The low number of remaining Florida panthers has led to severe inbreeding. But now, genes from Texas pumas are helping to save them from extinction.

Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison uncovered a critical flaw in how lunar and Martian rovers are tested on Earth. Simulations revealed that test results have been misleading for decades because researchers only adjusted rover weight to simulate low gravitybut ignored how Earths gravity affects the terrain itself. Using a powerful simulation tool called Chrono, the team showed that sandy surfaces behave very differently on the Moon, where theyre fluffier and less supportive.

As far as English folk tales, myths, and legends go, few figures have held as much sway in the imagination as Robin Hood. The tale of a figure who stole from the rich and gave to the poor has captured the hearts of many over the centuries and has been told and re-told, time and time again. In this article, we will discuss the origins of Robin Hood, and why his story became so popular during the Middle Ages.What Is Robin Hoods Story?Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, woodcut print by Thomas Bewick, 1832. Source: State Library of New South WalesFor those readers who might be unfamiliar with who or what Robin Hood is, or what he represents, this following section will explain the context behind the legendary English folk hero.Robin Hood was a highly skilled archer, typically dressed in green. He gave to the poor, by stealing from the rich. The moral conundrum of the tale focuses on the question of theft: is theft still as bad a crime when he is stealing from those with so many resources to give to those with so few?Many characters are also typically featured in Robin Hoods adventures: his primary nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood is based largely in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England), his band of outlaws known as the Merry Men, and his lover, Maid Marian. Other characters who sometimes feature in different depictions of Robin Hood include Little John, his right-hand man, and Friar Tuck, a monk. These characters help to both legitimize and create debate around the moral conundrum of theft: should a man of the church be assisting someone who is committing a sin according to the church? Or should he be using his religious position and alms to help the poor?Depending on which version of the Robin Hood tale is being told, some real-life characters appear in the tales: in Disneys 1973 animated movie, the king depicted is a reference to King John, and he is shown to be greedy and corrupt. Some other tales reference King Richard III. The kings who are typically depicted in Robin Hood tales are generally those who were negatively perceived at the time (and many still are), which makes the reader further support the hero of the story: Robin Hood.All of the moral lessons from Robin Hood give us a good insight into the medieval mind and how different acts were perceived.Robin Hood: The Origins of the StoryLittle John and Robin Hood, by Louis Rhead, 1921. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe first origins of Robin Hood are incredibly hard to trace. The earliest references to the name come from 13th century England, where names including Robehood or Robbehood occur in English judicial records, in reference to criminals being charged. As early as this the name Robin Hood was associated with being a criminal.However, some tales use the surname Hood as a reference to the fact that Robin was a hoodmaker, rather than being named for wearing a hood. In many illustrations and paintings, Robin Hood is instead depicted wearing an archersstyle hat, rather than a hood to conceal his identity. This reflects the fact that Robin Hood was likely painted to be a working-class hero or a peasant.Again, this was not always the case, though: in some of the oldest versions of the tale, dating back to the 13th century, Robin Hood was initially described as a member of the yeoman class, rather than a peasant. This also suggests that even the yeomen felt aggrieved by greedy tax collectors and kings, and it would make sense why even from a yeomans perspective, stealing from the rich under the guise of distributing to the poor was a positive ideal.Robin Hood the Crusader?King Richard the Lionheart marrying Robin Hood and Maid Marian, a plaque outside Nottingham Castle. Source: Wikimedia CommonsOne of the most interesting interpretations of Robin Hood from the Middle Ages is that he was a crusadera soldier who had been on one of the Crusades to the Middle East to fight for Christendom.The Crusades were greatly celebrated in the later medieval imagination; tales of heroes who fought for England and St George, rather than the bloody horror shows that actually took place, thousands of miles from Englands green land, and took the lives of countless soldiers.But why was Robin Hood specifically portrayed to be a crusader in the early years of the