Mammals
The Vanishing Cats
In a recent bit of good news, snow leopards have been spotted at 16 camera traps in northeastern Afghanistan
July 19, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
14 Fun Facts About Naked Mole Rats
Number 11: A mole rat's incisors can be moved independently and can even work together like a pair of chopsticks
July 11, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Snake-Spotting Theory Brings Primate Vision into Focus
Do camouflaged predators explain why monkeys, apes and other primates evolved superior eyesight?
June 22, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
To Save a French Hamster
A European Union court has ruled that France should be doing more to protect the Great Hamster of Alsace
June 13, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Secret Lives of Feral Cats
Free-roaming, unowned kitties live differently from our beloved pets
May 31, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
How To Avoid Being Eaten By A Black Bear
A recent study of fatal black bear attacks shows that hungry males are the ones to really worry about
May 26, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Black-Footed Ferrets and Other Endangered Critters
The subject of endangered species can be a depressing one, but there are also many reasons to be hopeful
May 20, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
North America’s Most Endangered Animals
Snails, marmots, condors and coral reef are among the many species on the continent that are close to extinction
May 19, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino, Erin Wayman and Sarah Zielinski
Vegetation Determines Animal Migration Patterns
Scientists show that patterns in vegetation across a species' range determine whether and how it moves
May 18, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Bonobos Tell Each Other Where to Find the Yummy Foods
Chimpanzees may announce with a grunt when they've found food, but bonobos also tell their compatriots when that food find is a good one, say scientists reporting in PLoS ONE.When bonobos encounter a favorite food, like kiwi, they emit a series of long barks and short peeps. If that food is, say, a...
May 02, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Mystery of the Singing Mice
A scientist has discovered that high-pitched sounds made by the small rodents could actually be melodious songs
May 2011 |
By Rob Dunn
Billionaire Branson to Release Lemurs on Caribbean Island
When billionaire Richard Branson announced the construction of a luxury eco-resort in the British Virgin Islands, it sounded like a great idea. But his latest plan to populate one of those islands, Mosquito Island, with endangered lemurs, sounds more like a crazy-rich-man idea. There are about 100 ...
April 19, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Humpback Whale Songs Spread From West to East
During humpback whale breeding season (July to October in the south), males all sing the same song. That song can evolve rapidly, and before long all the whales are singing the new tune. When scientists analyzed the songs sung by whales in the southern Pacific Ocean, they made a curious discovery—t...
April 14, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Fourteen Fun Facts About Golden Lion Tamarins
Yesterday I visited the Smithsonian's National Zoo and took a quick look through the Small Mammal House. I noticed the zoo had quite a few golden lion tamarins (GLTs), small orange-haired monkeys that captured the attention of most of the visitors. But what are they, and why does the zoo have so ma...
April 05, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Wild Things: Mongooses, Bladderworts and More...
Fairy-wrens, wasps, and a nearly 3,000 year old big toe
April 2011 |
By T.A. Frail, Megan Gambino, Laura Helmuth, Jesse Rhodes and Sarah Zielinski
Humans Pass on Deadly Infections to Endangered Mountain Gorillas
On the one hand, it's pretty amazing that I can find images of a specific mountain gorilla family in Rwanda through a simple Flickr search. But the availability of those photos comes from the numerous visits of humans to the national parks in Congo, Rwanda and Uganda where the world's remaining 786...
March 30, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Untold Story of the Hamster, a.k.a Mr. Saddlebags
The hamster may be ubiquitous now, but it was a pioneering scientist who brought the rodent into labs and homes across the world
March 25, 2011 |
By Rob Dunn
The Secret Lives of Animals Caught on Camera
Photographs shot by camera traps set around the world are capturing wildlife behavior never before seen by humans
March 24, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Quagga: The Lost Zebra
Name: Quagga (Equus quagga quagga)Description: A type of zebra from South Africa whose stripes faded below the neck. Once thought to be a separate species, scientists who have performed DNA analyses on zebras now say that the quagga is a subspecies of the plains zebra.Why the Quagga is "Lost": Larg...
March 01, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Nothing Can Stop the Zebra
A 150-mile fence in the Kalahari Desert appeared to threaten Africa's zebras, but now researchers can breathe a sigh of relief
March 2011 |
By Robyn Keene-Young
