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Stories from Alex Fox

A male bottlenose dolphin used in the study, seen here with electrocardiogram suction cups attached to monitor its heart rate.

Dolphins May Be Able to Control Their Heart Rates

New study finds trained dolphins slow their hearts faster and more dramatically when instructed to perform long dives than short ones

A male wrinkle-faced bat (Centurio senex) seen dangling from his perch. Beneath his chin is a furry skin fold that he pulls up to cover the lower half of the face like a mask during courtship.

These Bats Mask Up to Woo Mates

Male wrinkle-faced bats use a furry neck flap to cover their faces while serenading the opposite sex in never-before-seen behavior

Monarch butterfly caterpillars will headbutt each other when food is scarce, according to new research.

Monarch Caterpillars Butt Heads Over Milkweed

A new study finds the colorful butterfly larvae will aggressively lunge at each other in pursuit of an extra mouthful of food

A new report finds platypus numbers are declining in Australia, prompting the authors of the report to call for the species to be listed as endangered.

Platypuses Lost 22% of Their Habitat Over Last 30 Years

The startling finding comes in a report that documents the iconic Australian animal’s decline and recommends increased legal protections

Can you see the plant in this picture? This small brown Fritillaria delavayi has evolved camouflage in response to heavy harvesting by humans. The more closely the plant mimics its environment, the harder it is for humans to find and harvest the plant.

Medicinal Plant May Have Evolved Camouflage to Evade Humans

In places where people harvest the plant most aggressively, its color has changed to blend in with the rocky environment

An American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) on a human finger.

Higher Temperatures Make Some Ticks Pick Humans Over Dogs

The study’s results suggest certain tick-borne diseases could become even more prevalent as climate change heats up the planet

A new study finds beaver-eating wolves alter the landscape in Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota by changing the number and distribution of beaver ponds.

Minnesota Wolves Are Eating Beavers and Reshaping Wetlands

A new study finds that when a wolf kills a beaver its abandoned dam falls apart and goes unoccupied for more than a year

Most people will tell you that the average temperature for the human body is 98.6 degrees. But a growing body of research is challenging that idea, suggesting peoples' bodies now run a bit cooler on average.

Even in the Bolivian Amazon, Average Human Body Temperature Is Getting Cooler

A new study finds the average body temperature among Bolivia’s Tsimane people dropped by nearly a full degree in just 16 years

Italy's Stromboli volcano erupting on January 13, 2011.

Watch This Recent Giant Eruption at Italy’s Stromboli Volcano

Stromboli is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, but this latest eruption was exceptionally intense

A view inside the Asian giant hornet nest that Washington State entomologists destroyed last month.

Asian Giant Hornet Nest May Have Contained 200 Queens

Officials say they’ve counted roughly 500 hornets in various stages of development after examining a nest they found and destroyed last month

A wolf-like robot dubbed "Monster Wolf" photographed in 2017. An updated model was recently installed in the town of Takikawa on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. The robot's motion sensor triggers flashing red LED eyes and a selection of 60 sounds aimed to frighten animals back into the wild.

Robotic ‘Monster Wolf’ Protects Japanese Town From Bears

No bear interactions have been recorded in the town since the robots’ installation in September

A hydrothermal area called Porcelain Basin in Yellowstone National Park's broader Norris Geyser Basin.

Boiling Chickens in Yellowstone’s Hot Springs Is Illegal

Three men are now banned from visiting the national park after pleading guilty to several charges

A new chili pepper-shaped device that connect with a smartphone to reveal how much capsaicin is in a hot pepper.

This Chili-Shaped Smartphone Accessory Can Measure a Pepper’s Spiciness

New device can measure concentrations of capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their burning heat

Two banded mongoose groups face off.

Warmongering Female Mongooses Lead Their Groups Into Battle to Mate With the Enemy

New research finds females of this species engineer conflicts with rival groups to gain sexual access to males outside their group and combat inbreeding

The fin of a great white shark being tagged by researchers off the coast of Southern California.

Record Number of Great Whites Tagged in Southern California

Researchers working in Southern California tagged 38 sharks this year, more than triple last year’s total

A round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in a plastic pipe in the lab.

Some Fish Fins Are as Sensitive as a Primate’s Fingertips

Experiments reveal fish fins aren’t just for getting around. They could have implications for underwater robotics

A satellite image shows the A68a iceberg in the lower left. The chunk of ice looks a bit like a pointed finger, and scientists say it's currently on a path to collide with the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia.

Delaware-Sized Iceberg Could Decimate Wildlife on South Atlantic Island

Iceberg A68a is on track to hit the British Territory of South Georgia, where it could complicate access to food for millions of seals and seabirds

Litter, much of it plastic, dots a beach in Santa Monica, CA, the morning after a beach cleanup.

The U.S. Is the World’s Number One Source of Plastic Waste

In 2016, the average American produced 286 pounds of plastic waste, the highest rate per capita of any country on Earth

A stunned iguana lying on the ground during a cold snap in Florida on January 22, 2020. When temperatures dropped into the 30s and 40s, some of these cold blooded lizards lost their grip and fell from their nighttime perches up in the trees.

Lizards Fell From Palm Trees During a Florida Cold Snap, but Now They’ve Toughened Up

New research finds the lizards are now able to withstand temperatures up to 7.2 degrees colder than lizards tested in 2016

A still from the first ever video of a live ram's head squid in the wild.

See Strange Squid Filmed in the Wild for the First Time

The elusive creature is called the ram’s horn squid after a spiral-shaped internal shell that is often found by beachcombers

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