tale? One reason is that, as mentioned earlier, the kings in the tale were often those who were less well thought of. In this case, Robin Hood was deemed a national English folk hero, having fought on the Third Crusade alongside King Richard I, the Lionheart. Once again, this harks back to the notion of Robin Hood supporting the good (in this case, Richard the Lionheart, Christendom, Christianity) and turning against the bad (the Infidel, Islam).Another early interpretation is that in the absence of the good King Richard I who was on crusade, and while England was under the control of Richards younger brother, John, Robin Hood turned to become an outlaw, as a means of protesting against King Johns high taxation rates and general poor rule. This folklore figure was a way for contemporaries to reflect their feelings toward various rulers through literature and artRobin Hood was, in this case, arguably a reflection of popular feelings towards King John and King Richard I.Robin Hood and Real-Life ComparisonsNottingham County flag depicting Robin Hood. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAs with most popular folk tales, myths, or legends, there is often an element of truth to the tale. This is also the case with Robin Hood.As discussed, there were popular depictions of Robin Hood as a moral man in a sinful world, as well as those depictions of him being a heroic crusader, making him out to be the idyllic English hero, fighting against the bad King John.An example can be found in John de Verduns Scotichronicon, which was written between 1377 and 1384, and revised by Walter Bower around 1440. A reference to Robin Hood follows de Verduns passage explaining the defeat of Simon de Montfort in 1266, where Robin Hood is named as a fighter for de Montforts cause, rather than the royal cause.Many historians since have presumed that this reference to Robin Hood is based on the real-life outlaw of Sherwood Forest, a man named Roger Godberd. Little is known of Godberd save that he was from the Leicestershire area, lived in the 13th century (the East Midlands, bordering Nottinghamshire), and traveled around the country with a band of men, known to be bandits.While Godberd may well have been the inspiration behind the medieval image of Robin Hood, what is most interesting about Bowers reference to Robin Hood in the 15th century is it still portrays him as an outlaw of sorts: he was a rebel against the king, who at that time was King Henry III.This adds a further layer of interest to interpretations of Robin Hood because Henry III was not a king who was greatly feared, nor was he a king who was particularly disrespected, either.Other Interpretations of Robin Hood in Medieval EnglandRobin Hoods Progress to Nottingham, by Thomas Bewick, 1792-5. Source: The British MuseumIt was not just the East Midlands that Robin Hood was restricted to in Berkshire, as early as 1262, a man who had been outlawed was given the surname Robehod. This suggests that either Robin Hood originated in Berkshire in the mid-13th century, or, more likely, that the folk tale had been around for some time before this.Even earlier than that, in 1226 in the Assizes of York, a man named Robert Hod is the earliest name representing anything similar to Robin Hood. Hod became an outlaw after stealing goods amounting to 32 shillings and 6 pence. The following year, he was known as Hobbehod and after 1230, records show that he was referred to as Robert Hood.Finally, there was another Robert Hood who was documented as living in the forests of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in the early 14th century. It is presumed that this was the same man who is referred to as Robyn Hode under the employment of King Edward II of England in 1323, following his deferral from supporting the Earl of Lancaster after the Battle of Boroughbridge which Edward II won in 1322.All of these interpretations of Robin Hoods origins certainly hold their own weight and they all document the same principle: an outlaw (or, at least, a political rebel) with a name similar to Robin Hood. All suggest that the tale had been told frequently throughout medieval England by the early 14th century and that the figure of Robin Hood was well-known before any theatrical performances or ballads came along from the 15th and 16th centuries onwards.Final ThoughtsStatue of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England, photographer unknown. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe story of Robin Hood is one of the best-known medieval English folk tales. Depending on the interpretation, he could have been a crusader, who returned to steal money from the rich and give to the poor. Or, he could have been based on a real-life figure from medieval England, an outlaw with a group of bandits. Or perhaps, he was a combination of the twoeither way, the tale of Robin Hood has become one of the best-told stories in English folklore, and will undoubtedly remain that way for centuries to come.

