Animals seemingly self-regulate population size through portion control
Researchers show animals aren’t necessarily as resource-greedy as previously thought, in part thanks to maternal diets during pregnancy. For quite some time now biologists have known that the environmental conditions a mother is exposed to during pregnancy can have important and long-lasting effects on her offspring. Genetically speaking, these factors are called maternal effects—conditions where … Continued
Photo reveals dark side of kangaroo sex
Though many were quick to assume an eastern grey male kangaroo and accompanying joey were in mourning, photographed clinging to his mate long after her death, the more likely truth is he was still keen to mate. Last week while on a morning stroll in the brush, Australian Evan Switzer spotted a rather unusual sight—a … Continued
Lemurs in Kent just got a pretty nifty gift from Sony
The Port Lympne Reserve’s langurs and lemurs are ringing in the New Year like many of us—binging on nature documentaries. As part of the reserve’s ‘Back to the Wild’ project, aiming to return animals born in parks across Europe to their native homes, the primate staff have installed brand-spanking new and state of the art … Continued
David Bowie and the spiders from Malaysia
Web browsers and television sets flicked to life this morning to announce the death of music legend David Bowie. The 69-year-old—renowned for his visionary musical experimentation across glam rock, art rock, soul, hard rock, dance pop, punk and electronica—died today after an 18-month battle with cancer. Bowie’s artistic breakthrough came with 1972’s The Rise and … Continued
Meet the goat who ran away from slaughter and won his freedom
This is Braveheart—the famous @Lowellgoat who spent a month last year on the lam in New England’s brutal winter wilderness, now living it up at a farm animal sanctuary. The legend of the @Lowellgoat, aka Braveheart, began last Boxing Day on a small Massachusetts farm: Oliveira’s Piggery in Tewksbury. The Piggery supplies the region’s Muslim community—and anybody … Continued
YEAR IN REVIEW: A comprehensive look at all the wild things that happened in 2015
As we begin the countdown for the New Year and prepare to bid adieu to 2015, the hottest year ever recorded on Earth, Patrick Kinsella looks back on the discoveries, developments, disasters and decisions that defined the last 12 months, and finds plenty to both cheer and jeer about in the convoluted plot of the … Continued
To celebrate Christmas, here's our 10 most popular articles from 2015
It’s Christmas day; you’re probably gathered around the tree right now, swapping presents and preparing for the sumptuous feast of food to follow. But to the natural world, today is the same as any other day and that means—at least for the northern hemisphere—surviving another 24 hours of winter’s bleak embrace. Mother Nature may not stop … Continued
How to beat pet homelessness—an easier solution than first thought?
American researchers conduct a first-ever look into the problem of pet homelessness in the United States and find that reducing the number of pets being rehomed—over a million cats and dogs annually—may be easier than it seems. While there’s been plenty of work studying the saga of abandoned pets, most have documented events post-surrender, meaning the factors that … Continued
Scientists knew this lake would 'drain catastrophically during 2015'—Now it finally has
This past July a permafrost retention wall holding back a lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories gave way, dumping half its contents—some 30,000m3 of water—into the surrounding countryside and creating a 2km trail of muddy debris. But the video (shown below) detailing the true extent of the event was just released last week, compliments a remote camera … Continued
18 life-affirming GIFs of adorable and unlikely animal friendships
When bad stuff happens in the world, sometimes you just need to kick back and watch images of big, cuddly orang-utans playing with ridiculously cute tiger cubs. If that’s not doing it for you, a plucky labrador who’s made friends with an enormous African elephant might. Alternatively, feast your eyes on the various creatures who … Continued
Why primates don't make good pets (and other interesting facts), as explained by the co-creator of Monkey Day
Every year without fail the calendar rolls round to December 14th, which just so happens to be Monkey Day. It’s an unofficial holiday, celebrated by pranksters and primate lovers right across the planet. First started by illustrator Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin in 2000, the day has grown in leaps and bounds since then, capturing the hearts of internet … Continued
Canada’s ‘puppy-mill’ province pledges to clean up its act, just in time for International Animal Rights Day
Quebec has lagged behind most other Canadian provinces in regard to their animal rights laws for decades, but last Friday they become one of the most progressive of their peers, passing Bill 54 which recognises pets as sentient beings. There’s a lot to celebrate this annual International Animal Rights Day. Years after trendsetters like Germany … Continued
The magical footage of 2000 beluga whales playing together that simply needs to be watched
Spots of bright white fleck an otherwise calm and turquoise sea in Canada’s far north. They are beluga whales—over 2000 of them—caught on camera frolicking about in Cunningham Inlet last summer, the edited footage recently published online. Arctic adventure tour guide Nansen Weber captured the footage whilst on a mission to film the beauty of the … Continued
