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Elusive whale’s vocalization could be their version of ‘Marco Polo’
Whales are known for their noises, from humpback whale songs to the clicks and whistles of orcas and other toothed cetaceans. The elusive and understudied Bryde’s whale makes an even more mysterious...
View ArticleNew tool helps scientists identify venomous snakes
While only about 10 percent of the roughly 4,000 known snake species have venom that can harm a human, using genetics to determine which snakes could be deadly could speed up developing better...
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Cranes can migrate 4,000 miles, but that’s not the hard part
How do scientists follow an impressively long bird migration? They give a crane a GPS. A team of scientists used small GPS leg bands to follow 104 of these wading birds as they traveled across parts...
View ArticleBoo! New species of ghost shark uncovered in New Zealand
A new species of ghost shark or “spookfish” was discovered lurking in the deep, dark waters off the coast of New Zealand. The Australasian narrow-nosed spookfish (Harriotta avia) is exclusive to New...
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A 225-million-year-old fossilized jaw joint shifts evolutionary timeline
Mammals are defined by how and what we eat every single day of our lives. It is no wonder then that jaws are a pretty big deal for our anatomy and biology. Now, a 225-million-year-old fossilized jaw...
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Platypus-like robot skin inspired by scientist’s daughter
Researchers have designed a robotic “artificial skin” that is as unique as the team’s animal inspiration—the platypus. Created by collaborators between China’s Tsinghua University and the Beijing...
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This fish has 6 legs that act like tongues
Like a creature from a Doctor Seuss book, the sea robin is an unusual looking fish. It’s built with the body of a typical fish, the “wings” of a bird, and legs like a crustacean. Those six crab-like...
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Why do birds migrate? Scientists have a few major theories.
At one point in the not-too-distant past, winter’s lack of birds completely flummoxed some of history’s greatest thinkers. Just a few hundred years ago philosophers posited that birds buried...
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4 endangered California condors will be released into the wild
Four young captive-bred California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) are set to be released on Saturday September 28 at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona. The 28th annual event...
View ArticleSloths may be in danger by the end of the century
Central and South America’s sloth populations may face a dire existential threat from climate change by the end of the century. New research published on September 27 in the journal PeerJ indicates...
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11 unforgettable scenes from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards
On a frigid early morning during the Chinese New Year, a stealthy Pallas’s cat prepares for a breakfast of freshly caught bird. In that moment, Xingchao Zhu snapped a photograph. The wild cat’s...
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Walrus DNA suggests meetings between Vikings and Indigenous Inuit
It’s well established that Viking explorers made it to North America hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus. Recently discovered evidence, however, indicates Norse sailors weren’t only the...
View ArticleMontana breeder of illegal, giant sheep hybrid clones gets 6 months in prison
A US District Court Judge sentenced Arthur “Jack” Schubarth–the Montana man who illegally bred and sold gigantic Frankensheep clones to big game preserves–to six months in prison and over $24,000 in...
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Bats’ weird wings inspired this drone
Bats are amongst the animal kingdom’s most unorthodox fliers. Unlike birds, the furry, flying mammals can dynamically reshape and morph their wings to achieve maximum force and hover in place. The...
View ArticleSorry, zooplankton don’t want to eat your poop
Feces doesn’t appear to be on the menu for zooplankton. While these tiny aquatic animals are known to graze on other bacteria, new research indicates that they do not “clean” fresh or saltwater by...
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Can wombats kill with their butts? We found the hard truth.
Do wombats–the boxy Australian marsupials already famous for their cube-shaped poop–use their butts to kill? A viral video with a sinister soundtrack claiming wombats kill with their backsides has...
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The first true flying vertebrates walked before they could soar
Pterosaurs dominated Mesozoic skies with their intimidating wingspans. But first, they needed to walk around on the ground. A study published October 4 in the journal Current Biology found that the...
View ArticleGeckos have a ‘sixth sense’
The brightly spotted tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) appears to have a hidden sensory talent akin to a “sixth sense”. The geckos can use a part of the inner ear associated with maintaining balance and body...
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How the Fat Bear Week crew gets that beautiful bear footage
Fat Bear Week is officially underway. The 10th annual contest will determine 2024’s best hefty hibernator currently chowing down on salmon in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. From October 2-8, millions...
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14 soaring and stunning images from 2024 Bird Photographer of the Year awards
Jack Zhi watched as a Peregrine Falcon fledgling practiced its rudimentary hunting skills in the skies of Southern California. And then, after a week of practice, the young bird of prey snatched a...
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