At 10am on 27 June 2018, researchers studying dolphins in a Belize mangrove, witnessed a gruesome spectacle. First, a group of four bottlenose dolphins separated a baby manatee from his mother. Then, one of them attacked the calf, biting it over and over again, and ramming it out of the water. The youngster later died […]
‘A national scandal’: trawlers scour seabeds of supposedly protected UK waters
Almost 40% of England’s seas are designated as marine protected areas. Their purpose, the government says, is “to protect and recover rare threatened and important marine ecosystems … from damage caused by human activities”. And yet in the four years to 2024, trawlers using vast nets, including those that scour the seabed, caught more than 1.3m […]
Powerful swimmers with massive heads, thick necks, and paws like sledgehammers, these diving big cats hunt below and above the water. Watch them in action
It was said that it couldn’t be done: the terrain was too dangerous; the floods would wipe out the cameras; the system was too unpredictable. But the truth is, no-one had really tried Andi Cross tells Melissa Hobson. We were headed to Porto Jofre, known for its wild jaguars, to help the Jaguar Identification Project (JIP) complete a […]
UK’s smallest bird of prey among 200 species at risk of extinction, study finds
The merlin, Britain’s smallest bird of prey, is one of more than 200 species that will become extinct in the UK if action is not taken to curb emissions and unsustainable land use, a study has claimed. According to the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), there is a 20-year window in which decisions […]
“Effects range from internal bleeding to manipulating behaviour or liquifying a host.” These are the deadliest weapons in the animal kingdom
When a peacock mantis shrimp strikes, it generates the heat of a star. The crustacean retracts a spring-loaded mouthpart known as a dactyl club and puts it on a latch, like a cowboy cocking the hammer of a gun. After pulling the trigger to release the stored elastic potential energy, the club moves like a […]
Baby Great Horned Owls Found on a Soccer Field Rescued
Image Credit: Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock Two fluffy baby great horned owls are getting a second chance. The pair were found on a soccer field in central California and brought to the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center for care. According to Popular Science, the owlets are just four to five weeks old. Great horned owls often leave the nest […]
“Staring menacingly, the buffaloes encircled our vehicle.” My close encounter with a mega-stampede
We’re parked up in our Land Cruiser on the golden grasslands of Botswana’s Mababe Depression, surrounded by Cape buffaloes caked in mud. “There must be 3,000 of them here,” our guide Jonah Seboko says quietly, scanning the scene with his binoculars. “Beautiful, just beautiful.” That’s not a word I’d ever really associated with the notoriously […]