appreciated that you have covered this great state. If you have time, I would greatly appreciate a response to the following question as a reference to my continuing research.
How do you prioritize filling the daily “News Hole” with the news of smaller news markets, like the Midwest?
Thank you for your time:)
Zachary Obrigewitch
North Dakota State University
Hey Zachary,
Yes, I wrote a story about North Dakota last year—I visited Theodore Roosevelt NP. Can you send me an email to rueparadis@gmail.com with more details on what you need for your class project?
Best
Christine
Hello Christine,
I liked your Feb 2017 article about Shadow Cats. Thanks to your article I now know it was most likely a Pallas’s Cat I saw in the Afghan Panjshir Himalayas. It was quite similar to the one on page 114, only darker in color. I saw it at an altitude of somewhere between 9,000 and 12,000 ft running across rocky terrain. We had been above 13,000 ft that day and were on our way down when I saw it. I didn’t know what to think of it at the time and just silently enjoyed watching it (even considered I might have been seeing things – due to the altitude and being out all day with little sleep the night before). Later I was unable to find any information of anything similar to what I saw, and so it remained a mystery for me until now. Now with your article, I’m pretty sure it was a Pallas’s Cat that was there that day.
Thanks again,
Bryce
Hi Bryce! Thank you for taking the time to contact me. Your email made my day. I’m jealous you got to see a Pallas’s cat in the wild in Afghanistan — what an incredible moment that must have been! It’s such an odd-looking cat I would have wondered what it is, too! I’m really glad this article is spreading the word about these under-appreciated animals. You may enjoy this video of young Pallas’s cats that a source sent me during my research. They really do scuttle around like crabs!
Thank you for your service,
Christine
Hello Christine
Y have a question fr you:
Year ago, National Geographic passed a video of an expedition to Antarctica (late 1800 or early 1900) in which a sailboat was trapped in the ice and its captain to demonstrate courage and raise the morale and the spirit of the crew climbed on top of a crosspiece of the mast with his bare torso and stood on his head and then descended smiling from his feat.
Cold you tell what expedition it was and the name of the captain?
Thank you very much for your help.
Hello christine,
I really liked your article “How Wild Animals Are Hacking Life in the City”. I am a architecture major working on my thesis and was looking at the possibility of making the urban environment more thoughtful and welcoming to nature and natural ecosystems. I would love to get more information on these ecosystems existing in cities, how they work, ways they can be improved etc. Thank you
Thanks David! I’m intrigued by the urban environment and wildlife too. I suggest you get in touch with Chris Schell at UC-Berkeley—he has a lot of good resources on urban environments.
Hello christine,
I really liked your article “How Wild Animals Are Hacking Life in the City”. I am a architecture major working on my thesis and was looking at the possibility of making the urban environment more thoughtful and welcoming to nature and natural ecosystems. I would love to get more information on these ecosystems existing in cities, how they work, ways they can be improved etc. Thank you
Hi Christine
I run a sale event for Caravans in Switzerland in April 2022 and it would be nice if your picture of Arizona, the natural rock formations in Upper Antelope Canyon, as appeared online today in the Washington Post, will be part of a pictures gallery, citing your name.
Your comment?
Thanks and regards
dubi@goto.ch
Hello, thanks for your message! I didn’t take the photographs in the Antelope Canyon story, so you’d have to reach out to the photographers on the credit for approval.