Animals Fish Can Sense Fear It might have been deep-rooted in prehistoric animals that lived millions of years ago, before fish and mammals like us diverged on the tree of life, according to researchers who published their study Thursday in the journal Science. “Some of the mechanisms that underlie our ability to experience fear, or fall in and out of […]
Animals Number of Monarch Butterflies Wintering in Mexico Drops 22% Number of Monarch Butterflies Wintering in Mexico Drops 22% The number of monarch butterflies wintering in the mountains of central Mexico dropped 22% from the previous year, and the number of trees lost from their favored wintering grounds tripled. Frost and “extreme temperatures” in the United States may have played a role in the […]
Animals Zoo Mourns Unexpected Loss of Giraffe The Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin announced that one of its giraffes died unexpectedly on Wednesday morning. The giraffe, Bahatika, or Baha for short, was being watched closely by staff at the zoo for the past few weeks, zoo officials said, as he was experiencing health issues related to his age. Baha was 17 […]
Blog Tanzania Confirms First Marburg Virus Outbreak Tanzania has confirmed the first outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in the villages of Maruku and Kanyangereko in the Kagera region, the country’s government has said. The country’s Minister of Health, Ummy Mwalimu, said Tuesday that five of the eight confirmed cases have already died since the disease was reported last Thursday. Meanwhile, authorities […]
Animals 90-Year-Old Tortoise Father Houston Zoo’s 90-year-old tortoise ‘Mr. Pickles’ is a first-time father of three Mr. and Mrs. Pickles are now the parents of Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño after 27 years of companionship Mr. Pickles, a 90-year-old radiated tortoise at the Houston Zoo, is a first-time father after his partner of 27 years, Mrs. Pickles, laid three eggs […]
Animals New Giant Spider Species Discovered Meet the New Giant Spider Species Described As ‘Rare and Secretive’ A new, giant species of trapdoor spider has been discovered in Queensland, Australia, which researchers are describing as “rare” and “secretive.” The species, Euoplos dignitas, was identified after four years of intensive fieldwork by researchers at Queensland Museum, following the discovery of an undescribed […]
Animals Mountain Lion Attacks Man Who Was Sitting In Hot Tub Mountain lion attacks man who was sitting in hot tub at Colorado rental home, officials say A man was attacked by a mountain lion while he was sitting in a hot tub at a Colorado rental home this weekend, state wildlife officials said. The man sustained minor injuries, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said, with four […]
Animals Pet Nutria Allowed To Stay Neuty, the controversial pet nutria, allowed to stay with Bucktown family Public outrage had greeted Wildlife and Fisheries’ plan to seize orange-toothed rodent Fans of Neuty, the 22-pound nutria that became became an instant Louisiana celebrity, are breathing a sigh of relief. The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries on Friday announced an agreement that […]
Animals Your Snuggly Pet Could Be to Blame For Chronic Bad Sleep Pets affect sleep? Had a ruff night’s sleep? A new study published in the journal Human-Animal Interactions has shown that people with dogs are more likely to suffer from a sleep disorder. Cat ownership was also associated with sleep issues, but not to the extent that dog owners experience. Researchers acknowledged that while pets may […]
Animals Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market An international team of virus experts said on Thursday that they had found genetic data from a market in Wuhan, China, linking the coronavirus with raccoon dogs for sale there, adding evidence to the case that the worst pandemic in a century could have […]