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Animals

Dairy farms like this one run by the Barstow family in Hadley, Massachusetts, make smart use of a substance cows produce in abundance.

How Dairy Farmers Are Turning Manure Into Money

These New Englanders have found a way to help the planet and convert more than 9,000 tons of cow waste annually into electricity

Dill, Jalapeño and Gherkin, the three newly hatched radiated tortoises at the Houston Zoo.

90-Year-Old Tortoise Fathers His First Offspring at Houston Zoo

Critically endangered radiated tortoises don’t reproduce often, so this is a win for the species

Many of the reptiles that thrived during the Triassic were crocodile relatives that dinosaurs would later mimic through evolutionary happenstance, such as Postosuchus (back) and Desmatosuchus (front).

Dinosaurs Were Evolutionary Copycats of These Long-Lost Look-Alikes

Before T. rex and ankylosaurus ruled the Earth, a host of similar Triassic reptiles reigned

Wandering albatross pair in courtship in South Georgia. Researchers have found some birds have bolder personalities than others.

Animal Personalities Can Trip Up Science

Individual behavior patterns may skew studies, but researchers have a solution to this problem

An analysis of genetic samples taken in 2020 from a market in Wuhan, China, found both the coronavirus and raccoon dog DNA.

Genetic Evidence Ties Covid’s Origin to Raccoon Dogs

New data support the theory that the virus causing Covid-19 first spread to humans from animals

Van Gogh has made more than 150 paintings.

Paintings by Rescue Dog Named van Gogh Raise Thousands for Charity

A bidder has already offered $10,000 for the four-legged artist’s rendition of “The Starry Night”

A puffin in soft light surrounded by faint raindrops.

See 15 Amazing Wildlife Images From the Sony World Photography Awards

The contest showcases the work of some of the planet’s best photographers

A cockatoo uses a sharp stick to poke through a membrane before using a scoop to fish out the cashew inside the box.

Like Humans and Chimps, Cockatoos Can Use a Set of Tools to Get a Meal

In lab experiments, the brainy birds carried a stick and scooped with them to get at cashews kept in a box

A screenshot of an interactive walkthrough of the Hantan River in Korea

See Google Street View Images of Korean Demilitarized Zone

Established in 1953, the off-limits area has become a haven for plants and wildlife

A male (silver) and female (brown) common European adder meet prior to mating. Scientists are just beginning to understand female sexual anatomy in snakes.

Why Did Scientists Wait So Long to Study the Snake Clitoris?

The delay is representative of a major problem in biology: Female and intersex animals are understudied compared with their male counterparts

The strategy an animal uses to track a scent depends upon a number of factors, including the animal’s body shape and the amount of turbulence in the odor plume.

Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out How Animals Follow a Scent to Its Source

Uncovering the varied strategies that animals employ could help engineers develop robots that accomplish similar tasks

In the study, members of bee colonies mimicked the strategy of a "demonstrator" bee, which had been trained to open a puzzle box in a specific way.

Bumblebees Learn to Open Puzzle Boxes From Each Other

New findings might suggest the insects have a capacity for culture, researchers say

Two dogs walk around the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine, in 2022, near the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Why Scientists Are Studying the Stray Dogs Living at Chernobyl

A new study is a first step toward understanding how radiation exposure might affect DNA

Conference president Rena Lee of Singapore announces an agreement was reached on Saturday.

Historic Treaty Protects Marine Life in the ‘High Seas’

The United Nations agreement will help conserve 30 percent of the planet’s oceans by 2030

Many animals like corals release eggs and sperm into the water on just the right nights of the month.

How Lunar Cycles Guide the Spawning of Sea Creatures

Researchers are starting to understand the biological rhythms that sync worms and corals to phases of the moon

A just-hatched chick stands next to its egg.

Why Newborn Chicks Love Objects That Defy Gravity

A clever new study shows the cute critters will often scuttle toward a video of a rising ball

Studying skeletal remains, researchers identified six criteria that could indicate whether someone rode horses.

Archaeologists Find Evidence of Earliest Known Horseback Riders

New research indicates that humans were riding horses as early as 5,000 years ago

Scientists at North-Eastern Federal University in Russia conducted a necropsy, or animal autopsy, of the bear in late February.

Researchers Examine 3,500-Year-Old Brown Bear Preserved in Siberian Permafrost

Found in 2020, the animal was originally declared to be a cave bear from the Ice Age

Thor rests in Scarborough Harbor in England on December 31, 2022.

The Unusual European Journey of Thor the Walrus

It’s rare to see one of these massive marine mammals in Western Europe, but Thor spent several months delighting crowds in multiple countries

Giant lacewings date back to the Jurassic Era and hadn't been seen in eastern North America for more than 50 years, until this discovery.

Rare Jurassic-Era Insect Discovered at Arkansas Walmart

The species had not been recorded in eastern North America for more than 50 years—and never documented in the state

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