When an ice shelf blocks a polar fjord, it sparks the creation of an ecosystem like no other: the epishelf lake. Meltwater pools up behind the ice shelf, floating above the denser seawater, with both freshwater and marine species found in distinct layers within the same water column. But Canada’s last known epishelf lake, at […]
Experts tested whales’ teeth for nuclear fallout – and accidentally found the oldest killer whale on record
By analysing the teeth of five whales who died on Scottish shores in the past three decades, researchers created a ‘dental time machine’ – allowing them to reconstruct the life stories of the animals and identify one of the oldest male killer whales on record. The study, which relied on traces of radioactive fallout trapped in […]
‘Crucial opportunity to act’ as study finds most of Europe’s wild bee species in decline
Most of Europe’s wild bee species and about half of its hover fly species have declined over the last century, a study has found, as a UN biodiversity summit begins in Armenia. Records since 1921 show more bee species are declining than increasing in all parts of Europe except the Alpine region. The richness of […]
It might look like a beautiful flower but it’s actually a deadly predator… Meet a very innocent-looking, cold-hearted mass killer
One of the world’s most beautiful insects, the orchid mantis, is just too beautiful to be taken seriously as a deadly predator – but that’s what it is says Stuart Blackman. Camouflage is usually about hiding. And plenty of insects deploy colours and patterns that allow them to blend in amongst flowers. But this gorgeous denizen of Southeast Asian forests doesn’t want to hide; it wants […]
Florida fisher dragged into water and killed by 12ft alligator
A man fishing at a pond in Florida was killed on Friday by an alligator that was almost 12ft long in a rare kind of animal attack, according to authorities and media reports. Steve Hamilton, 71, was on the shoreline in the community of Winter Garden when the animal dragged him into the water, the […]
“After nearly an hour of brutal fighting, it’s all over.” An otter family must defend its pups from a deadly caiman. What happens next is truly extraordinary
Measuring up to almost two metres (6 feet) long, the giant otter is the largest of its kind. Found in the Amazon, Orinoco and Río de la Plata River systems of South America, these highly social creatures build underground burrows which can house large family groups. They primarily eat fish (such as perch, catfish and […]
Legal gaps allow rampant pet trade, poaching reptiles and amphibians towards extinction
Spain’s law enforcement agency, the Civil Guard, announced on Sept. 25, 2026, that it seized 209 reptiles from breeding facilities in Jérica and Sot de Ferrer (Castellón), including critically endangered iguanas endemic to Fiji. Nearly half of the reptiles were protected under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty. They also seized unlicensed handguns and nearly […]
Canada’s wolves may be using fire to hunt moose
In a practice that goes back hundreds of thousands of years, hunter-gatherer groups today light fires at night to keep wild animals, and predators especially, at bay – animals are afraid of fire, the reasoning goes, and a campfire will keep you safe while you sleep. But not all predators, it seems. A new paper published in […]