Judge rules 2,000 Catalina Island deer can be killed to save native plant species

Judge rules 2,000 Catalina Island deer can be killed to save native plant species

Locals and tourists have long fawned over Catalina Island’s mule deer population. For nearly a century, the ungulates have roamed the land’s waterfronts and woodlands, so comfortable around humans that it is not uncommon to spot deer roaming downtown Avalon. But that sight will soon disappear, after a judge this week paved the way for […]

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“It screams, chatters and whistles”. It might look like a dog but it definitely doesn’t sound like a dog with its freaky, spine-tingling vocals…

“It screams, chatters and whistles”. It might look like a dog but it definitely doesn’t sound like a dog with its freaky, spine-tingling vocals…

Sure, dogs bark, growl and howl. But did you know they can scream, chatter and whistle, too? The dhole or ‘whistling dog’ is a formidable and co-operative hunter that relies on these strange vocalisations to communicate with pack members across dense vegetation and bring down prey far larger than itself. With a russet coat and […]

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It might look like a bit like your pet cat – but this fierce predator is a skilful swimmer who can sprint at 30mph and is anything but cuddly…

It might look like a bit like your pet cat – but this fierce predator is a skilful swimmer who can sprint at 30mph and is anything but cuddly…

While at first glance you may think it resembles a domestic cat, a bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a much bigger and and more fierce hunter. It’s a medium-sized species of lynx, whose name comes from is short tail, which looks cut or ‘bobbed’. It roams the deserts and forests of Canada, the United States and […]

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It looks like a wolf, acts like a wolf – but don’t be fooled this is no wolf…

It looks like a wolf, acts like a wolf – but don’t be fooled this is no wolf…

Unlike the hapless Wile E. Coyote of Looney Tunes fame, the real-life version is an intelligent and highly successful animal. Once associated with North America’s prairies and deserts, the coyote now turns up almost everywhere, even city streets, thanks to its remarkable ability to thrive alongside people. Its appetite for rubbish and even pets can provoke a […]

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Millionaire big-game hunter, 75, is trampled to death by herd of FIVE elephants while stalking antelope with shotgun

Millionaire big-game hunter, 75, is trampled to death by herd of FIVE elephants while stalking antelope with shotgun

Armed with a shotgun and tracking a rare species of antelope, Ernie Dosio, 75, was killed after stumbling across the animals in dense vegetation in Gabon. The carcass collector had been moving through thick undergrowth with a professional hunter when the pair unknowingly walked into the herd. The animals were said to be so well […]

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Chernobyl’s radioactive landscape is a testament to nature’s resilience and survival spirit

Chernobyl’s radioactive landscape is a testament to nature’s resilience and survival spirit

CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) — On contaminated land that is too dangerous for human life, the world’s wildest horses roam free. Across the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Przewalski’s horses — stocky, sand-colored and almost toy-like in appearance — graze in a radioactive landscape larger than Luxembourg. On April 26, 1986, an explosion at the nuclear power plant in Ukraine sent […]

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Loss of prey could drive Atlantic Forest jaguars to extinction

Loss of prey could drive Atlantic Forest jaguars to extinction

Conserving the dwindling jaguar population in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest won’t be possible without protecting its prey. That’s the conclusion of a new study, which found that the absence of deer, peccaries and other animals that sustain these big cats is driving it toward local extinction. Jaguars (Panthera onca) once ranged from the southwestern U.S. to Argentina and […]

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“Effects range from internal bleeding to manipulating behaviour or liquifying a host.” These are the deadliest weapons in the animal kingdom

“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 […]

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