Half a mile beneath the ocean’s surface, a secretive creature drifts in the dark. It has eight tentacles with glowing tips, and a ‘cloak’ of webbed skin that it can wrap itself up in. It is the vampire squid, and it looks like something out of a nightmare. Scientists must have thought the same: the […]
France’s birds start to show signs of recovery after bee-harming pesticide ban
Insect-eating bird populations in France appear to be making a tentative recovery after a ban on bee-harming pesticides, according to the first study to examine how wildlife is returning in Europe. Neonicotinoids are the world’s most common class of insecticides, widely used in agriculture and for flea control in pets. By 2022, four years after […]
The growing exotic pet trade drives illegal sales online and a push for tighter rules
A growing exotic pet trade has conservationists calling for stronger regulations to protect the reptiles, birds and other animals in the wild that are increasingly showing up for sale on internet marketplaces and becoming popular on social media. The two-week Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is scheduled to […]
France’s largest rewilding project takes root in the Dauphiné Alps
In the foothills of the western Alps in southeastern France, horned alpine ibex roam the limestone cliffs of a smaller mountain range known as the Dauphiné Alps, a region once home to thriving populations of wild horses, bison, roe deer, gray wolves, Eurasian lynx, and four species of vultures. In June of this year, the […]
As long as a small car, it is one of the cutest, smiliest, most intelligent animals on the planet
Graceful, intelligent and endlessly charismatic, bottlenose dolphins are the ocean’s most recognisable ambassadors. This guide dives into their behaviour, biology and the remarkable social lives that make them one of the sea’s most captivating species. What are bottlenose dolphins? Bottlenose dolphins are marine mammals. There are two species of bottlenose dolphin: the common bottlenose dolphin […]
In Mexico, world’s smallest turtle faces big threats from trafficking, habitat loss
It sounds like a scene out of the Ocean’s series of heist movies. Only this one didn’t happen in Las Vegas, but at a Mexican university campus surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. And it wasn’t about taking on a casino, but stealing valuable turtles. Armando Escobedo Galván, a biologist at Centro Universitario de la Costa […]
Watch heart-stopping footage of desperate flying foxes dodging deadly, monstrous crocodiles to collect water from a predator-infested river
In the blazing-hot Northern Territory in Australia, little red flying foxes try to stay cool. As temperatures soar to 38°C, they begin to produce more heat than they can release. At 40°C they will die, unless they find a way to cool down. What they need is water. By skimming the river’s surface they can […]
Bumblebees Have Learned to Read Simple Morse Code–an Ability Seen Only in Humans and Vertebrates
A new study is the first to show that an insect can differentiate between different durations of visual cues. In Morse code, a short duration flash or “dot” denotes a letter “E” and a long duration flash— or “dash”—means letter “T”. Until now, the ability to discriminate between “dot” and “dash” has been seen only […]