The oldest known polar bear fossils hail from Svalbard and northern Norway and are dated at 115,000–130,000 years old, before the beginning of the last Ice Age. But some biologists think that polar bears diverged from brown bears as early as 600,000 years ago. According to research, polar bears evolved from brown bears that ventured onto […]
Tag: polar bears
The US government says habitat destruction no longer counts as ‘harm’ to endangered species
The U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration recently finalized a rule that narrows what qualifies as “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. Under the new definition of harm, only actions that directly harm or kill endangered species will be prohibited. Until recently, the definition of harm also included damaging the habitat endangered wildlife depend on for […]
Tasmanians warned of ‘loving Neil to death’ as 1,000kg seal’s antics feed ‘double-edged sword’ of fame
Wildlife officials have warned people to give Neil the seal space during his visit to Tasmania, saying some have gone so far as to bring their human babies close to the 1,000kg giant for a photo. Neil, a southern elephant seal, was born in Tasmania in October 2020, but his existence is an anomaly: most […]
“Mothers are known to eat their own newborn babies…” 11 gruesome, grisly cannibal animals that feast on their own kind – you won’t believe number 3
Cannibalism – the act of eating an individual of the same species – is often not a good idea, and not just because of our own human morals. It can lead to the spread of some very nasty diseases, as well as the evolutionary cost of potentially eating your own kin. However, it is not […]
“There we were, being ambushed by a probably very hungry polar bear, in a boat with no engine and no means of protecting ourselves…”
In June 2017, I travelled to the high Arctic in Northern Canada on a shoot for the Netflix series Our Planet with director Sophie Lanfear, says documentary cinematographer Jamie McPherson. The further north you go, the smaller the planes get. You hop from community to community, until snow and ice cover everything as far as the eye can […]
Snow shoes, ‘anti-freeze’ blood and group hugs: How 10 snow animals outsmart winter
During the winter, as the cold nights draw in, many people like to curl up by the fire with a soft blanket and a hot drink to warm their cockles. But wild animals don’t have the luxury of warm houses and thermal clothing to protect them when the thermostat plummets. So, how do the animals […]
Lynx could return to Scotland – but can rewilders win over wary Highlanders?
Could lynx, the elusive wild cat driven to extinction in Britain more than 1,000 years ago, become the new Loch Ness monster? “Whether Nessie’s there or not, she draws tourists,” said Margaret Luckwell, a resident of Moray, Scotland. “It would be the same with lynx. I’d love to see a lynx in the wild.” Luckwell’s view […]
Living Near Humans, Italian Bears Evolved to Be Less Aggressive
Brown bears living near villages in central Italy have evolved to be less aggressive, according to a new study, the latest to show how humans are shaping the evolution of wildlife. Marsican brown bears have been isolated from other European brown bears since the Roman era, cut off by expanding farms and cities. Over centuries […]