In September 1803, when Aboriginal Tasmanians first encountered British colonists and Tasmania was still known as Trouwunna, Aboriginal society was organized into nine separate nations. The term nation was first used in 1875 by colonial ethnographer G.A. Robinson (1791-1866), and is still the one preferred by Aboriginal Tasmanian communities today. Several clans formed each nation, and although each clan was the Traditional Custodian of specific territories, no clan owned the land nor maintained exclusive rights to its resources. Today, we only know the name Europeans assigned to each nation. Their ancestral names have been forgotten.The Big River NationScientist and an Aboriginal ranger collecting a sample of Gwion Gwion rock art in Northern Kimberley, photograph by Sven Ouzman. Source: National Museum of AustraliaIn his Tasmanian tribes, historian Rhys Jones describes a nation as the grouping of clans which lived in contiguous regions, spoke the same language or dialect, shared the same cultural traits, usually intermarried, had a similar pattern of seasonal movement, habitually met together for economic and other reasons, the pattern of whose peaceful relations were within the agglomeration and of whose enmities and military adventures were directed outside it.Some historians believe that there were between 70 to 85 clans on Tasmanian soil in 1803. Others maintain they were at least 100. Clans tended to have at least two names: the one they identified themselves with and the one that neighboring clans assigned them. Although not the largest by population, the Big River Nation was the largest by territory. They stretched across 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles), including four rivers, the highest mountains on the island, the Great Lake, and many other smaller lakes for a total shoreline of 240 kilometers (82 square miles).The people of the Big River Nation relied on eucalyptus trees to build huts and spears, 2017, photograph by David Clode, 2017. Source: UnsplashLike the Ben Lomond Nation, the Big River Nation was landlocked and had no direct connection to the sea. Its clans maintained friendly relations with the North West Nation on the west coast and the Oyster Bay Nation on the east, which gave them access to the sea on both sides of the island. Moreover, the river banks provided them with birds for hunting, the plains were abundant with kangaroos, and they could rely on the numerous eucalyptus trees to build huts and spears. In December, people would collect mutton-bird eggs from the rookeries along the northern coast, on the ancestral lands of the North West Nation, the North Nation, the North Midlands Nation, and the North East Nation. Salted carcasses ensured their survival in winter. All of this changed with the arrival of pastoralists in the 1820s.In the aftermath of the Black War, many Aboriginal leaders were sent into forced exile on Flinders Island, painting by John Skinner Prout, 19th century. Source: National Museum of AustraliaThe Big River Nation, along with the Oyster Bay, South East, and North Midlands nations, witnessed the sharpest and most dramatic decline in its population, largely because of colonial violence and not European-imported diseases. As settlers erected fences for their sheep, clans were increasingly prevented from gathering food or hunting on their ancestral territories. They fought back, plundering settlers huts for flour, digging up potatoes from their gardens, and sometimes burning their crops.In her Tasmanian Aborigines, historian Lyndall Ryan writes that in the period from 1 December 1827 to 19 March 1828 the settlers in the Clyde police district reported twenty attacks from two Big River clans. One of the Big River Nations most active and respected leaders was Montpelliatta (1790-1836), who led raids and attacks before and during the Black War. Like other Aboriginal leaders, he was sent into forced exile on Flinders Island.The Southern NationsNew Town, Hobarts oldest suburb, was established in 1804 on lands of the South East nation, photograph by Nico Smit, 2021. Source: UnsplashTo the south, the Big River Nation shared a border with both the South West Nation and the South East Nation. The South West Nation comprised four clans: the Ninene (the Custodians of Port Davey), the Mimegin (Birchs Inlet), the Lowreenne (Low Rocky Point), and the Needwonnee (Cox Bight). They had close relations with their northern neighbors and like them, they lived in small villages of beehive-shaped huts. Their diet comprised mainly seafood (shellfish, crayfish, and seals), as well as small animals like wombats and macropods.Overall, the ancestral lands of the South