Animals

Animals

A year after Australia’s wildfires, extinction threatens hundreds of species

As experts piece together a fuller picture of the scale of damage to wildlife, more than 500 species may need to be listed as endangered.

Animals

A sea slug’s detached head can crawl around and grow a whole new body

Chopped-up planarians regrow whole bodies from bits and pieces. But a sea slug head can regrow fancier organs such as hearts.

Animals

Delve into the history of the fight for Earth’s endangered creatures

The new book ‘Beloved Beasts’ chronicles past conservation efforts as a movement and a science, and explores how to keep striding forward.

Animals

Female green tree frogs have noise-canceling lungs that help them hear mates

When inflated, female green tree frog lungs resonate in a way that reduces sensitivity to the sounds of other species.

Materials Science

This soft robot withstands crushing pressures at the ocean’s greatest depths

An autonomous robot that mimics the adaptations of deep-sea snailfish to extreme conditions was successfully tested at the bottom of the ocean.

Archaeology

An ancient dog fossil helps trace humans’ path into the Americas

Found in Alaska, the roughly 10,000-year-old bone bolsters the idea that early human settlers took a coastal rather than inland route.

Animals

A single male lyrebird can mimic the sound of an entire flock

The Australian birds, already famous for their impressive song-copying skills, appear to be replicating the sounds of a “mobbing flock” of birds.

Animals

Having more friends may help female giraffes live longer

A more gregarious life, even while just munching shrubbery, might mean added support and less stress for female giraffes.

Animals

A mountain lizard in Peru broke the reptilian altitude record

Liolaemus tacnae was photographed 5,400 meters above sea level in the Andes, breaking the highest elevation record for a reptile by about 100 meters.

Animals

A rare bird sighting doesn’t lead to seeing more kinds of rare birds

The idea that more kinds of rare birds are seen when birders flock to where one has been seen, the so-called Patagonia Picnic Table Effect, is a myth.

Life

Meatier meals and more playtime might reduce cats’ toll on wildlife

Outdoor cats kill billions of birds and mammals each year. Simply satisfying their need to hunt or supplementing their diets could lessen that impact.

Animals

A new chameleon species may be the world’s tiniest reptile

The newly described critters, found in the northern forests of Madagascar, may be threatened by deforestation.