When it comes to survival in the animal kingdom, size isn’t always the determining factor. Some creatures possess such incredible strength, cunning or venom that they can take down prey twice their size. Here are 10 formidable animals that can overcome much larger adversaries, from the majestic tiger and remarkable Komodo dragon, to the bat-hunting giant centipede and even a beetle larva that […]
Tag: albatrosses
Half of seabirds are declining. Protecting marine flyways could help save them
Animals that cross borders often encounter conservation systems that stop at them. Migratory species move through jurisdictions with little regard for political boundaries, relying on habitats spread across large distances and governed by different rules. The result is patchy protection, overlapping threats, and declining populations. Seabirds make this problem clear. They range across entire ocean […]
These Rare Whales Had Never Been Seen Alive, Then Scientists Saw Two Near California
A lifelong whale researcher recently encountered a living pair of gingko-toothed beaked whales for the first time ever in the wild. The encounter advances the science of beaked whales enormously, for in addition to confirming the whole genome of the animal, it also linked this elusive species to a well-recorded whale song that can now […]
Solitary, yes. Shy? Hardly, albatrosses trail after trawlers and dance for their partners
In March, as Cyclone Alfred roared towards the south-east Queensland coast, the bayside suburbs of Brisbane were treated to a rare cold-water visitor. A shy albatross was spotted offshore, opposite a fishmonger in Sandgate. A couple of days later, what was likely to be the same bird flopped into a front yard of nearby Banyo, […]