African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) travel incredibly long distances to search for a mate and new places to breed. They typically embark on these mammoth treks as young adults and often face numerous hazards along the way. ...
Some female animals living in groups raise offspring that are not their own, sometimes without reproducing themselves. While the behavior of cooperatively breeding species is well documented, some aspects remain poorly understood.
Some of the most intriguing scientific breakthroughs happen when researchers aren't explicitly looking for them. Take, for example, the pygmy raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus), a critically endangered species that lives only on ...
Many animal species, ranging from peacocks and birds of paradise to some lizards, fish and beetles, display physical features or ornaments that can attract potential mates. These ornaments can include colorful plumage, elaborate ...
There is an old saying that nature is the best medicine, and it turns out bumblebees might agree. A new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science suggests that buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) may ...
As they build their nests, many birds are known to interweave dried grasses and other materials with green plants, such as fresh leaves, grass stems, herbs and aromatic leaves. While this behavior is well documented, why ...
A host that sheds an abundance of parasites might seem like an obvious disease-spreading threat. But new research suggests that shedding large volumes of parasites does not dictate transmission efficiency—and "super-shedders" ...
The genetic diversity of the largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis), a critically endangered ray, has plummeted over the past century and a half, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological ...
Approximately 40% of insect species worldwide are thought to be in decline and under threat of extinction. Among the key causes are habitat loss, pollution and climate change. Another threat is artificial light from sources ...
Evolution, the process through which animals and other living organisms change their inherited traits over time, typically unfolds slowly over thousands or even millions of years. Some species, however, can adapt at a faster ...
