Animal behavior is the scientific study of the observable actions, interactions, and behavioral patterns of animals, typically investigated within ethology, behavioral ecology, and comparative psychology. It encompasses mechanisms (proximate causes such as neural, hormonal, and genetic control), development (ontogeny and learning), function (adaptive value in survival and reproductive success), and evolution (phylogenetic history and divergence among taxa). Research on animal behavior quantifies activities such as foraging, mating systems, parental care, communication, social organization, and antipredator strategies, often integrating experimental, observational, and modeling approaches to understand how behavior emerges from organism–environment interactions and contributes to fitness and ecological dynamics.
They raid compost bins, outsmart latches and sometimes look gleeful doing it. A new study in Animal Behaviour suggests raccoons may not just be opportunistic—they may be genuinely curious.
Plants & Animals
9 hours ago
1
0
We are used to seeing a strict order in nature, with apex predators at the top feeding on those lower down the pecking order. But in video footage from a nature reserve in Italy, we see a red fox turning the tables, attacking ...
The tall black-and-white residents of Antarctica, who waddle around its icy landscape, are in peril thanks to the rapidly warming global climate. Emperor penguins go through an annual transformation called catastrophic molting, ...
Wild animal species respond very differently to human development, and as a result, they use ecological corridors in agricultural and urban areas in distinct ways. This emerges from research in Botswana by ecologist Marlee ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
0
0
Little Punch, a seven-month-old Japanese macaque living in the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, has captured hearts on the internet. Abandoned by his mother in the first few days of his life and raised by the keepers at the zoo, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
0
0
Populations of suburban deer have been on the rise across the U.S. for the last 50 years. Suburban landscapes are like buffet tables with their plentiful lawns, shrubs, and gardens that tempt the animals into human territory. ...
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
0
0
Jackdaw chicks learn about predators by listening to adults, new research shows. Scientists played recordings of predator calls to chicks in their nests—and paired the sounds with either adult jackdaw "alarm" calls or "contact" ...
Evolution
Mar 3, 2026
0
0
Researchers have found that the size of the amygdala—a region of the brain involved in processing emotions—could be linked to social tolerance in macaque monkeys. Their research, published today in eLife, is described ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
0
5
This Journal of Raptor Research issue focuses on movement ecology—how and why raptors move. This can include classic movements like migration, as well as nomadism.
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
0
0
February 2026 has seen thousands of dead seabirds washing up along the coastlines of the UK, France, Spain and Portugal. There's evidence that these "wrecks" (where large numbers of seabirds are found along beaches) are becoming ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
0
0
