Contagious Parrot Laughter
Rare New Zealand parrots start playing spontaneously when they hear certain calls.
Mapping Extinct Brains
Scientists scanned preserved brains of extinct Tasmanian tigers in an attempt to better understand their behavior and life history.
Arctic Camels
Camels seem perfectly suited to life in the desert, but they may have evolved those traits in the high Arctic.
Ivory Forensics
Chemical analysis of poached ivory reveals that elephant slaughter is massive and recent.
Airborne Swifts
Small birds called common swifts remain airborne for months at a time.
Dolphin Stranding
Rescue volunteers respond to a stranded dolphin on Cape Cod.
Black Pig Preferences
Across the globe, humans have selected pigs with genetic mutations for black coats.
Giraffe Genetics
A DNA analysis reveals that giraffes make up four different species instead of just one.
Gambling Wolves & Dogs
Does their divergent evolution affect risk-taking behavior in dogs and wolves?
From Prairies to Corn
Market forces have recently converted large areas of sensitive North American prairies to cropland.
Living Fossil Squirrel
Scientists search for an arboreal African rodent that’s changed little in over thirty million years.
Long-Lived Sharks
The longest-lived vertebrate hangs out in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic.
Cardinals vs. West Nile Virus
Northern cardinals may help protect people from West Nile Virus.
Humans & Honeyguides
African honeyhunters use a special call to get birds to lead them to the location of hives full of nutritious honey.
Rooting Out Pythons
An invasive python’s own social behaviors could be its undoing in Florida.
Frigatebird Migration
Solar transmitters on ocean-going frigatebirds reveal how they keep aloft for months at a time.
Wildlife Corridors
Wildlife corridors are needed to help organisms cope with climate change.
Birds, Litter, & Novelty
How do crows and other birds calculate the risks and benefits of human-dominated urban environments?
Manta Ray Homebodies
Oceanic manta rays don’t migrate long distances like other large sea creatures.
Snake Evolution
Some unrelated snake species have evolved major similarities even though they live halfway around the world from each other.
Glowing Slime
Glowing blue slime from the sea could be useful in biomedical research.
Harbor Porpoise Hunting
Harbor porpoises are championship hunters, eating nearly constantly day and night.
Rattlesnakes & Squirrels
Rattlesnake venom is more potent against local ground squirrels than those from other locales.
Ancient Florida
New evidence confirms that a prehistoric archaeological site in Florida is one of the continent’s oldest.