Everyone loves to watch hummingbirds—tiny, brightly colored blurs that dart about, hovering at flowers and pugnaciously defending their ownership of a feeder. But to the scientists who study them, hummingbirds offer much more than an entertaining spectacle. Their small size and blazing metabolism mean they live life on a knife-edge, sometimes needing to shut down […]
Author: Supertrooper
Founder and Executive Editor
Atlantic puffins are perilously attracted to artificial light, new study shows
As the long summer days of August turn into nights, a few dozen volunteers gather in the small community of Witless Bay, a tiny town on the Atlantic coast about a half-hour’s drive south of St. John’s, capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. After a briefing by a coordinator from conservation NGO […]
Despite Biotech Efforts to Revive Species, Extinction Is Still Forever
I was crouched on the ground, 50 feet from an aurochs. At least it looked like one. Eight generations of back-breeding had resurrected an animal reminiscent of the giant bovine that crashed from Earth’s biota in 1627. The coal-black beast had the forward-facing horns of the long-extinct aurochs. It had the same muscular shoulders and […]
Asia’s Extraordinary Jumping Bird Now Thriving in Captivity–a Hopeful Halt to Population Slide
An endangered bird famous for its elaborate leaping courtship displays is being reared in a special facility where the animals are able to develop their wild instincts. With less than 600 individuals left in the wilds of Cambodia, conservationists have shown that the Bengal florican can successfully grow up in semi-captivity, raising hope that a […]
Shrinking trees and tuskless elephants: the strange ways species are adapting to humans
From the highest mountains to the depths of the ocean, humanity’s influence has touched every part of planet Earth. Many plants and animals are evolving in response, adapting to a human-dominated world. One notable example came during the Industrial Revolution, when the peppered moth turned from black and white to entirely black after soot darkened […]
Illegally released Lynx spotted in popular Scottish hiking spots
Hikers in the Scottish highlands have been warned to steer clear of certain spots after illegally released lynx were spotted in the popular Cairngorms National Park. The wild cats, which are native to areas in Europe, Asia, and North America, were spotted in the early hours of Friday, January 10, near the remote Highland town […]
Warming threatens flies more than bees, raising pollination concerns
Life can’t function without insects. At least, not for long. They pollinate, break down waste, cycle nutrients, and touch every node in the web of life, filling endless niches across the planet. As global temperatures continue to rise, some of Earth’s most important but overlooked pollinators, the flies, may be at greater risk than previously […]
Fewer than one in 14 male humpback whales in New Caledonia are fathers
As few as 7% of male humpback whales in New Caledonia in the south-west Pacific may have fathered offspring, a study has found. The paternity analysis found that 93% of males had no evidence of genetic offspring throughout the 25-year study period and no male had sired more than two offspring. It was unclear why […]