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.
Snakes can elicit a wide range of human responses, including fear, disgust, awe and admiration. Past studies suggest that both humans and nonhuman primates, such as monkeys and apes, tend to quickly notice snakes in their ...
You might be among the 46 million people who've seen a video showing how wolves changed Yellowstone, or you may have heard another version of the story. Yellowstone, which covers nearly 3,500 square miles (9,100 square kilometers) ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 29, 2026
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Like many parasites, nematomorphs are known to manipulate their hosts' behavior to complete their life cycles. Also known as horsehair worms, among other names, these creatures develop in their hosts' body cavities and lure ...
Ecology
Sep 29, 2026
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University of Massachusetts Amherst's Jeff Podos and his former graduate student João C.T. Menezes have identified two contenders for the title of world's loudest bird: the bare-throated bellbird and the red-legged seriema. ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 29, 2026
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In 2001, I had an epiphany while making my first trip to Australia. Walking across a remote sheep station in the dusty west, my ears were suddenly filled with the rich, spirited song of three pied butcherbirds.
Plants & Animals
Sep 28, 2026
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When Marineland Canada in Niagara Falls, Ontario, closed in September 2024, it had no regular income to support the care of the 30 belugas and four dolphins housed there. To ensure their welfare, the Association of Zoos and ...
Ecology
Sep 27, 2026
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Wild African elephants living in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya appear to seek out specific plants when unwell. Local experts also reported mothers administering plant-based "medicine" to their offspring.
Plants & Animals
Sep 25, 2026
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In a win for pollinator conservation, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have developed a machine learning-based method to identify chemical compounds that can safely repel honey bees from pesticide-treated ...
Ecology
Sep 24, 2026
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Orangutan infants spend their first eight years with their mothers, and throughout this time, they can draw on their knowledge. After that, however, orangutans are entirely on their own. To fare well as independent orangutans, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 24, 2026
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A new study led by Australian veterinarians has exposed the challenge of identifying pain in horses with gastric ulcers and highlights an urgent need to better detect when horses are suffering.
Biotechnology
Sep 23, 2026
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