West nation stretched along the coast for about 450 kilometers (280 miles), sharing the northern border with the North West Nation. Given the remoteness of their lands, they were among the last to come into contact with British invaders, mainly lumberjacks logging Huon pines at Birchs Inlet and Payne Bay.The Aboriginal name of Bruny Island, home to the Southeast nation, is lunawanna-allonah, photograph by Patrick McGregor, 2021. Source: UnsplashIn the early 1820s, a whaling station was established around Port Davey. Around the same time, a penal settlement was set up at Macquarie Harbour, and a pilot station at Cape Sorell, on the ancestral lands of the South West Nation. The impact of colonialism was devastating. According to Lyndall Ryan, by 1830 its population had declined to 60 from a previous average of 200-300.The people of the South East Nation were the most maritime in Tasmania. Hobart was built on the lands of the Mouheneenner Clan. In the summer months, clans converged at Recherche Bay where they would hunt kangaroos, possums, and seals. Ryan notes that they also used to gather shellfish and a variety of marine and terrestrial vegetable food and to conduct shallow-water scale fishing at night with lighted torches.In November, people from various clans congregated at Bruny Island. Back then it was known as lunawanna-allonah and its Custodians were the Nuenonne people. Truganini (1812-1876), who for decades was believed to be the last Aboriginal Tasmanian, belonged to the Nuenonne clan.The Northern NationsThe North East nation is the Traditional Custodian of Binalong Bay, a small coastal town at the southern end of the Bay of Fires, photograph by David Clode, 2018. Source: UnsplashBecause the ancestral lands of the North East Nation included 260 kilometers (161 miles) of coastline, Aboriginal historian Patsy Cameron calls them the Coastal Plains Nation. Members of the North East Nation didnt need to travel as much as other clans and nations, because their lands were rich and bountiful. The region was one of estuaries and lagoons, and the diet of the people inhabiting it consisted of both meat (they hunted ducks, swans, and mutton birds) and fish. They often relied on controlled burns (firestick farming) to hunt emus, wallabies, and kangaroos.By 1815, people of the North East Nation had developed strict and (unsurprisingly) complex relationships with European sealers. In some cases, they married Aboriginal women and settled down with them on the many islands separating Tasmania from mainland Australia in eastern and western Bass Strait. Today, they are known as Straitsmen. Their Aboriginal wives called themselves tyereelore.The mountainous rainforest to the south separated the North East clans from the North Midlands and Ben Lomond nations. The people of the North Midlands Nation were among the first to come into contact with the British in 1804 and were and are the Traditional Owners of both the inland and coastal country.They had access to the sea in the northern part of their ancestral lands, around the Tamar River and the Tamar Valley, where they were bordered by the North and North East nations. Their inland lands stretched as far west as the Great Western Tiers and Quamby Bluff and as far south-east as Tooms Lake, which marks the border with the Oyster Bay Nation. Campbell Town was established in 1821 on the lands of the Tyerrernotepanner clan, who staunchly resisted the settlers encroachment on their lands, particularly in the 1820s and 1830s. Most of them died miserably at Oyster Cove and Wybalenna.Cattle herd in Australia, 1940s. Source: National WWII MuseumThe ancestral territory of the Ben Lomond Nation was centered around Ben Lomond Mountain (or Turapina, as it has been known for centuries among Aboriginal people). While the northern border was marked by rainforest, the rest of their territory was covered in forests alternating with open plains and savannah woodlands. Their country was landlocked, meaning it had no access to the sea, although its clans had foraging rights with neighboring nations. Walter George Arthur (1820-1861) was the son of a chief from the Ben Lomond Nation.Estimates suggest that the North West Nation was the second largest in terms of population. It comprised eight clans, making up between 400 and 600 people. Their ancestral lands extended along the north coast, from present-day Cape Grim to Macquarie Harbour. They encompassed Robbins and Hunter islands, where people would go to catch mutton birds, seal, and collect abalone shells, which they would then place around their small wells for travelers to drink from.Ochre mine at Lyndhurst Ochre Quarry, north of