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Weird Animals

Bat? Meet rat. Scientists recorded brown rats snatching bats from the air and eating them.

Rats Are Snatching Bats Out of the Air and Eating Them—and Researchers Got It on Video

Rodents in northern Germany were spotted using two different hunting strategies at major urban bat hibernation sites

For two days at the start of monsoon season on the Indian subcontinent, male Asian common toads (right) turn bright yellow, while females (left) stay brown.

For Two Days Each Year, These Drab Brown Toads Turn a Dazzling Neon Yellow—and Scientists Finally Know Why

When monsoon rains begin to fall on the Indian subcontinent, Asian common toads congregate at temporary puddles for a frenzied, two-day mating spree

An illustration shows the types of megafauna that may have lived near Australia's Mammoth Cave about 50,000 years ago. From left to right: Murrayglossus hacketti, a giant long-beaked echidna; Procoptodon browneorum, the giant kangaroo whose bone is the subject of new research; Zygomaturus trilobus, a giant diprotodontid; and Thylacinus cynocephalus, a Tasmanian Thylacine

A Giant Kangaroo Bone Is Challenging the Idea That Humans Wiped Out Australia’s Megafauna

Indigenous Australians may have been early “paleontologists,” not big-game hunters, according to a new analysis

One of the finalists, titled "I Just Can't Wait to be King," captures lions appearing to sing.

See This Year’s Hilarious Finalists From the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards, From Gossiping Leopards to Breakdancing Foxes

The 40 shortlisted photographs pair talented nature photography with humorous captures that often rely on clicking the shutter at just the right moment

Cameras captured nematodes attaching themselves to electrically charged fruit flies. 

These Parasitic Worms Use Static Electricity to Hitch a Ride on Flies

The tiny experiment yielded big results, showing how nematodes hop onto fruit fly hosts

The otter-surfer interaction last Wednesday 

‘Feisty’ Otters Are Once Again Hijacking Surfboards in Santa Cruz

Is the playful otter stealing surfboards a repeat offender?

Jackie's unusual coloring results from changes to her natural pigmentation process.

Meet Jackie, a 1-in-30-Million Calico Lobster Caught Off the Coast of Massachusetts

Now living at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center, the striking crustacean has a bright orange shell with black freckles and blue joints

Coins left behind as offerings helped the researchers measure the size of the imprint from photos.

Chicago’s Famous ‘Rat Hole’ Wasn’t Actually Made by a Rat, According to a Statistical Analysis

Scientists are almost certain the viral imprint in a city sidewalk was actually made by an unlucky squirrel

Researchers equipped the bats with "backpacks" filled with monitoring instruments.

This Chilling Recording Reveals Large Bats Catching, Killing and Eating Birds Midflight

The data answers an enduring question about the greater noctule bat

Two new studies are shedding more light on the behavior and lifespans of naked mole rats.

Scientists Explore the Mysterious Lives and Longevity Superpowers of Naked Mole Rats

The nearly hairless rodents are extremely resistant to cancer—and can live to be 37 years old

A sea lamprey shows off its nightmarish mouth.

This Invasive Vampire Fish Is Helping Researchers Understand the Human Nervous System in Jaw-Dropping Ways

The sea lamprey looks like it’s from another planet, but this ancient creature has a surprising amount in common with humans

A male blue jay on the left, a female green jay on the right and a hybrid offspring of the two species in the center.

Strange Bird Spotted in a Texas Backyard Is the First Known Hybrid Between a Blue Jay and a Green Jay

The ranges of the two parent bird species have expanded due to climate change and now overlap around San Antonio, researchers say

The orca known as “Old Thom” swims in front of researchers in the Bay of Fundy.

The Curious Case of ‘Old Thom,’ an Orca Traveling Alone in the North Atlantic

Sightings of the marine mammal captivate the public and baffle scientists

Scott Adams, director of the Exotic Zoo, holds a casque-headed iguana. Eight hatchlings were produced at the zoo this summer without a father.

‘Once in a Lifetime’: Rare ‘Virgin Birth’ of Eight Iguana Babies Surprises Zookeepers in England

A female casque-headed iguana produced live hatchlings even though she has never shared an enclosure with a male

The bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi) is one of three new deep-sea species described.

Cool Finds

Biologists Discover Surprisingly Cute Deep-Sea Fish Species Off the Coast of California

Meet the bumpy snailfish—described by scientists as “adorable”—as well as the dark snailfish and sleek snailfish, all of which thrive thousands of feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean

Many different types of animals, from birds to orcas, are affected by human noise.

Five Dramatic Ways Animals Respond to Human Noise, From Mimicking Car Alarms While Wooing Mates to Calling Higher Over the Din of Traffic

As human-caused sound gets louder around the world, some animals change their behavior and many creatures suffer health issues

Pygmy seahorses are exceptional camouflage artists.

These Bumpy Little Seahorses Are Amazing Camouflage Artists. Scientists Pinpoint the Gene Loss Behind Their Special Traits

Bargibant’s pygmy seahorses look almost exactly like the gorgonian corals they live in, thanks in part to their unusually stubby snouts

Aside from his bright blue shell, Neptune is an otherwise normal lobster.

See the Rare ‘Electric Blue’ Lobster Found Off the Coast of Massachusetts

Meet Neptune, an American lobster with a vibrantly colored shell that results from a genetic mutation affecting pigmentation

Mexican tetras lost their eyes in multiple ways.

These Cavefish Lost Their Eyes, but They Gained Some Pretty Nifty Traits

Mexican tetras that got swept into pitch-black caverns had no use for the energetically costly organs

Several species have evolved in response to human environmental impacts.

Five Astounding Ways Humans Are Driving Animal Evolution, Including Causing Lizards to Grow Longer Legs and Leading Moth Populations to Become Darker

When people build cities and introduce invasive creatures, resident critter populations sometimes adapt

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