Wild Things: Tarantulas, Jellyfish and More…
Hummingbirds, attacking bears, ancient hominids and other news updates in wildlife research
![tarantula](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/4EHkjDlZhjzsCXV1q15LOEZilhA=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-tarantula-631.jpg)
When Bears Attack
![black bear](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/88oxxsls2W_Foq8shuXkwAKtYlY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-black-bear-1.jpg)
Sweet Fix
![Hummingbirds](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/ALinPAUigONCssNjsWpefFjK-wM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-hummingbird-2.jpg)
Observed
![Paranthropus boisei](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/JUjyqoPmu40XPsINeaIbosZ1CTQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-P-boisei-3.jpg)
Dentition: Its massive jaw and flat molars gave rise to the belief that its diet consisted of nuts, which other nearby primates ate also. Its nickname is “Nutcracker Man.”
Nutrition: A new analysis of carbon isotopes in teeth from 22 individuals strongly suggests that P. boisei ate grasses and sedges instead.
Competition: “It was not competing for food with most other primates,” says Kevin Uno of the University of Utah, a researcher on the new study, “but with grazers”—ancestors of today’s zebras, pigs and hippos.
Jellyfish Look Up in the Sky?
![box jellyfish](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/SvWm8rca4UL4XfnJvuprdL8Wp6U=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-box-jellyfish-4.jpg)
Hold On Tight
![tarantula](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/B0ysNLmJNAXQaIxCtv_vhteodRM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-tarantula-5.jpg)