Scientists struggle to explain the mystery of mass starling drownings
Wild birds rarely die from drowning, and when they do, it’s usually an isolated incident. Yet, over the years, there have been several mysterious accounts of groups of common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) found floating in garden ponds in apparent mass drownings. Researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) set out to shed some light … Continued
Brave goat and compassionate tiger form remarkable bond
A Siberian tiger in a Russian animal park has taken on a new and rather unusual friend—one initially meant to be his dinner. Visitors to the Far Eastern Safari Park in Russia’s maritime Primorsky region have been witness to quite a spectacular, albeit odd, performance in the last few weeks. Twice each week the Park’s … Continued
China promises to slash power sector emissions 60% by 2020
China has pledged to reduce emissions from the power sector’s key pollutants by 60% by 2020, the government announced on Wednesday, as world leaders meet this week in Paris to address global climate change. The economic superpower will also reduce yearly carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations by 180m tonnes within the next 14 … Continued
Island toad population cleared of killer amphibian fungus
A deadly fungus that has been decimating amphibians worldwide for decades has been eradicated from an island population of wild toads, thanks to a breakthrough study. Chytridiomycosis—the infection caused by the chytrid fungus—is considered by the IUCN to be the worst disease to affect vertebrates in recorded history, in terms of the number of species … Continued
'Wise' elk freed from ice by father-son team in Sweden
One lucky elk, or moose as they’re also known, in the northern Swedish town of Skansnäs owes big thanks to an unlucky pair of local hunters. Klass Persson and his son David spotted the distressed animal trapped in a frozen river and immediately jumped into action. Alerted by their dog’s alarmed barks, Persson told local newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren … Continued
'Save the forests, save the planet'—advocates' collective message to UN Climate Summit
Over 30 forest advocates from the upper-echelons of conservation, charity, diplomacy, politics and business recently came together to voice a collective message for country leaders, gathered this week in Paris for the COP21 UN Climate Summit. Titled ‘STOP THE BURNING‘, the film takes less than nine minutes to outline the harrowing facts surrounding global deforestation and the devastating impact Slash … Continued
This year’s funniest animal photographs have been revealed
An esteemed collection of wildlife experts, photographers and comedians recently assembled in London to answer a pressing question: which animal photo is the funniest? Entrants of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards were challenged to depict a humorous side in animals that need protecting. Faced with a daunting number of images, the judges eventually made a … Continued
The world's oldest tracked bird is ready to have another chick, her 37th
Wisdom is a Laysan albatross and—at the grand age of 64—the world’s oldest living tracked bird. She was recently spotted at the Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge with a mate, following a year away. First tagged in 1956, when she was likely five-years-old, Wisdom has raised an estimated 36 chicks in the six long decades … Continued
American NIH to cease chimpanzee research
Chimps are incredibly like us humans—a connection that has cost the species big time. At one point there were thousands of chimps being used globally as human-replacements in research studies, though today most of these animals are long retired. But according to the American group PETA, 900 or more chimps are still held in labs … Continued
No cause for alarm: This is just a half-mile long spiderweb
The ground lay covered in a beautiful coat of gentlest white, glittering serenely in dawn’s early light. But this isn’t frost. This is North Memphis, Tennessee, and the city—rather than being in a state of deep freeze—is actually covered in a spiderweb a half-mile long. When the gigantic spiderweb—and ‘millions’ of spiders—was first spotted, residents … Continued
337 whales have died in the largest mass-stranding known to science
During of a routine aerial research mission last summer, scientists flying over a remote fjord in Chilean Patagonia spotted something below that was not only entirely unexpected, it was also truly shocking: 337 dead whales. They were witnessing the grizzly and decaying aftermath of the biggest whale stranding event ever observed. What’s even more alarming is that—as … Continued
These may be the year’s most amazing wildlife pictures
In celebration of the 350th anniversary of one of their publications, Royal Society Publishing held a photography competition. After over 1,000 global submissions, the winners are in. Royal Society Publishing has been offering scientists an international platform for a seriously long time, but this year they decided to do something entirely different. In honour of … Continued
The bigger and more urban the bird, the more human-tolerant it’s likely to be
Some wild species are more tolerant to humans than others and researchers want to know why so conservationists can determine which animals may need our help in the face of inevitably increasing human expansion encounters. Ecologically speaking, humans are the ultimate invasive species, and the larger our global population grows the more we impede on … Continued