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Animals

Electric eels can discharge up to 860 volts of electricity.

Eels Can Genetically Modify Nearby Fish With Their Electrical Pulses

In laboratory experiments, gene transfer occurred in 5 percent of zebrafish larvae that were near eels when they discharged electricity

A 14-inch goldfish (Carassius auratus) pulled from the Niagara River

Giant Goldfish Are Bad News for the Great Lakes

Researchers are tracking invasive goldfish—which, often, were once kept as pets—in Lake Ontario to determine how best to manage them

More than 200 cold-stunned turtles have already been rescued since November.

52 Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles Rescued From Cape Cod

The critically endangered creatures were flown by private plane to rehabilitation centers in Florida

Ancient baboon skulls from the site of Gabbanat el-Qurud, known as the Valley of the Monkeys

New Research

Ancient Egyptians Kept Baboons in Captivity and Mummified Their Remains

A new analysis of the animals’ skeletal remains reveals a lack of sunlight and an inadequate diet

Ten big dinosaur discoveries stood out in 2023.

The Top Ten Dinosaur Discoveries of 2023

From uncovering a tyrannosaur’s last meal to unlocking the secrets of a dino with a really long neck, these were the year’s biggest stories

The leucistic baby gator is happy and healthy, veterinarians say.

Rare White Alligator Born at Florida Wildlife Park

The baby gator, which doesn’t have a name yet, was born with leucism, a condition that affects pigmentation

Two fossilized specimens, each less than 2.5 inches in length, were originally thought to be plants. Now, scientists say they are preserved hatchling turtles.

Once Thought to Be Plants, These Rare Fossils Are Actually Baby Turtles, Scientists Say

The prehistoric specimens found in Colombia could represent one of the oldest and largest turtle species to ever exist

Jonathan the tortoise in 2017

The World’s Oldest Living Land Animal, a Tortoise Named Jonathan, Turns 191

Even at his advanced age, the Seychelles giant tortoise shows “no sign of slowing down,” his vet tells Guinness World Records

Emilie Gossiaux's Londons Dancing with Flowers (2023)

New Exhibition Celebrates the Bond Between an Artist and Her Guide Dog

Artist Emilie Gossiaux has been working with a 13-year-old lab named London for a decade

Polar bears live in rugged, hard-to-reach places in the Arctic.

DNA Pulled From Paw Prints May Help Researchers Study Elusive Polar Bears

As rising temperatures threaten the Arctic mammals, scientists are turning to new, non-invasive methods to study them

Researchers studied brainstem activity of mice while the animals were awake and eating.

Scientists Examine Brain Cells That Control How Much Mice Eat

The study—the first to look at these neurons while animals are awake and consuming food—could tell us about our own appetites

Cattle tyrants usually follow behind grazing animals to snap up insects for food.

South American Bird Makes Rare Appearance in Texas, Thousands of Miles From Home

Birders are driving hours to Corpus Christi for a chance to spot the cattle tyrant, which has never been observed in the United States before

A De Winton's golden mole. A member of the species hadn't been definitely seen since 1936.

Scientists Uncover a Golden Mole Species Thought to Be ‘Possibly Extinct’

A scent-detecting dog led the team to the discovery in South Africa, and traces of mole DNA helped confirm it

German researchers tested dolphins' ability to detect electric fields.

Bottlenose Dolphins May Have an Electric Sense, Study Finds

Dimples called vibrissal pits on the beaks of the mammals can perceive electricity and might help with hunting and navigation

Wolverines live in snowy, high-elevation habitats.

Wolverines Receive Federal Protection as a Threatened Species in the Lower 48 States

The carnivorous mammals will increasingly face habitat loss and fragmentation because of climate change, according to scientists

Chinstrap penguins incubate eggs.

Chinstrap Penguins Sleep Over 10,000 Times a Day—for Just Four Seconds at a Time

The amazing microsleep strategy may be an adaptation to group living and lurking predators in a harsh Antarctic environment

A mule deer carcass in Yellowstone National Park tested positive for the fatal neurological illness known as chronic wasting disease.

‘Zombie Deer Disease’ Documented in Yellowstone for the First Time

The neurological condition, called chronic wasting disease, has a 100 percent fatality rate in the deer, moose and elk it infects

After peanut butter failed to attract the giant rats, researchers turned to sesame oil.

See the First-Ever Photographs of a Rare Giant Rat That Lives Only on One Pacific Island

The elusive and critically endangered Vangunu giant rats are at least twice the size of common rats

Researchers studied African penguins in the colony at Zoomarine Italia in Rome.

African Penguins Tell Each Other Apart by Their Polka Dot Patterns

New research suggests the birds may find their mates in crowded colonies by looking at their chest plumage

Svalbard reindeer graze during an early snowfall. If temperatures rise again, food may be trapped under ice during a critical time for packing on winter pounds.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

The World’s Smallest Reindeer Get Their Day in the Sun

On Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, a rare animal is thriving—for now

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