Adelaide, photograph by Michael Skopal, 2021. Source: UnsplashThe North Nation is today known among historians as the Ochre Nation. It comprised four clans, which were the Custodians of several ochre mines at St Valentines Peak, Gog Range, Mount Vandyke, and Mount Housetop. All of them were connected by a system of ancestral tracks that people kept clean and open by applying a carefully planned system of controlled burns.In the 1830s, the North West and North clans fought hard against the Van Diemens Land Company (VDL), the farming corporation that was partly responsible, among other things, for the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger. In 1825, the colonial government granted VDL more than 200,000 hectares to graze sheep between Port Sorell and Cape Grim, including several ochre mines and kangaroo hunting grounds sacred to the local Aboriginal clans and, most importantly perhaps, necessary to their survival.The North Nation also had to defend their lands from another powerful enemy, the cattle barons in the east. The Pallittorre Clan was the one who suffered the most. In the late 1820s, they fought strenuously to protect the Western Marshes, one of their kangaroo hunting grounds. They carried out several attacks against the colonists properties, stealing bags of wheat, flour, and salt, and then destroying what they could not take away. Many of them were massacred in reprisal killings. With the help of the 40th Regiment, heavily armed stockmen killed about 100 of them over four nights in January 1827. In 1826, the North Nation counted around 400 people. In 1830, fewer than 60 could be accounted for.Oyster Bay NationWineglass Bay is home to the Oyster Bay Nation, photograph by Lochlainn Riordan. Source: UnsplashThe Oyster Bay Nation was the largest in terms of population. It consisted of at least ten clans and counted between 700 and 800 members. Their territory ran along the east coast from the Derwent estuary to St Patricks Head, including the River Derwent, the mouth of Jordan River, the so-called York Plains, and Crown Lagoon. The first British settlement on Tasmanian soil was established at Risdon Cove, on the east bank of the River Derwent, in 1803.A family of the Moomairremener Clan was the first to sight the first British ship at Risdon Cove in September 1803. The ship, under the command of Lieutenant John Bowen of the Royal Navy, carried 49 people (including male and female convicts, three families, and naval surgeon and magistrate Jacob Mountgarrett). In February 1804, a group of Moomairremener and Nuenonne saw two more ships on the River Derwent.Australian Aborigines stalking emu, drawings attributed to Tommy McRae, ca. 1885. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThis time they carried some 200 British colonists. Among them, there were 100 male convicts and various marines with their families. The British invasion had just begun. The coming of pastoralists in 1817 profoundly disrupted Aboriginal routes and seasonal movements. In the months leading up to the Black War, the lands of the Oyster Bay nation became known as the Settled Districts.At the very start of the conflict, during the summer of 1826-27, clans of the Oyster Bay, Big River, and North Midlands nations carried out several attacks on the settlers and stock-keepers who refused to vacate their ancestral hunting grounds. To put it with Lyndall Ryan, they not only fought back; they made the purpose of their attacks quite plain: to acquire food and force the colonists to leave their hunting grounds.Truganini and her partner William Lanney, 1870. Source: Wikimedia CommonsWilliam Lanney (1835-1869) was the last full-blood male and the last surviving male of the Oyster Cove Clan. Also known as William Lanne and King Billy, he belonged to the Moomairemener clan of the Oyster Bay Nation and was born at Coal River. He arrived at the Wybalenna Aboriginal camp on Flinders Island in 1842. When he died of cholera and dysentery in March 1869, his body was brutally dismembered by William Crowther, a member of the College of Surgeons, and by members of the Royal Society in the course of a dispute as to who should have his remains. According to some sources, he was Truganinis third partner.Another important member of the Oyster Bay nation was Tongerlongeter (1790-1837), a leader of the Poredareme Clan who led several attacks on settlers during the Black War and the Black Line months. Today, Australia is finally beginning to acknowledge the importance of figures such as Truganini, William Lanney, Tongerlongeter, Walter George Arthur, and Montpelliatta in the history of Tasmania.

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