Animals

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To Measure Elephant Obesity, One Researcher Assesses Pachydermal Butts

It turns out that it's really hard to figure out if an elephant is fat

Batang, a female orangutan at the National Zoo, snacks on a pumpkin.

How to Cook Meals for the 2,000 Animals at the National Zoo

Secretary Clough explains how the Zoo’s chefs prepare food for 400 different species

Britain Will Decide If Badger Culling Is Humane Based on the Noises the Dying Animals Make

The similarities between how the shot badgers thrash about compared to harpooned whales will also be factored in

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What Animal Sounds Look Like

Mark Fischer, a software developer in California, turns data from recordings of whales, dolphins and birds into psychedelic art

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Sloths Are Number One on the List of Illegally Traded Pets from Colombia

While Asian trade mostly stems from a desire for exotic meat and medicinal ingredients, in Colombia the pet trade rules the market

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The Gruesome ‘Atlas of Vertebrate Decay’ Does Have a Practical Purpose

Some of the earliest ancient vertebrates were too squishy to leave easily identifiable remains that lasted through millennia, so researchers are creating a rot look-book

An endangered fin whale

Endangered Whales Are Being Sold as Dog Treats to Rich People in Japan

Luckily, it seems that many Tokyoites aren't buying into the endangered treats, which sell at around $37 for 500 grams

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Tiger vs. Lion—Who Would Win?

Lions are the king of the plains. Tigers rule the jungle. But face to face, which would win?

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One Slight Genetic Tweak Gave White Tigers Their Pale Coats

That same gene change that gives white tigers their snowy coat also affects some fish, chickens, horses and even European humans

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Scottish Wildcats Are Interbreeding Themselves Into Extinction

One researcher thinks Scottish wildcats could be gone within two years thanks to hybridization with domestic house cats

Dawww

Bears That Have No Fish to Eat Eat Baby Elk Instead

The illegal introduction of lake trout in Yellowstone's lakes is having wide-reaching consequences

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Navy Dolphins Turn Up a Rare 19th-Century Torpedo

Called a Howell torpedo, the old military relic was a marvel in its day, and only 50 were ever made

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Princeton University Celebrates the Art of Science

In a new exhibition, the university showcases 43 images rooted in scientific research that force viewers to contemplate the definition of art

How Puking Could Save the Endangered Marbled Murrelet

For the marbled murrelet the conservation plan is a little unusual: making their predators vomit

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Lizards Appear to Be Hardier Astronauts Than Mice

Russian scientists say that this experiment represents that longest period animals have ever spent alone in space and been recovered alive

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Wealthy Economic Liberals Actually Are Wimps

In the animal kingdom, larger males are likewise prone to hoard resources and defend larger territories than weaker competitors

A crazy ant queen.

Invasive Crazy Ants Are Eating Up Invasive Fire Ants in the South

How ecosystems will function if fire ants suddenly disappear and are replaced by crazy ants remains an open but worrying question

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Solving Climbing’s Diversity Problem

Seventy-eight percent of the Americans who took part in activities outdoors last year were white

Doctors Used to Use Live African Frogs As Pregnancy Tests

Now, those former test subjects may be spreading the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus around the world

A group of critically endangered California condors near Zion National Park, Utah.

Why the Endangered Species Act Is Broken, and How to Fix It

On the landmark species-saving law’s 40th anniversary, environmental historian Peter Alagona explains why it doesn’t work and offers a path toward recovery

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