Chernobyl’s Wildlife Cameras Reveal How War Affects Wild Animals
The radioactive region around Chernobyl, Ukraine, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in human history, has become…
Streetlights Are Trapping Thousands of Isopods in Mysterious “Death Spirals”
Habitus of isopods collected during aggregative behavior in Eliad. Credit: Idan Sheizaf, Ariel Chipman, and Eviatar Itzkovich Artificial…
When Humans Went Away, the Wildlife Strayed
Humans do not have to cut down trees or build roads to disrupt wildlife. Their mere presence in…
Do Parrots Really Use Names? Scientists Say the Answer May Surprise You
Researchers studying nearly 900 parrots found evidence that some birds may use names to refer to specific people…
Ravens Don’t Follow Wolves, They Predict Them
Two ravens soar above a wolf pack in Yellowstone. This type of short-distance following is common, but prolonged…
The Murky Ethics of Swimming With Killer Whales
In the turquoise waters off La Ventana, a sleepy coastal town on Mexico’s Baja peninsula, Claudio Rios, 41,…
The One Arm an Octopus Will Never Risk in a Fight—Its Sex Arm
Webfoot octopus (Amphioctopus fangsiao) male with its mating arm curled up (upper left). Credit: Keijiro Haruki For an…
A bonobo named Kanzi could play pretend, challenging ideas about animal imaginations
Kanzi, a language-trained bonobo, identified and tracked pretend objects across tea party-like experiments, marking the first controlled…
A New Study Details How Cats Almost Always Land on Their Feet
It’s well established that when cats fall, they’re able to land perfectly most of the time, nimbly maneuvering…
Raccoons Keep Picking Locks Even After They’ve Eaten the Reward. Scientists Say They Do It to “Forage Information”
A raccoon and puzzlebox from the experiment. Credit: Hannah Griebling The marshmallow was gone, but the trash pandas…
Will humans and animals ever be able to converse? Here’s what science says.
Studying the ways different species communicate—through sight, sound, and scent—is challenging. Many species live in remote habitats, or…
Wild chimpanzees in Uganda are drinking the equivalent of a beer a day
One of the boozy chimps. Credit: Aleksey Maro/UC Berkeley Since you can’t exactly breathalyze a wild ape, Aleksey…