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Animals

The highly contagious virus is airborne and can spread through contaminated surfaces like kennels and leashes.

Dogs Are Impacted by an Intense Flu Season, Too

A surge in canine influenza cases has likely resulted from changes in human behavior due to relaxed Covid-19 guidelines

Humans have come up with a number of wacky methods to keep animals deemed "vermin" in check.

Seven of the Wildest and Weirdest Attempts to Curb Animal Pests

Why use fences or traps, when you can use deadly viruses or lustful snakes?

The skull of an elasmosaur found in Queensland, Australia

In Rare Find, Scientists Unearth Fossil of Large Marine Reptile With Both Head and Body

Skeletons of elasmosaurs are often found without their skull

The last surviving thylacine's skull

Remains of Last Surviving Tasmanian Tiger Discovered in Museum Cabinet

Researchers found the lost body of the female thylacine after 85 years

Galapagos sharks swim near Maui, Hawaii.

Discovery Channel’s ‘Shark Week’ Is Packed With Misinformation and Junk Science

Scientists watched 202 episodes and found them filled with unreliable information and white male experts named ‘Mike’

Ant species across five subfamilies exchange milk-like substances.  

Scientists Just Discovered That Ants Make Milk

Adults and larvae consume a nutrient-rich fluid released by pupae

The federal government employs a total of 5,159 dogs, but only about 7 percent come from the United States.

U.S. Faces Bomb-Sniffing Dog Shortage

The pandemic has exacerbated an already short supply of specially-bred canines that detect explosives

A pack of grey wolves in Yellowstone National Park. 

Parasites Make Grey Wolves More Likely to Become Pack Leaders

Research has shown that infected animals can engage in riskier behavior than their uninfected peers

Archaeologists found fruit, nuts and other snacks in the sewers beneath the Colosseum.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find 1,900-Year-Old Snacks in Sewers Beneath the Colosseum

Spectators at Rome’s ancient amphitheater enjoyed olives, figs, nuts and more

Natovenator likely swam to catch small prey.

World’s First Swimming Dinosaur Discovered in Mongolia

Natovenator was a streamlined hunter with jaws full of tiny teeth

A red-eyed treefrog hangs on to a leaf in Costa Rica.

Why Frogs Survived the Asteroid That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs

Not too big, not too small—they were just the right size to live through Earth’s worst day

The monkey's skeletal remains

1,700-Year-Old Monkey Skeleton Suggests Diplomatic Ties Between Mesoamerican Powers

Researchers believe the Maya gave the sacrificial female spider monkey to Teotihuacán as a gift years before relations soured

Barges stranded by low water in the Mississippi River in Rosedale, Mississippi, a small town near where the lion fossil was found

Drought Reveals Rare American Lion Fossil in Dried-Up Mississippi River

Low water levels have also stranded barge traffic and threatened drinking water

The study found that the human particpants and rats jerked their heads in a similar rhythm as the songs played. 

Watch These Rats ‘Dance’ to the Rhythms of Mozart, Lady Gaga and Queen

Moving accurately to a song’s beat was long thought to be a skill unique to humans, but new research suggests rats can do it, too

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Octopuses Caught on Camera Throwing Debris at Each Other

Scientists say this is the first time they have documented the behavior among the tentacled sea creatures

Upon examination, veterinarians realized Hope, now named Beans, had no internal or external sex organs.

Meet the Rare Gender-Neutral Kitten With No Sex Organs

The formerly homeless cat has now been adopted in the U.K.

A mouse lemur grasps onto a tree branch in Madagascar. Scientists looked to characteristics in such modern primates to form a hypothesis about how primates behaved after an asteroid wiped out non-avian dinosaurs.

Soon After Dinosaur Decimation, Our Primate Ancestors Began Pouncing on Prey

Nails helped them climb trees quietly, and forward-facing eyes helped with depth perception to aid in precise leaping

The costume worn by Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War is in the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The suit imbues him with powers similar to the abilities of the dark cats.

14 Fun Facts About Black Panthers

Many of the Marvel superhero’s powers are inspired by the namesake predator

An Astatotilapia burtoni fish with a barcode attached to its head. 

This Fish Eats Its Own Young

Some female cichlids counter the stress of protecting their offspring by munching on them, study suggests

An illustration of a springtail jumping

Springtails Are Nature’s Tiny Gymnasts, Videos Reveal

The insect-like creatures that leap through the air with remarkable control might inspire new jumping robots

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