Meet the 'aggressive' elephant saved from a life in chains, with a bit of help from Cher

An Asian elephant that has spent almost its entire existence chained to a concrete cage at a zoo in Pakistan will be sent to a sanctuary after a global campaign started by a tourist and championed by the singer Cher finally forced the issue to a head. Kaavan, a 32-year-old male elephant, has been living … Continued

Sad news for spoon-billed sandpipers

This was one half of a pair of critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper chicks—the first ever bred in captivity—but sadly neither survived for more than 60 hours. Each weighed only a few grammes and was barely bigger than a bumble bee. Seven eggs were laid in total at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire, of which … Continued

Gardeners of the forest

Have you ever seen anyone digging with their gardening shovel in the forest or a preparing a seedling germination tray in the woods? Who then plants the teeming and endless variety of vegetation? Forests have their own expert gardeners who carry and spread seeds far and wide, keeping it alive and growing. In fact, 95 … Continued

These unfortunate animals are 'traitors' to their kind (but we're the real ones to blame)

While many of us aren’t overly fond of our 9 to 5, these animals take the cake for worst job ever—and have one of the most unappealing titles to go along with it. For centuries Judas animals, an individual creature isolated from its social herd and used to control the larger group, have been employed by shepherds, farmers, … Continued

Rare whale takes off after extended stay in Australian lagoon

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park just hosted an unusual visitor for the past two months—a Bryde’s whale—but the reason for its stopover remains unclear. Back in June, a lone whale was spotted wandering around the network of coral that makes up the Elford Reef lagoon off the coast of Cairns, Australia. At first, authorities mistook … Continued