Most people rank dolphins right up there with puppies and baby chimps in terms of lovable animals. They’re cute, playful, and highly intelligent, so I get odd looks when I tell folks I’ve never been a huge fan of “Flipper.” I’ll watch dolphins jump through rings at SeaWorld with my kids all day, but if […]
Scavengers aren’t the most charismatic of animals, but they perform a vital task: by eating carrion, they remove dead animals from our environments. Yet large-bodied scavengers are declining worldwide, increasing the risk of the spread of diseases, according to a recent study. Researchers found that 1,376 animal species have been recorded in the scientific literature […]
Orca whales have been observed biting off lengths of kelp and using the strands to massage each other — the first known evidence of marine mammals making tools. A group of killer whales off the coast of the United States and Canada were seen removing the ends of seaweed stalks, putting them between their bodies […]
What are swifts and why are they in trouble? The swift (Apus apus) is an acrobatic aerial bird, a remarkable sprinter and endurance flyer that rarely touches the ground. When these sickle-winged birds do come down – after several years in perpetual flight, even sleeping midair – it is to nest in the eaves of […]
Michigan wildlife experts finally were able to trap a black bear and remove a large lid that was stuck around his neck – after two years. “It’s pretty incredible that the bear survived and was able to feed itself,” Cody Norton, a state bear specialist, said on Wednesday. “The neck was scarred and missing hair, […]
In Kassel, everyone has a story about raccoons. Some struggle with a family of them that moved into their roof and simply will not leave. Others recount how a picnic in the park turned into an ambush as gangs of the black and white animals, known in Germany as Waschbären, raided the food. Almost everyone […]
I’m assured this is a big deal: on the far side of a field in Thetford, separated from me by a gate, there is a stone-curlew. Jon Carter, from the British Trust for Ornithology, patiently directs my binoculars up, down and past patches of grass until my gaze lands on an austere-looking, long-legged brown bird. […]
Dogs are amazing creatures. One of the things that makes them so special is their lifespan. While the average lifespan of a dog in the wild is only about 10 years, some dogs have been known to live up to 20 years or more. The oldest recorded dog was an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, […]