A Year of Wild Things — Orcas, Alligators, Caterpillars, Lizards, and More!
The Wild Things column in the magazine is, by far, the most fun part to work on
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The Wild Things column in the magazine is, by far, the most fun part to work on. The meetings in which we review potential papers and discuss what would make a good mix for the page often turns into half a dozen adults drowning in giggles. Read on and you'll see what kept us laughing throughout the year.
January: Orcas working together to create waves that wash their prey--seals and penguins--off of ice floes
February: The Lily White flower has a set of roots just for digging
March: Hubble Space Telescope software adapted to identify whale sharks
April: A parasite makes the abdomen of its ant host look like a berry
May: The American alligator adjusts its lungs to maneuver
June: Whiskered auklets use feathers for feelers
July: Juvenile locusts have some cannibalistic tendencies
August: Zombie caterpillars
September: Lizards popping wheelies
October: Pen-tailed tree shrews drink alcohol but don't appear to get drunk
November: Female fallow deer judge mates by their groans
December: Self-sacrificing ants